President of Asian Institute of Technology of Thailand leads delegation to visit UM

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/campus-news/detail/57895/

UM becomes popular destination for study tours during winter holidays

With the start of the winter holidays, the University of Macau (UM) has attracted many study tours, students, and parents from other places. During their visits, they explore and take photos at various parts of the UM campus. The visits also enable them to learn more about the university’s characteristics, environment, and facilities, and experience the academic atmosphere and vibrant campus environment of UM.

UM is open to the public throughout the year and welcomes visitors from around the world. The university has also become a popular study tour destination in recent years. A person in charge of a mainland educational institution said that their study tour visited Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macao, during which the participants paid visits to the leading universities in each city and gained an in-depth understanding of the application process and the characteristics of universities outside mainland China. ‘We chose to visit UM during our stay in Macao because it is a university of international standing and local characteristics. We appreciate its academic achievements and campus environment. If time allows, we would like to learn more about the residential college system and research achievements of the university, and to engage in exchanges with UM students and faculty.’

According to the person in charge of the mainland educational institution, all the students on the study tours have the intention to go abroad for further studies. A primary six student from Beijing said that UM is an excellent university, noting its uniqueness among mainland universities for its use of English as the medium of instruction. ‘I want to study at UM if I have the opportunity. I hope that I can join similar visits in the future,’ said a primary five student from Shandong, who expressed great interest in studying at UM and praised the UM campus for its size and great environment.

To enable visitors to learn more about the university, UM offers the ‘A Day at UM’ campus tour campaign for groups of ten or more by appointment. The campus tours are available Monday through Saturday, with two sessions per day, each lasting about 1.5 hours. They are conducted in Cantonese, Mandarin, or English. In addition, the university offers the UM Audio Tour, which is also available in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. The audio tour introduces the major buildings and facilities across the campus. Apart from visiting UM in person, individuals at home and abroad can explore the university’s facilities and environment through the 360° Virtual Tour website and video tours. For registration and details of the campus tour campaign, please visit the campus tour website at https://www.um.edu.mo/visitors/campus-tour/.

UM is an international public comprehensive university in Macao, with a campus area of approximately 1.09 square kilometres, which is about one-thirtieth of Macao’s area. The university’s whole-person education system that boasts the coexistence of diverse cultures and the synergy of faculties and residential colleges, as well as its international education model attracts students from different parts of the world. The university organises a wide range of cultural and artistic activities regularly, such as talks, exhibitions, and concerts, providing the public a platform for cultural and academic studies. Most of the university’s facilities and shops are also open to the public. For more information, please visit the UM website at www.um.edu.mo.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/press-release/detail/57654/

UM launches Master of Arts in TESOL programme, providing English teachers with opportunities to advance their studies

The University of Macau (UM) will launch the Master of Arts (MA) in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) programme in the 2024/2025 academic year. The programme aims to provide advanced training and learning opportunities for both pre-service and in-service English teachers in Macao, the Greater Bay Area, and beyond. Applications for the programme are now open. Individuals interested in English teaching are welcome to apply.

According to Yu Shulin, programme coordinator and associate professor at UM’s Faculty of Education, the MA in TESOL programme aims to equip students with advanced knowledge and theories in TESOL, as well as professional skills and cultural awareness essential for effective English teaching. Graduates will have access to a wide range of career opportunities in English language teaching, curriculum design and planning, and materials development and assessment. As the programme is practice-oriented, instead of a traditional research thesis, students are required to submit a project report that demonstrates their teaching practice and reflection abilities to fulfil the graduation criteria.

The MA in TESOL programme is a two-year programme. Integrating theoretical and practical knowledge of second/foreign language teaching and learning, the programme aims to cultivate reflective educators capable of designing and implementing effective English language teaching based on local and global contexts. Students will explore areas such as applied linguistics, curriculum design, intercultural communication, language testing and assessment, and English teaching pedagogy. They will also acquire expertise in teaching the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and will learn to apply innovative teaching strategies effectively. Additionally, they will gain the skills to evaluate language curricula, implement summative and formative assessments, and develop and adapt teaching resources by integrating theoretical and practical knowledge in English teaching, so as to meet the needs of students and local contexts.

The programme places significant emphasis on fostering critical and reflective thinking and practices among English teachers. Students will engage in professional development training and field-based practices with English educators from different regions. Through experiential learning, students will have the opportunity to learn from and be inspired by the English language professionals. Graduates will possess advanced TESOL knowledge, teaching expertise, practical experience, and the skills and mindset necessary to become independent, reflective, and innovative classroom-based researchers.

