Cover Story:

- 681 Graduates Bid Farewell at Graduation

- Speech by Rector and Professor Iu Vai Pan

-Lo Lam Fat

The Chief Executive of the Macao SAR Mr Ho Hau Wah has emphasized "Education is the future of Macao", reflecting the importance the government has placed on education. The Faculty of Education (FED) is dedicated to nurturing future generations of educators.

The Associate Dean of FED Prof Lo Lam Fat officially joined UM in February 2002. Since then he has gained a deeper understanding of UM's important role. "Since the Chief Executive raised higher education to a higher level of importance, FED has accordingly speeded up its development. The small scale of operations in the past has changed. Coordination is needed in areas like administration, management and conceptual thinking for the transition to become a large-scale operation.

Prof Lo has worked in the Faculty of Education of the Chinese University of Hong Kong for over twenty years. Besides extensive education and research experience, he also has valuable administration know-how. He has a unique understanding and view on education. He realized that FED is facing issues of education for the whole of Macao. It has a significant role in the development of education and the nurturing of human resources. Because of this, FED is taking the lead in encouraging all staff to cultivate a spirit of team cooperation, and to take responsibility in raising the quality of their work. Due to the rapid development of Macao society and UM, Prof Lo believes that FED has room for improvement.

As we entered the new century, humanity faced more challenges and opportunities. Competition in human resources and technology has become key elements in global development and economic growth. Universal education is the trend. Prof Lo believes that the way of nurturing the next generation must also be changed. "In the elite age of the past, educators considered 'How to enroll good students? How to nurture elite students?' However, in the new age, educators must think 'How to nurture capable students in a universal education system.' When we promote universal education, it is inevitable that the quality of students varies. Teachers must be prepared to teach students according to their different capabilities, and to try their very best to take care of each student, and avoid forced uniformity." Prof Lo said the changes of this age make the mission of education more important. UM must play the role of an educator for local citizens. It is important, therefore, for it to progress with time and provide the impetus for the future development of Macao society.

-Au Chung To

In recent years, as one of its goals, UM has encouraged all its teachers to study in a PhD programme. Every year a number of its teachers have successfully obtained their PhD and strengthened the body of teachers. Lecturer Pamela Au Chung To from the Chinese Department of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSH) has completed and successfully defended her thesis. She is waiting for UM to issue a confirmation for her efforts. She will be part of the new blood in the doctorate team of UM.

Pamela is a young teacher and well liked by students. In "My favorite Teacher Competition" organized by Students Association of FSH in October, she was one of the six winners. She said: "I teach first year students. Students at this period are like a piece of blank paper, needing care from UM. They are contactable and friendly. The subject I teach is a compulsory one, so I have more contact with students. This may be my advantage. However, I have never thought that I am superior to my students. I like to be their friends, which enables us to share our experience and understanding. Indeed I have learned a lot from them such as trends and computer knowledge. I believe that listening to students' ideas is important because I can reexamine my teaching methods, and understand their progress. Students also understand that their participation improves their capacity and influence which strengthens their confidence." She believes that keeping in touch with students is an interactive process.

Pamela has the vitality of a university student and the gracious temperament of a scholar. She made me (the interviewer for this article) at ease during interviews. We are like long time friends and can change our conversation from one topic to another. Pamela's study was comparative literature. Recently she has embarked on some translation work. Is it a new development path for her? She said: "To start this translation project was purely by accident." The theme of her PhD thesis was Taiwanese Modern Poetry. When collecting materials for her thesis, she became friends with two Taiwanese poets. In one of her visits to them, the couple expressed their desire to translate their poems into English. Pamela decided to pick up the project.

"I want to do a good job for this project, so I invited the Associate Dean of FSH Prof Thomas Rendall to guide and assist me. He has given me many valuable ideas enabling its smooth progress. Meanwhile I have completed the translation of over 50 poems of Lomen; the second half will be completed this year. Then I can start to translate the work of Rongzi."

Although translating literature can provide a new path of development for Pamela, she is still enchanted by her teaching work. Her various interests help her enjoy comparative literature because it is boundless and abstract but penetrates everybody's daily life. Her keen enthusiasm in literature enables her to generously share her knowledge with students and friends. She has been constantly telling people about the advantages and enjoyment of literature. She says:"Literature can stimulate immeasurable creativity and active thinking. It may not seem as practical as commercial knowledge or engineering; however, its far-reaching influence is unimaginable. I hope people can change their misconceptions about literature."

-Associate Professor Fan Jianhong (left) and Full Prof. Saecker of Law and of Economics, Head of the Research Institute of Economic Law of Europe of the FU Berlin in Germany.

In developing legal human resources for Macao, the Faculty of Law (FLL) has an important role to play. Therefore FLL has actively acquired legal experts and scholars to strengthen its teaching and research. Associate Prof Fan Jianhong is one of them with the qualifications and practical experience in related area.

Prof Fan was born in Ningbo, China. He once worked in the Shanghai Navigation Bureau of Ministry of Transportation PR China. In those days, it was fashionable to learn Russian and English, but he chose to learn a more obscure one - German. This learning gave him a firm foundation for future developments. He majored in German and law at university. He taught in a faculty of foreign languages and a faculty of law as an assistant and a lecturer respectively. In 1988 he received an eight-month scholarship to study in Germany. Through his diligent efforts he completed his master's degree in law at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel of Germany and received a doctorate's degree from Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Germany (ALUF). While studying in Germany, he worked as a sworn interpreter for German-Chinese languages in the State Court Kiel, interpreter and law advisor in the Law Department of Mak (Krupp) Motoren GmbH & Co. KG, and the research fellow at the Department of East Asia Law of Max-Planck-Institute of Foreign and International Penal Law in Germany. In 1995 he received a scholarship from Max-Planck-Gesellschaft and in 2000 received another scholarship from the Academic Exchange Department of Germany. He has published a few books and a thesis on law in German. The nine years that he was in Germany brought him satisfaction in study, research and legal practice.

