Dear all Colleagues and Students,

Greetings and Happy Chinese New Year!

Welcome to the Rector's first New Year Message! I am delighted to share with you the exciting works that are taking place on campus. But before I move on, let me thank all of you for your endeavours in bringing many wonderful achievements in 2008. It was a year of productive changes. Now, we all look forward to emerging stronger from what we have achieved and are ready to thrive in more creative ideas and transformation for the University in the Year of the Ox!

In 2009, we are prospering with our University plans that will equip our students with innovative mindsets and global horizons and elevate our University to become one of the premier higher institutions worldwide:

Undergraduate Program

	The establishment of Macau's very first "Honours College" is progressing very well and admission will soon be launched for Academic Year 2009/2010 to attract high-calibre students.
	We are currently streamlining our undergraduate curriculum reform under the guidance of Prof. Simon Ho, Vice Rector-designate (Academic Affairs) to ensure that global perspectives are infused into all curricula to cope with the incessant social evolution.

Faculty Development

The recent Faculty Development Retreat held on 16 & 17 Jan 2009 provided an excellent platform for cross-faculty and cross-departmental communications. We are now in the midst of setting up task forces specialized in such aspects as faculty performance evaluation, department/program benchmarking, faculty recruitment, recognition and sabbatical systems so as to build up an outstanding faculty and foster an academic environment that promotes academic excellence.

Community Outreach

	The University Council has approved the establishment of "Global Affairs Office" and "Alumni Affairs Office". Opening these offices will reinforce UM's visibility among global institutions and expand its network with alumni peers.
	The UM Adelson Advanced Education Centre, which was handed over to UM on 13 Jan 09, will facilitate the development of advanced education and training of management skills in non-gaming business disciplines including conventions and exhibitions, entertainment, retail and integrated resort management.

Communication Enhancement

As the new Rector, I would like to widen our communication channels. Effective from 18 Feb 2009, we will launch a weekly open-door session in the Rector's Office every Wednesday from 9:00 am to 10:30 am (15 – 30 minutes per appointment). I sincerely welcome you to make full use of this new channel to raise suggestions and comments. Please contact my assistant, Ms. Ada Leong by e-mail: adaleong for appointment. The weekly schedule will be available in the intranet shortly.

New Campus

	Further to the media's recent reports on the development of Hengqin Island, Vice President XI Jinping of the People's Republic of China announced in his January's trip to Macau the plan of developing Hengqin Island. The National Development and Reform Commission also revealed in February that the project of Hengqin Island's exploitation, which includes a new campus for the University of Macau, is in progress. This is good news for UM as it confirms the Central and SAR Governments' support to our University.
	There is no doubt of the very limited physical space of our current campus. Our campus size is much smaller than other reputable universities both nationally and internationally. For instance, the campus area per student in Harvard University is 960m2 and 150m2 in Tsinghua University. Yet, there is only 8.7m2 for each UM student. To cope with our campus development plan, it is important for UM to locate and build a new campus that is not only the closest to Macau, but is conducive to an excellent academic environment and is both convenient and comfortable for staff and students to strive for international standards.
	The University's mission and goal will remain unchanged, no matter where it is located. The University of Macau will always be a university for Macau and its people. As our staff, students and families care deeply about our campus development, I will keep you informed of the progress and involvement at our next Town Hall Meeting which will be held very soon.

In this perfect season of setting new goals, welcome back to UM campus! Time waits for no man. Let us swiftly turn our goals into action: cultivate a pleasant campus for study and work, build a dedicated workforce and nurture a vigorous student body. And by all means, please remember to come to my office during the open-door session through the year.

My best wishes to you all!

Yours sincerely,

Wei Zhao
Rector