Applications for the MA in TESOL programme are now open. For online applications and admission guidelines, please visit the Graduate School website at https://grs.um.edu.mo/index.php/prospective-students/. For enquiries, please call 8822 4898 during office hours or email gradschool@um.edu.mo.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/press-release/detail/57632/

UM Open Day to take place on 14 January in both Macao and Hengqin

The University of Macau (UM) will hold the UM Open Day 2024 on Sunday 14 January from 11:00am to 5:00pm. This year, for the first time, the event will take place in both Macao and Hengqin to enable the public from Macao and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to visit the UM campus in Macao and the Zhuhai UM Science & Technology Research Institute (ZUMRI) in Hengqin. During the event, visitors will have the opportunity to engage in interactions and exchanges with UM faculty and staff members about admissions and programmes. They can also learn about the latest developments and achievements of UM while experiencing the academic atmosphere and campus culture of the university.

Themed ‘Connecting Macao and Hengqin’, this year’s UM Open Day marks the first time visitors can explore the UM campus in Macao and ZUMRI in Hengqin on the same day.  The opening ceremony will be held at 11:00am in the Library Plaza on the UM campus before a rich variety of activities kick off. The Open Day will include admission consultations, sports activities, workshops, science experiments, science talks, booth games, tours of faculties and residential colleges, as well as a lucky draw where visitors will have a chance to win an iPad by collecting designated stamps. Students interested in studying at UM can also learn more about the admission information, and take part in the ‘A Day at UM’ campus tour campaign and the Residential College Rewarding Tour to acquire first-hand experience of the learning and living environment at the university. In addition, the Open Day will also be livestreamed for those unable to join the event in person.

A number of restaurants and shops on the UM campus will offer special discounts on the day of the event. For transport, visitors can reach the UM campus by taxi, or by buses no 71 and 73 from the Macao Peninsula, or buses no 72 and 701X from Taipa. Visitor car parks are available on the UM campus for those who prefer to drive. Moreover, those who are unable to visit Macao can visit ZUMRI in Hengqin. At ZUMRI, visitors can explore further studies at UM, access programme information, attend admission talks, science talks and alumni sharing sessions, take guided tours of ZUMRI, and participate in booth games.

For more information, please visit the UM Open Day website at https://openday.um.edu.mo/en/openday-2024, or follow UM’s official WeChat account ‘UMacau1981’ or UM’s Facebook page ‘University of Macau’. For enquiries, please contact the Communications Office at 8822 8400 or email info@um.edu.mo.

UM is an international public comprehensive university in Macao. With a multicultural campus and a system of whole-person education underpinned by faculties and residential colleges in an international education setup, the university has attracted students from all over the world. UM adopts a residential college system that is unique among all universities in Macao as a vehicle for implementing its ‘4-in-1’ education model to nurture well-rounded students. In addition, UM has brought together outstanding faculty members and researchers from all over the world to improve its quality of teaching and research. In terms of international reputation, the university is ranked 193 in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings and 254 in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. It is also among the top 1 per cent in the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) rankings in 12 subjects.

Currently, UM offers more than 100 degree programmes at bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels in various fields, including literature, language, business administration, marketing, accounting, finance, international integrated resort management, science, education, biomedical sciences, law, history, economics, psychology, sociology, communication, engineering, computer science, and Chinese medical sciences. The application deadlines for UM’s undergraduate programmes (admission exam) and postgraduate programmes are 17 January and 29 February 2024 respectively. For more information about admissions and applications, please visit the Study@UM webpage at https://www.um.edu.mo/study/.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/press-release/detail/57451/

UM launches master’s and doctoral programmes in fine arts to nurture interdisciplinary and innovative talent

The University of Macau (UM) will launch the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA) programmes in the 2024/2025 academic year, with the aim of fostering the growth of Macao’s arts and cultural industries and contributing to the economic diversification of the city, as well as nurturing scholarly and creative talent with theoretical expertise in the arts for the world at large.

