Macau-Hengqin University Town opens with cross-institutional course selection

The new Hengqin university town campus is now fully operational, with students from three universities able to choose courses across institutions under a shared campus model.

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, O Lam, provided an update on the Macau-Hengqin International Education (University) Town at the Third Five-Year Plan press conference, saying: “The university town is being built in three phases, and the first-phase campus is now fully operational, with over 1,450 postgraduate students from three public universities enrolled, the vast majority of whom have already registered.”

The first-phase campus operates under a “three universities, one campus” concept, with cross-institutional course selection to be introduced in the new academic year. “We hope that through course sharing and joint program development, the three universities can achieve deep collaboration and fully implement the ‘three-in-one, open and shared’ philosophy,” she said. The three institutions – the University of Macau (UM), the Macau Polytechnic University (MPU), and the Macau University of Tourism (UTM) – will complement and coordinate their teaching resources, curriculum offerings, and program development, allowing students to take courses at all three institutions and breaking down the traditional siloed approach of separate universities.

The Secretary stressed that the government would use the university town as a platform to advance the integrated development of education, technology, and talent.

“We are actively encouraging universities to build an industry-academia-research linkage framework, with the aim of connecting the academic, innovation, and industrial chains,” she said. Through the university town, higher education will be closely aligned with industrial needs, providing talent support and a technology transfer platform for Macau’s appropriate economic diversification.

Notably, the university town will focus on emerging interdisciplinary fields including artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous systems, data science, microelectronics, and the Internet of Things, closely aligning with Macau’s “1+4” economic diversification strategy and Hengqin’s “four new” industries to cultivate high-quality talent that meets industrial development needs.

The Secretary concluded that the university town is not only a consolidation of higher education resources, but also an important platform for Macau to promote the integrated development of education, technology, and talent. She expressed hope that through its full operation, the university town would inject new momentum into Macau’s economic diversification while providing more diverse learning and development opportunities for Macau’s youth.