Dr Lei Heong Iok
The Macao Polytechnic Institute (IPM) has welcomed some 800 freshmen for its summer semester, a sizeable cohort that surprised recruiters amid declining numbers of local high school graduates.
The school’s president Lei Heong Iok told the media after last week’s New Year commencement that “this year’s enrollment situation is ideal, as the number of local students applying to the IPM – which was expected to decline – increased instead.” An overwhelming 2,000-odd qualified applicants from the mainland competed for 120 admission placements, whilst over 60 international students joined the institution though exchange programs from abroad.
The new semester also marks the arrival of a batch of some 20 students of the IPM’s inaugural degree program in Sino-Luso Economy and Trade, where they will study both Portuguese language and trade courses.
Professor Lei revealed that Portuguese language studies are a top choice for applicants. New programs will be rolled out in order to strengthen the Institute’s research and coursework strengths, including bachelor’s degree courses in Chinese language and culture for Portuguese speakers.
“We are preparing a tailor-made program for them; this will be another key course aimed at facilitating exchanges between China and Lusophone countries. The IPM is almost ready and will soon submit a proposal to the government for consideration,” he told the Times.
Lei revealed that the institution has no plans to expand the enrollment of regular students next year, but will gradually increase its intake of exchange students, especially those from Portuguese-speaking countries.
“Portugal, Brazil and the African countries, as well as the United States, have all requested to send more students to study here. But due to limited dormitory spaces, we are currently unable to receive more exchange students,” he said. “If we can start using the dormitory building in the University of Macau’s previous Taipa campus next year, I believe there will be a big improvement; we hope to increase the number of students from Lusophone countries from some 40 to 100.”
The IPM was allocated a total of five buildings at the Taipa campus, which are expected to be converted into an educational base for cultural and creative industries in the next academic year. In addition, the president said the Institute will also relocate its Portuguese language center to the Taipa campus, as well as strengthening its gaming-related courses and training sessions.
“We’ve already run out of space on our current campus [in NAPE] and we’ve been renting several premises outside to run the classes. With new buildings on the Taipa campus, we will designate the space to suit the IPM’s long-term development,” he said.
As for the tertiary institution’s eventual upgrade to university status, Lei said “It’s only a matter of changing the name, which now no longer seems important.”
“What’s important is whether this institution has the academic strength of a university, gains recognition from the outside world, and maintains its reputation as an educational institution. Having passed the review of the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, I think we are no longer concerned with this matter,” he added.
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