Recently, the School of Education at the City University of Macau hosted a high-level seminar titled "Cultivating Global
Competitiveness: Technological Innovation and the Future of Higher Education in Macao" at the Ho Yin Convention Centre. The event brought together university leaders, renowned experts, scholars, and postgraduate students to engage in deep discussions on strategic outlooks and policy frameworks for postgraduate education, contributing innovative ideas for the development of higher education in Macao.
The seminar was organized by the School of Education, co-organized by the Postgraduate Association, and supported by the Macao Foundation. Distinguished guests included Chan Iok Wai, Head of the Department of Higher Education of the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ); Professor Liu Jun, Rector of CityU; Professor Cheng Li-Ying, Dean of the School of Education; Professor Bruce MacFarlane, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Human Development at the Education University of Hong Kong; Professor Fan Lianghuo, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Macau; Professor Lu Xiaozhong, Dean of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Research Institute for Education Development at South China Normal University; Wang Ting, Assistant Dean of the International College at Macau University of Science and Technology; Professor Jimmy de la Torre from the University of Hong Kong; Hao Wu, Assistant Research Professor at the University of Saint Joseph; and Zhang Xiang, a 2024-cohort PhD student in Education and representative of the Seminar Organizing Committee, alongside leaders and faculty members from various CityU colleges.
In his opening speech, Rector Liu Jun analyzed the current state of postgraduate education in Macao and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). He emphasized the central role of postgraduate education in talent cultivation, technological innovation, and regional development. He noted that higher education in Macao must further strengthen inter-institutional cooperation, deepen educational reforms, and promote international exchange to better align with contemporary needs and provide society with high-quality, innovative talents equipped with global competitiveness.
Dean Cheng Li-Ying underscored the significance of this seminar for the future of Macao’s higher education. From the perspectives of discipline construction and talent cultivation, she shared the School of Education’s experiences and reflections on postgraduate education. She stated that the School would take this seminar as an opportunity to further refine teaching reforms and enhance the quality of postgraduate training.
Representing the Organizing Committee, Zhang Xiang expressed sincere gratitude to all guests. He highlighted that the seminar’s defining feature was that it was independently planned, organized, and executed by postgraduate students, serving as both a showcase of their academic prowess and a vital exercise in organizational leadership.
Following the opening, Dean Cheng Li-Ying moderated the main forum, "Strategic Outlook and Policy for Postgraduate Education," where four authoritative experts delivered keynote reports. The forum focused on four core pillars: policy optimization, academic norms, international comparisons, and intelligent transformation. A key consensus was reached: Macao’s universities must align closely with policy guidance, optimize academic disciplines, and strengthen education on academic ethics (especially regarding authorship norms). Experts also advocated for drawing on international best practices while integrating local characteristics to refine the postgraduate cultivation system. In the face of the opportunities and challenges brought by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era, universities must proactively cultivate postgraduates with independent thinking, innovative capabilities, and interdisciplinary visions.
The two-day seminar also featured three sub-forums: "Professional Growth and Academic Development of Postgraduates," "Practices and Reflections on the Transformation of Postgraduate Education," and "Postgraduate Education and Artificial Intelligence." These sessions brought together senior scholars from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Malaysia to delve into core training issues through keynote reports and roundtable discussions.
In the closing ceremony, Associate Professor Cheng Lung-Wai, Director of Master’s Degree Programmes at the School of Education, remarked that this seminar marks a new starting point for the high-quality development of postgraduate education in Macao. Looking ahead, Macao’s higher education institutions should use the seminar’s outcomes as a guide to continue integrating AI with education, strengthen synergy with mainland universities, and refine talent cultivation systems to support Macao and the GBA in achieving leapfrog development amidst the wave of technological innovation.