Education | IPM collaborates with Porto Uni in leisure industry research

Lei Heong Iok (center)

A forum on the creative industries and the development of art was held this week at the Macao Polytechnic Institute (IPM).

IPM’s president, Lei Heong Iok, mentioned to the Times on the sidelines of the forum that IPM is trying to collaborate more with universities from Portugal in order to conduct research and development projects concerning the arts and recreational industries.

“Besides communication between students and teachers, […] we have now established cooperation across many fields,” said Lei, who also noted that yesterday’s forum marked the first event organized by IPM after the school signed a cooperation agreement with the University of Porto.

“Our teachers and our students [both from the University of Porto and IPM] will carry out research in this field, such as whether China’s blue-and-
white porcelain has some internal connection with Portugal’s azulejos. It is worth researching, as well as worth discussing. In regard to this aspect, we want to inspire the creativity of our students,” said Lei adding that Portugal can bring “new concepts, new theories, new ideas, and some of their [Portugal’s] successful experiences” to Macau to aid in Macau’s reflection on how to develop its recreational industry.

Regarding the forum, Lei said that “Macau has been doing research on the relationship between art and the recreational industry. […] The SAR government has already [advanced its success] within the recreational industry, and [make the recreational industry] a pillar industry of Macau,” the IPM president said.

Commenting on the Macau government’s efforts at promoting the recreational industry, Lei said “actually, it [the promotion] has already been out there for several years, [we] can’t say there haven’t been effects, but they are not obvious. If Macau wants to walk this way successfully, […] then there is still a long way to go.”

The forum invited José Emídio Cardoso Rodrigues da Silva, vice-president of Árvore Cooperativa de Actividades Artísticas, to share Portugal’s experience in combining art and the recreational industry.

According to the IPM president, some of Portugal’s successful examples will be a point of reference and will help IPM students to explore Macau’s own roads in the art and recreational industries.

In September, IPM signed a cooperation agreement with the University of Porto. Following the agreement, students and professors from the University of Porto will visit Macau as part of the commitment established in the agreement.

In return, IPM will also send students and professors to the University of Porto.  JZ