According to Li Jun, head of UM’s Department of Arts and Design, the MFA and DFA programmes, led by distinguished art historians and creative artists in the department, will provide high-level training and development opportunities for artistic talent in Macao, the region, and the world, and promoting research and innovation in the field of art. ‘These programmes will nurture artistic talent with interdisciplinary creativity, who will not only be able to develop their talents in the field of art, but also be able to engage in dialogues and collaborations with scholars from other disciplines and fields, thereby creating more possibilities and opportunities.’ In addition, UM’s Museum of Art, which was inaugurated in May this year, combines the functions of collection, exhibition, teaching, and exchange. It not only creates a favourable teaching and learning environment for teachers and students, but also promotes the development of disciplines in the field of art and serves the public at the same time. Prof Li hopes that ‘in an era marked by the rapid development of artificial intelligence and digital media and the coexistence of crises and opportunities, UM will fully leverage Macao’s unique position in China and the world, and explore a development direction of art innovation that merges the ancient and the modern, the Chinese and the Western.’

Lampo Leong, director of UM’s Centre for Arts and Design, believes that the establishment of the more specialised MFA and DFA programmes at UM will attract more talent in the field of art and design, which can develop Macao into an important base for artistic creativity and training in art and design, as well as give new impetus to the development of art, design, and digital media arts in Macao. ‘The programmes will cultivate students’ contemporary, unique, and international character in artistic creativity through cutting-edge international teaching methods that integrate Eastern and Western elements. Prof Leong noted that in recent years, UM has produced many outstanding master’s and doctoral students in the field of visual communication. Although the department has only a few dozen of students, the students have consistently achieved remarkable accomplishments. Each year, the department’s students win numerous national and international prizes, including prestigious international design awards such as the Red Dot Best of the Best Award and the iF Design Award of Germany, as well as the A’ Design Award of Italy. They have also received national grants from the National Arts Fund and the National Social Science Fund of China, both of which are part of the country’s three major national research funds. In addition, one of their research papers published was honoured with the Great Wall Award.

The MFA programme is a three-year programme that combines theory and practice in a cross-media approach to nurture creative artists with a solid theoretical foundation. The programme covers the history and theory of contemporary art, as well as the practice of different art forms, enabling students to create a range of works that embody personal, contemporary, and international elements by employing unique artistic concepts and techniques. Graduates of the programme will be able to undertake research, creative work, and teaching assignments in a variety of art organisations, educational institutions, and other related fields. They will also be equipped with the skills necessary for admission to the DFA programme.

The DFA programme is a four-year programme that explores in depth the knowledge and skills required of artists, teachers, and researchers in the arts with the notions of ‘greatness’ and ‘creation’ as the foundation. The programme covers art history, art theory and research methods, academic writing, and the creation of a series of personal, unique, contemporary, and international works of art or design. To graduate, students must pass a qualifying examination and thesis proposal assessment, hold a graduation exhibition, complete a doctoral thesis, and pass a thesis oral defence. Graduates of the programme will become professional artists who have received rigorous training in artistic creation, art theory, and art writing. They will be eligible for a professorship in higher education institutions.

Applications for the MFA and DFA programmes are now open. Online applications and admission guidelines are available on the Graduate School website at https://grs.um.edu.mo/index.php/prospective-students/. For enquiries, please call 8822 4898 during office hours or email gradschool@um.edu.mo.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/press-release/detail/57404/

UM holds International Conference on Contemporary Chinese Grammar

The Department of Chinese Language and Literature of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (FAH) at the University of Macau (UM) held the 12th International Conference on Contemporary Chinese Grammar, which brought together more than 145 scholars from Singapore, Japan, mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao to discuss contemporary Chinese grammar. The conference was co-organised by Peking University, Fudan University, Jinan University, Central China Normal University, Shanghai Normal University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Chongqing Normal University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The theme of the conference was contemporary Chinese grammar. Scholars and professors gave academic presentations on different topics and had in-depth discussions during the event. The awards presentation ceremony for the Young Scholars Award was also held, with Fan Liuyang, a doctoral student in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of FAH, awarded a first prize.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/press-release/detail/57401/

Outstanding scholars join UM

The University of Macau (UM) has continuously recruited outstanding scholars through global recruitment to enhance its academic standing and disciplinary design. In the 2023/2024 academic year, UM recruited over 80 academic elites from different backgrounds, all of whom are prominent figures in their respective fields with international academic excellence and teaching and research capabilities. The new faculty members include internationally renowned experts and scholars, as well as outstanding young scholars from Macao, mainland China, and overseas. Many of them are graduates of the world’s top universities or have accumulated a wealth of teaching and research experience in leading educational institutions, and have been highly regarded by the academic community and industry.

