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 Prof. Rui Martins (left)and Carlos Melancia sign the agreement
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Group photo

On 27 July 2011 Jorge Álvares Foundation (the Foundation) and the University of Macau (UM) signed an agreement on prizes and scholarships. According to this agreement, the Foundation will provide, on a yearly basis, a total of € 5000 (five thousand euros) in prizes and scholarships to outstanding UM students.

President of the Foundation Carlos Melancia (former governor of Macao), along with former Portuguese Minister of Education Dr. Isabel Alçada Vilar, President of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Rui Vilar, Advisor of the Gulbenkian Foundation Prof. Walter Rossa, International Relations Coordinator of the Gulbenkian Foundation Dr. Maria Fernanda Matias, and member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation Prof. José Machado da Silva who once served as the vice rector of UM, visited UM and attended the agreement signing ceremony. They were warmly received by UM’s Vice Rector (Research) Prof. Rui Martins.

At the agreement-signing ceremony, Prof. Rui Martins updated the guests on the latest research achievements of UM as well as the new campus development plan. Carlos Melancia recognized UM’s achievements in research and teaching and expressed hope that the establishment of the Jorge Álvares Foundation prizes and scholarships can serve to encourage outstanding UM students and promote the cultural exchange between Macao and Portugal.

According to the agreement, a prize of € 2000 (two thousand euros) will be rewarded annually to the undergraduate student who has attained the highest final score from one of the following faculties of UM: Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSH), Faculty of Science and Technology and Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences. The student’s final score (Grade Point Average – GPA) must reach a minimum of 3.7. A prize of € 1500 (one thousand and five hundred euros) will be rewarded annually to the highest-scoring undergraduate student from the Faculty of Law (FLL) of UM, and his/her final score must reach a minimum of 15 (on a grading scale of 0-20). A scholarship of € 1500(one thousand and five hundred euros) will be granted to a student from the Department of Portuguese of FSH for his/her study in Portugal according to a plan recommended by the Department of Portuguese.

FLL’s Interim Dean Prof. Liu Gaolong and Interim Head of the Department of Portuguese of FSH Prof. Maria Espadinha also attended the signing ceremony. After the signing ceremony, the delegation visited the State Key Laboratory for Quality Research in Chinese Medicine and the new campus which is under construction.