Briefs | UM’s Portuguese course concludes

The 30th Portuguese Language Summer Course, organized by the Department of Portuguese at the University of Macau (UM), concluded on Friday after attracting about 400 students from around the world, said UM. During the three-week intensive training course, participants were required to communicate daily with over a dozen experienced Portuguese instructors. According to UM, participants said that the course not only helped them learn more about the Portuguese language and the cultures of Lusophone nations, but also boosted their confidence when communicating in English. Participant Pasky Ho from Hong Kong, who was in the intermediate level class, said the course provided a solid opportunity to learn the Portuguese language. “Earlier I visited Brazil and that experience made me develop a strong interest in the Portuguese language,” he said.

GDI to analyze design change to Islands Hospital

The Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) will liaise with different services in order to analyze a design change input to the project of the Islands Health Care Complex, the Health Bureau (SSM) said.  The statement cites SSM director Lei Chin Ion, who told journalists that a design change has been proposed for the project by the Architecture Office responsible. “The amendment of the Islands Health Care Complex presented by the Office of Architecture Eddie Wong Limited was received by services on August 1 and was submitted to the Infrastructure Development Office. The GDI will now deliver the project to different services for a re-evaluation,” Lei said, adding that not many changes were expected. He emphasized that the project had been legally awarded to Eddie Wong’s architecture office, which has “experience in the design of health services infrastructure.”

DSEJ to hold language courses in September

The Centre of Languages of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) will organize a variety of community language courses in September; including courses in Mandarin, Portuguese, English, basic Cantonese and basic Mandarin. DSEJ said local residents may choose courses according to individual language proficiency, as there are different learning levels for each course.  The registration deadline for the Portuguese and English courses is August 10, while registration for the Mandarin, basic Cantonese and basic Mandarin courses are open until August 24. Certificates will be issued to candidates who complete the courses and pass the assessments.