Yu Jun
Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration
Chair Professor in the Department of Finance and Business Economics
University of Macau Development Foundation Chair Professor of Finance and Economics
Prof Yu Jun is an internationally renowned expert in financial econometrics. His research areas mainly include asset pricing and financial econometrics. He has published nearly 100 papers in top-tier international journals and was named as a Changjiang Scholar Chair Professor by the Ministry of Education of China in 2016. Prof Yu obtained his PhD from the University of Western Ontario in Canada and has approximately 25 years of teaching and research experience in higher education. Prior to joining UM, he held the position of Lee Kong Chian Professor of Economics and Finance at Singapore Management University. He served at Singapore Management University for nearly 20 years, during which he held various leadership roles, including co-director of the Centre for Financial Econometrics, and director of Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics. From 2015 to 2020, he led a major research project (Tier-3 Grant) funded by the Singapore government as the principal investigator, focusing on the economic challenges of aging. One of his notable achievements is the invention of a ground-breaking method for real-time detection of asset bubbles, which has been adopted by many governments. Prof Yu is the inaugural fellow of the Society for Financial Econometrics, and is an associate editor for two prestigious international journals: Journal of Econometrics and Econometric Theory. Currently, Prof Yu is the Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration and Chair Professor in Finance and Business Economics at UM. He is also appointed as the University of Macau Development Foundation Chair Professor of Finance and Economics. Prof Yu looks forward to leading UM’s Faculty of Business Administration to reach new heights in research, teaching, and community engagement.

Zhang Wenyang
Chair Professor in the Department of Accounting and Information Management
Faculty of Business Administration
Prof Zhang Wenyang is a renowned scholar in statistics. His research interests include big data analysis, financial data analysis, nonparametric modelling, time series analysis, and spatial data analysis. He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Sichuan University, and his PhD in statistics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prof Zhang currently serves as the associate editor of the Annals of Statistics and the Journal of the American Statistical Association, two of the three most prestigious journals in the field of statistics. He is also an associate editor of the Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, an internationally leading journal in business and economic statistics. He was a member of the Research Section Committee of the Royal Statistical Society of the UK, the third Chinese to serve on the committee in the history of the society. Before joining UM, Prof Zhang has served at the University of York and the University of Bath in the UK for more than 20 years and gained extensive teaching and research experience. Prof Zhang is currently a chair professor in the Department of Accounting and Information Management of UM’s Faculty of Business Administration. He looks forward to making UM’s programmes in business intelligence and data analytics a world-class discipline with a high reputation in academia, industry, business sector, and government.

Wong Ip Kin
Professor in the Department of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management
Faculty of Business Administration
Prof Wong Ip Kin received his master in business administration and PhD in communication and Information Sciences from the University of Hawaii in the US. He taught in the School of Tourism Management at Sun Yat-sen University before joining UM and is a leading scholar in the Thousand Talents Program. His teaching and research cover a wide range of fields, with a particular focus on smart tourism, big data analytics, service marketing, and consumer behaviour. Prof Wong has published more than 150 SSCI-indexed articles in international journals and has received many grants and awards, including the National Natural Science Fund and the Emerald Literati Highly Commended Paper Award. He is one of the top two per cent of scientists in the world and one of the top 100,000 researchers in the field of business management. He is also a member of the editorial board of several international journals, including the Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Business Research, and International Journal of Hospitality Management. Prof Wong is currently a professor in the Department of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management of UM’s Faculty of Business Administration. He is committed to developing the university into one of the world’s leading higher education institutions in the field of tourism management.

Li Jun
Chair Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Head of the Department of Arts and Design
Prof Li Jun is an internationally renowned scholar in Renaissance art and transcultural art history, specialising in aesthetics and art history. He is a graduate of the Beijing Broadcasting College (now Communication University of China) and Peking University. He has taught at the Central Academy of Fine Arts for more than 30 years and held the position of dean of its School of Humanities. Prof Li has carried out research at internationally leading institutions such as l’Université de Paris I, Harvard University, and the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. He also holds many important academic positions, including deputy director of the Academic Committee of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, member of the Art History and Theory Discipline Evaluation Group of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, and member of the Art Studies Group of the Department of National Textbook. He has received many awards for his books and articles, including a first prize for the Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Humanities and Social Sciences). Prof Li is currently the head of the Department of Arts and Design and chair professor in UM’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities. He looks forward to nurturing top-notch artistic and creative talent through the lens of liberal arts that blends ancient and modern, Chinese and Western cultures, and exploring ways of art creation that are in line with Macao’s history and culture. He also envisions transforming UM’s Department of Arts and Design into an environment conducive to both academic pursuits and artistic creation.

