Education | UM welcomes 1,500 new students

The University of Macau held its orientation and convocation for the 2016/2017 academic year yesterday to welcome 1,500 new students.
The institution’s rector, Wei Zhao, encouraged the students to “live a moral life, be considerate of others, give back to society, and observe the five virtues listed in the university motto.”
The university’s statement outlined that students were challenged to take advantage of the institution’s facilities and professors, and to strive to meet high standards in academic pursuits as well as personal development.
During the ceremony new students each received a brooch inscribed with the number “2020,” indicating the graduation year of the new cohort.
To help students adjust to their life on campus, UM is holding a series of orientation activities, including general briefing sessions, orientation sessions organized by the various faculties and residential colleges, and information sessions and parties.
Classes for the new academic year will begin on Monday.

During the event, UM also awarded a total of MOP970,000 in scholarships to outstanding students.
In addition to the above scholarships, the university reported that it will grant another MOP2.5 million in more than 40 scholarships and academic prizes at its congregation and high table dinners at the various residential colleges to be held later this year.
In addition, 98 students with excellent academic performance and active participation in extracurricular activities and community services received scholarships or academic prizes yesterday. UM hoped the examples of the awarded students will inspire other learners to academically excel and actively participate in extracurricular activities.

Alan Baxter returns to Macau to lead USJ’s Faculty of Humanities

Alan Baxter, the former director of the department of Portuguese at the University of Macau (UM), will return to the territory to lead the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Saint Joseph (USJ).
The vice-rector of the institution, Maria Antonia Espadinha, disclosed the information in comments to Radio Macau yesterday. “There was an international tender and he was the selected one,” she explained. Espadinha was until now responsible for the functions to be taken by Baxter. The vice-rector justified her withdrawal from the position as she was only temporarily occupying it.
Away from the territory for about 5 years after having led the UM’s Department of Portuguese between 2007 and 2011., Baxter spent these last five years teaching at Institute of Letters of the Federal University of Bahia.
The linguist and specialist in Portuguese-based creole languages will now lead a faculty that recently added to its portfolio a Bachelor in Portuguese-Chinese Studies (Language and Culture). Baxter has a Masters degree in Portuguese Literature Studies and a Pre-University Portuguese Intensive Course among his areas of his expertise.
According to USJ’s official website, the Faculty of Humanities has a total of twenty staff members, inclusive of Baxter. RM