EDUCATION | GAES increases vacancies for summer language program in Portugal

The Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES) has increased the number of vacancies for a summer language school in Portugal from 56 to 100, Wong Yut Peng, the functional head of GAES, told a press conference yesterday.
She acknowledged that more students have shown an interest in enhancing their Portuguese language skills. Therefore, vacancies for a one-month summer school in Portugal have been progressively increased since 2012.
The program aims at encouraging students to perfect their Portuguese, while also learning about the country’s culture. The program comes in line with the government’s policy to reinforce the number of personnel speaking both the region’s official languages: Chinese and Portuguese.
The intensive language program will be taking place between July and August at the University of Lisbon and – for the first time – at the University of Porto. Applications for the summer school are now open until March 29.
The program is open to students holding a valid Macau resident identity card and currently enrolled in bachelor or licentiate degrees at local or foreign universities.
Last year, GAES opened 56 vacancies, the same as in 2013. In 2012, 28 vacancies were available.
Beginners or those who already have a basic knowledge of the language may apply for the summer school. Out of 100 vacancies, 60 spots will be provided to beginners and 40 to students who have a basic knowledge of Portuguese.
Beginners are required to attend a 50-hour Portuguese language-training course at the Portuguese Orient Institute (IPOR) before heading to Portugal. There are 300 spots available for the course, but only the best 60 will be chosen to attend the summer school.
The other 40 students, who have at least an A1 level (basic user), will be required to pass a Portuguese language exam. IPOR will be responsible for choosing these students as well.
Students will be required to pay a MOP3,000 tuition fee. The Macau government will then provide them with an accommodation and food allowance of about EUR420 (MOP3,993).
Wong Yut Peng did not unveil the overall budget for this year’s summer school. GAES said that, since the training program is taking place during summer, it is still assessing budgetary issues. “At this stage we do not have a concrete figure of the overall budget for the whole project,” the bureau said in a statement, adding that it strives “to achieve the best results with limited resources.”

UM appoints new vice rector

The University of Macau (UM) has appointed professor Lionel M. Ni as its new Vice Rector for academic affairs. The world-renowned computer scientist was formerly a chair professor, head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and dean of the Fok Ying Tung Graduate School, at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).
In his more than two decades of professional life in the United States, he served with distinction at Michigan State University, moving from assistant professor to full professor before assuming his role at HKUST.
The computer scientist has supervised 54 PhD students, while his research findings have been highly praised by his peers. He received the Second Class Award in Natural Sciences for Research Excellence from the State Council of China in 2011.
Prof Ni expressed great excitement about his new career at UM. “I am excited to have the opportunity to work with an excellent senior management team to realize the vision and mission laid out by the University Council,” said Prof Ni.
UM Rector Wei Zhao said that he was pleased with Prof Ni’s decision to join the UM. “I am very confident that with Prof Ni’s intellectual prowess and his rich administrative experience, he will intellectually and administratively strengthen all aspects of our academic programs, and set UM on the road to becoming a world-class university!” he said.