Zhang Jian
Chair Professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Prof Zhang Jian is an internationally acclaimed litterateur, who specialises in classical Chinese literature, particularly Chinese literary criticism. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from Anhui Normal University and his master’s and PhD degrees from Peking University. Prof Zhang taught in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Peking University for 14 years before joining the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2006, where he held the position of vice chairman of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature. Prof Zhang has received many awards and honours both in China and abroad, including the National Excellent Book Award from the Publishers Association of China, Program for New Century Excellent Talents in Universities of the Ministry of Education and the Outstanding Achievements in Scientific Research in Higher Education (Humanities and Social Sciences) from the Ministry of Education and the Beijing Municipal Government. He was also selected for the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University by the Ministry of Education. In addition, he is an editor or advisor to several international journals and academic associations. Prof Zhang is currently a chair professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of UM’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities. He is committed to promoting the development and academic progress of the Chinese discipline.

Gui Changfeng
Chair Professor in the Faculty of Science and Technology
Head of the Department of Mathematics
University of Macau Development Foundation Professorial Fellow of Mathematics
Prof Gui Changfeng is an internationally renowned mathematician. His main research interests are nonlinear partial differential equations and applied mathematics, and image analysis and processing. He has solved many of the world’s most challenging mathematical problems and has published more than 100 articles in top international journals. Prof Gui received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Peking University and his PhD from the University of Minnesota in the US. Before joining UM, Prof Gui taught at several universities in Canada, the US, and China, where he gained extensive teaching and research experience. He has received many awards and honours both in China and abroad, including the PIMS Research Prize of the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, André Aisenstadt Prize in Mathematics from the Centre de Recherches Mathématiques, Best Paper Award from the IEEE Signal Processing Society, and the Overseas Cooperation Fund from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. In 2006, he was elected Changjiang Scholar Chair Professor by the Ministry of Education. Prof Gui is currently the head of the Department of Mathematics and a chair professor in UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology. He is also appointed as the University of Macau Development Foundation Professorial Fellow of Mathematics. He looks forward to leading UM’s Department of Mathematics to reach new heights in research and teaching. 

Pan Wei
Chair Professor in the Department of Government and Public Administration
Faculty of Social Sciences
Prof Pan Wei obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international politics from Peking University, and his PhD in politics from the University of California, Berkeley. Before joining UM, he held a professorship in the School of International Studies at Peking University. His teaching and research areas mainly include comparative politics, regime and society in China, ethnic politics in contemporary China, and international politics theories and practice. Prof Pan is the author of Farmers and Markets, Contemporary Chinese Regime, Theory and Methods of Comparative Politics, and Faith in the People. He is also a vice president of the Chinese Federation of Ethno-National Research Organizations, as well as an executive member of the Chinese Society of World Politics Studies, China Foundation for Peace and Development, and China Institute of the Theory of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Currently, Prof Pan is a chair professor in the Department of Government and Public Administration of UM’s Faculty of Social Sciences. He is focusing on expounding on the unified driving force behind domestic politics, international politics, and language-cultural politics, thereby constructing a new historical perspective and a new foundation for political science theory.

Sun Handong
Distinguished Professor at the Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering
Prof Sun Handong is a renowned scholar in optical physics and optoelectronic materials and devices. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in physics from the Dalian University of Technology, master’s degree in optoelectronics from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and PhD in physics from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Before joining UM, Prof Sun taught at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. His research covers a wide range of areas, such as nanolasers, nonlinear optics, ultrafast spectroscopy, semiconductor quantum dots, and nanostructures. He has published more than 200 articles in international journals and has also received many international awards and honours, including the fellowship of the American Physical Society and Optica (formerly known as the Optical Society of America). Prof Sun is currently a Distinguished Professor at the Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering. He will continue to work on basic research on light-matter interactions and explore the relevant applications in optoelectronic integration and flexible devices.

