Foreword

On 27 June 2009, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress officially approved the University of Macau's Hengqin Campus Proposal, delegating authority to Macao SAR to apply the legal and administrative systems of Macao SAR within UM's Hengqin campus for four decades. The new campus covers an area of 1.0926 square kilometres and is expected to be completed within three years. It will be accessible only from the Macao side through a dedicated passage linking Macao with Hengqin. This approval demonstrates the Central Government's firm support and respect for, as well as confidence in, Macao and the University of Macau (UM).

Obtaining approval of this proposal is a significant milestone for UM and the next step is to pull together all available resources to develop and refine the campus development plan and translate the plan into achievable details with the aim of building a "people-oriented" campus.

The new campus will offer a good academic environment and advanced teaching and research facilities to enable UM to pursue its objectives of offering quality undergraduate education and promoting innovation in scientific research, thereby developing UM into a world-class university. The overall design will be people-oriented and aims to reflect UM's educational values. Emphasis will be put on creating a comfortable, liberal and stimulating atmosphere and building a green, efficient, and eco-friendly campus.

Although there is no precedent to follow, UM will be committed to preserving its traditions and values and accelerating the progress towards excellence in teaching, research, and services. Many challenges are ahead of UM, therefore, in pursuing betterment of the University, UM is counting on each and every University member to support this great project in the days to come.