Francisco José Leandro
Associate Professor in the Department of Government and Public Administration
Faculty of Social Sciences
Prof Francisco José Leandro obtained his PhD in political science and international relations from the Catholic University of Portugal and his habilitation diploma in international studies from ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon. Before joining UM, he held the position of associate dean of the Institute for Research on Portuguese-speaking Countries at the City University of Macau. His research interests include geopolitics, China (Belt and Road Initiative), and Portuguese-speaking countries. Prof Leandro has published 14 books, including the co-edition of The Geopolitics of Iran and The Palgrave Handbook of Globalization with Chinese Characteristics. He is also a member of OBSERVARE (Observatory of Foreign Relations), a centre for international relations studies at the Autonomous University of Lisbon, Portugal. Prof Leandro is currently an associate professor in the Department of Government and Public Administration of UM’s Faculty of Social Sciences. He is committed to developing academic studies on China-Portuguese-speaking Countries relations.

Michiel Spapé
Associate Professor at the Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Institute of Collaborative Innovation
Prof Michiel Spapé received his PhD in psychology from Leiden University in the Netherlands and has subsequently studied the brain and mind at the University of Nottingham in the UK, the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology in Finland, Liverpool Hope University in the UK, and the University of Helsinki in Finland. He has authored or co-authored 65 peer-reviewed articles, two textbooks, and one patent. Prof Spapé is also an associate editor of Psychological Research and Frontiers in Psychology: Cognition. His current focus in cognitive neuroscience is on developing a device capable of visualising consciousness by interfacing neural activity with modern generative artificial intelligence. Prof Spapé is currently an associate professor at the Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences at UM’s Institute of Collaborative Innovation. His vision is for UM and its Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences to become a globally recognised institute for innovative, collaborative research on consciousness and cognition.

Benjamin Winokur
Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Prof Benjamin Winokur obtained his PhD from York University, where he cultivated his research expertise in contemporary Western epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language. Before joining UM, he was a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at Ashoka University in India. The courses he teaches cover a wide range of topics beyond his research areas, including environmental ethics, the philosophy of artificial intelligence, and philosophical methodology. He currently has 11 peer-reviewed publications and has published articles in academic journals, such as Synthese and European Journal of Philosophy. Prof Winokur is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of UM’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities. He aims to cultivate a reflective, critical, and humble attitude in his students in the philosophical classroom while maintaining a research program focusing on his various philosophical passions.

Ho Ieong Cheng
Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education
Dr Ho Ieong Cheng obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Juilliard School in the US, and her master’s and doctorate of education in music and music education from Columbia University in the US. She has held teaching and research positions at Columbia University and served as the senior district manager of music and performing arts of the District of Columbia Public Schools Central Services in the US. Dr Ho has won many music competitions and performed throughout the world as a soloist and recitalist. She was awarded the Enid & Lester Morse Scholarship by Columbia University and is actively involved in music research, with a particular focus on creative music education, contemporary music, and community music. She was an honoree of the Washington Performing Arts 2022 Gala in recognition of her outstanding achievements in music education. Dr Ho is currently an assistant professor in UM’s Faculty of Education. She is keen to promote international research in music education at the university, as well as to promote Macao music and provide students with abundant networking opportunities in the field of music.

Hou Jiajie
Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences
Dr Hou Jiajie was jointly trained by the Department of Surgery of Nanjing Medical University and the Ben May Department for Cancer Research of the University of Chicago in the US during his doctoral studies. He was elected for the Hundred Talent Program. He is involved in the multidisciplinary treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, focusing on immunobiology and immunotherapy of liver tumours. He has published papers in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Journal of Hepatology, Hepatology, and other leading journals as the first or corresponding author. Four of his research projects received grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and one from the Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholar of Guangdong Province. He has also served as a reviewer for many NSFC projects. Dr Hou is currently an assistant professor in UM’s Faculty of Health Sciences. He looks forward to using his research and clinical experience to contribute to medical science in Macao.

Lyu Hanyue
Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law
Researcher at the Asia-Pacific Academy of Economics and Management
Prof Lyu obtained his PhD in law from Tsinghua University and his master’s degrees in law from Peking University and the University of Tübingen in Germany. He was a research assistant professor at the Peking University Law School, where he taught courses on the frontiers of criminal law and foreign criminal law. He was also an editor of the Tsinghua China Law Review and for many years guided the criminal law reading club for law students at Tsinghua University. Prof Lyu’s research interests include fundamental concepts in criminal law and the influence of post-modern technology on criminal law theory. He has published many articles in CLSCI journals and presented many papers in German and English at international conferences. Prof Lyu is currently an assistant professor in UM’s Faculty of Law and a research fellow in smart tourism at the Asia-Pacific Academy of Economics and Management. He is committed to telling the story of the rule of law in China through Chinese and global narratives.

He Xiaoxi
Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Faculty of Science and Technology
Dr He Xiaoxi obtained his master’s and doctoral degrees from ETH Zürich in Switzerland, and his bachelor’s degree from Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany. He was admitted to the School of the Gifted Young at the University of Science and Technology of China at the age of 14 for research training. His research interests include on-device machine learning, which aims to integrate artificial intelligence into mobile and embedded devices. He is also involved in research projects on the practical applications of modern deep learning systems in health promotion, environmental sustainability, and smart city. Dr He is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology. He is committed to developing a methodology based on feasibility, sustainability, and adaptability for resource-aware machine learning systems.

Hong Ze
Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology
Faculty of Social Sciences
Dr Hong Ze obtained his PhD in human evolutionary biology from Harvard University and taught in the Department of Sociology at Zhejiang University. He engages in research on understanding human behaviour and culture from evolutionary and cognitive perspectives, and his research results have been published in leading journals in the fields of anthropology and cognitive science, including Current Anthropology, American Anthropologist, Behavior and Brain Sciences, and Cognitive Science. He is also an editor of Human Nature, a journal in the field of anthropology. Dr Hong is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology of UM’s Faculty of Social Sciences. He is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of human behaviour and culture using methods and approaches from psychology, anthropology, biology, and history.

Deng Shanglyu
Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics
Faculty of Social Sciences
Dr Deng Shanglyu obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance from Peking University, and his PhD in economics from the University of Maryland. His research interests include applied microeconomic theory and industrial organisation. He is now working on research about auction theory and market design, competition theory, and dynamic competition and market structure. He has published papers in the Journal of Economic Theory, Theoretical Economics, Journal of Mathematical Economics, and Economics Letters. Dr Deng is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Economics of UM’s Faculty of Social Sciences. He looks forward to conducting high-quality research by leveraging UM’s exceptional academic resources.

UM has welcomed more than 80 new faculty members this academic year. They have joined various faculties, centres, and institutes at the university.

These outstanding scholars will enhance the quality of teaching and research at UM and nurture more talent with a global mindset and social responsibility. The university will continue to recruit and cultivate high-calibre faculty and researchers who will contribute to the development of Macao, the country, and the world.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/press-release/detail/57178/

UM students increase awareness of fraud through creative videos

 The Student Affairs Office and the Communication Society of the University of Macau (UM) jointly organised the first Social Current Affairs Video Shooting Competition to encourage university students to care about society and learn about current affairs. Nearly 300 UM students participated in the competition and created short videos based on the theme of ‘Fraud Prevention’, with the aim of increasing awareness of fraud. Of the 16 teams in the competition, eight entered the final. The final of the competition and the awards presentation ceremony were held at the theatre of UM’s Student Activity Centre.

Chiu Chu Wai Man, head of the Community Policing and Public Relations Division of the Judiciary Police, said in her opening speech that the competition provided a platform for young people to showcase their talents, learn about new media, and contribute to society. The short videos created by the participants vividly illustrated the characteristics and dangers of fraud and gave helpful advice on how to prevent fraud. The award-winning videos will be available for viewing across Judiciary Police’s social media platforms. Ieong Leng, coordinator of the competition and president of the Communication Society, noted that short videos have become one of the most popular communication tools today. She added that the short videos created by UM students received nearly 30,000 likes, shares, and views in total on various social media platforms, and it was beyond expectations. She also thanked the university, the Judiciary Police, and the community for their support.

The whole competition lasted more than four months. During the preparation period, officers from the Judiciary Police were invited to give a talk on common types of fraud and ways to prevent them, so as to enable the participants to better understand the theme of the competition. In addition, the co-founder of PlasticGuys, a local social media channel, was invited to conduct a workshop on how to convey messages in a creative and vivid way through short videos.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/presss-release/detail/56790/

UM professor appointed associate editor of leading journal in statistics

Zhang Wenyang, chair professor in the Department of Accounting and Information Management of the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Macau (UM), has once again been appointed associate editor of the Journal of the American Statistical Association (ABS4), one of the three most prestigious journals in the field of statistics.

The Journal of the American Statistical Association (JASA) is the flagship journal published by the American Statistical Association, the world’s largest and second-oldest community of statisticians founded in Boston in 1839. Established in 1888, JASA is one of the oldest and most prestigious journals in statistics. It covers a wide range of statistical topics, including theoretical statistics, applied statistics, computational statistics, and data analysis methods, and publishes research papers of the highest quality. Many significant advancements in statistical theory, methodology, and applications were first published in this journal. For instance, the paper proposing the Kaplan-Meier estimator*, which led to a breakthrough in statistical methodology, was published in JASA. This paper has the highest number of citations among all papers in the field of statistics and, according to Journal Citation Reports, is among the top five most cited papers in the entire field of science.

Zhang currently serves as the associate editor of both the Annals of Statistics (ABS4*) and the Journal of the American Statistical Association (ABS4), and is one of the few prominent scholars in Asia to hold these positions. He is a renowned scholar in the field of statistics and his main research interests include big data analysis, financial data analysis, nonparametric modelling, time series analysis, spatial data analysis, multi-level modelling, survival analysis, and structural equation modelling. In addition, he was a member of the Research Section Committee of the Royal Statistical Society of the UK, making him the third Chinese to serve on this committee in the history of the society.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/press-release/detail/56553/

UM develops novel nanomedicine for augmenting cancer immunotherapy

A research team led by Dai Yunlu, associate professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) at the University of Macau (UM), has made significant progress in cancer immunotherapy. The study fabricates a new metal-polyphenol nanomedicine to regulate cancer cell metabolism using ultrasound-mediated oxidative stress and aerobic glycolysis suppression. The ‘sono-metabolic’ treatment helps reprogramme the tumour microenvironment, thereby improving T-cell antitumour efficacy. The research results have been published in the international journal ACS Nano.

Cellular metabolism is crucial for maintaining the viability and function of cancer cells and immune cells. A hallmark property of malignancy is that, even under well-oxygenated conditions, cancer cells break down glucose to produce lactic acid by glycolysis, a phenomenon known as ‘aerobic glycolysis’. The study found that cancer cells with high metabolic activity outcompete immune cells for limited nutrients available in the surrounding environment. High glucose uptake and lactate production by cancer cells not only deprive CD8⁺ T cells of their energy source and impair their effector functions, but also support the immunosuppressive activity of regulatory T (T_reg) cells.

In light of this, the research team developed a novel metal-phenolic nanomedicine, HPP-Ca@GSK, to perform efficient cancer cellular mitochondrial dysfunction and tumour microenvironment reprogramming via sono-metabolic treatment. Specifically, the team introduced the GSK2837808A (GSK, LDHA inhibitor) to suppress glycolytic metabolism in cancer cells and recreates a high-glucose, low-lactate tumour microenvironment, which is conducive to CD8⁺ tumour-infiltrating T lymphocyte effector function and T_reg cell destabilisation. In addition, ultrasound-mediated oxidative stress induces intracellular calcium overload, which triggers the mitochondrial disorder for highly efficient damage-associated molecular patterns exposure. This assists dendritic cell maturation and CD8⁺ T cell activation, enabling more tumour infiltration of effective CD8⁺ T cells. Finally, the assistance of aCTLA-4 antibodies further induces the phenotypic instability of T_reg cells and amplifies the sono-metabolic therapeutic influence.

Prof Dai and Li Bei, research assistant professor in the FHS, are the corresponding authors of the study. PhD student Yan Jie, research assistant Li Wenxi, and PhD student Tian Hao in the FHS are the co-first authors. PhD student Yu Xinying, PhD graduates Wang Guohao and Sang Wei made important contributions to the study. The Proteomics, Metabolomics and Drug Development Core, Animal Research Core, and Biological Imaging and Stem Cell Core of the FHS also provided support for the research. The research project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (File no: 32222090, 32171318, and 32101069), UM (File no: MYRG2022-00011-FHS), the Science and Technology Development Fund of the Macao SAR (File no: 0103/2021/A and 0133/2022/A3), the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Technology Research Programme (Type C) (File no: SGDX20201103093600004), Dr. Stanley Ho Medical Development Foundation (File no: SHMDF-OIRFS/2022/002) and the Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau (File no: SP2023-00001-FSCPO). The full version of the research article is available at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsnano.3c02428.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/press-release/detail/56537/