In 1997 he was the legal consultant for a German international law firm in Munich and in China. This company set up a branch office in Shanghai, which naturally brought him back to his homeland after ten years away. To have more time for research and teaching, he accepted a teaching post in his alma mater Zhejiang University. There, he was the Deputy Director of the Institute of Economic Law and Deputy Dean of the Faculy of Law. He published five books and thesis then.

In 2000 Prof Fan was invited by both the Institute of Commercial Law and Economic Law and the Director of the Centre of East Asia Research at ALUF and, with financial support from the Academic Exchange Department of Germany, he returned to Germany. Two months later, he saw an advertisement by UM on the Web recruiting teachers for FLL. Since his family members were doing research work at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, this attracted him to stop research work in Germany and take up the job in UM, being closer to his family.

Prof Fan frankly said that at first he wanted to give it a try. But after two years, he has decided that Macao is his permanent home. "Firstly, the law system of Germany, Portugal and Macao are in the European legal system. They relate to each other, enabling me to continue my research while learning more about the Macao legal system. Secondly, Macao is a melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures, suiting me well given my similar cultural background. Thirdly, Macao people are simple, down to earth, courteous and full of the human touch. Fourthly, indeed the most important one, UM is a young and energetic university. Its Rector, teaching or administrative staff are very young and have the pioneering spirit, and it has great development potential. Lastly, UM supports research work. I can stay away from the administrative work at Zhejiang University and have a chance to complete a series of research projects within a short span of time. Researching on Macao, China and European (German) civil and economic law, and teaching and developing young law students are all positive and meaningful to me."

-Kelvin Yuen Ka Veng

In recent years, UM has emphasized "quality teachers" as one of the important directions of its development. It continues to attract young and excellent scholars to UM. Dr Kelvin Yuen Ka Veng from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) is one of them.

Before our interview, we had heard stories about Kelvin. It was at the time that Prof Iu Vai Pan was the dean of FST and gave Kelvin a job interview. Recalling the interview, Kelvin has an understanding smile. "At that time I was in Hong Kong finishing my master's degree and I wanted to work in Macao afterward. So I met with Dean Iu Vai Pan. He took me by surprise, saying: 'Now is a very important time for you. You should consider studying abroad!' I decided to pursue my doctorate degree." He understood the importance of knowledge to a teacher and also Dean Iu's intention. To align with his own research direction he chose to apply to two famous universities in the US: California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) and Cornell University. He was not only accepted by both universities but also given a full scholarship to both. In the end, he decided on Cal Tech (listed as one of the ten best universities in the US by Newsweek recently). At the beginning of his studies, he was allowed to do research work, which made him the first person in twenty years in the department he was in to complete his doctorate degree in two and a half years, instead of the usual five-years involved in studying and writing the thesis.

Dr Yuen had a plain sailing in his studies and he has much potentials of high adaptation. In many people's opinion, Dr Yuen should have stayed in the US to develop his career. Some people do not understand his choice, and some feel sorry for him. However, he sees vast potential ahead of him.

"Since my graduation, I chose teaching as my career objective. This ideal has never been shaken. Many people believed that if I concentrated in research, I would have a great future. In reality, teaching and research are complementary to each other." Kelvin indicated that his research mainly focuses on theories, therefore, whether the research is done in the US or in Macao, the surrounding environment makes no difference. Besides, living overseas for nine years has made him more determined to return home.

This year in September, the 26-year-old Dr Yuen joined the Department in FST as an Assistant Professor. He teaches Mechanics of Materials, Structural Theory, Structural Dynamics, Structural Control and Random Vibrations. His research areas include Earthquake and Wind Engineering, System Identification, Structural Health Monitoring, Modal Identification, Model Selection and Probabilistic Methods.

He is ambitious about teaching as well as setting high standards for himself. He said: "We have to do every minor detail in the best way. I try to provide students with the best learning environment. This is my basic objective. UM has been very supportive in our research work. In the theory and calculation-oriented research, we have enough resources. This will assist my research and teaching in the future."

-Teachers, students and staff of UM participate in the Walk for Millions.

UM has been supporting the Macao Walk for Millions (the Walk) for the last sixteen years. This year there were over 300 participants in the Walk including teachers, students, and administrative staff from UM, as well as staff, pupils and their parents of the UM Affiliated School. A total fund of over MOP100,000 was raised. This year several prizes were set up to recognize the unit which raised the most funds and the unit which had the most participants in the Walk.

UM teachers, students and staff have been ardent supporters of the Walk. Every year, they make monetary donations and join the walking constituencies. On the date of the Walk, although the weather was not cooperating with strong winds and heavy rains, the enthusiasm of our walkers remained high as usual throughout the entire journey. The four awards given were: The Largest Participation Unit (most walkers), The Most Generous Unit (most fund raised), The Unit with the Highest Donation Rate (average per person); and The Unit with the Highest participation Rate (percentage of staff).

-The Administration of UM, the awarded staff and the representative of the ISO Certificate awarding organization.

From July 2001 UM has encouraged the General Administration Bureau, the Computer Service Bureau, the Personnel Office and the Procurement Office to strive for the ISO9000 certificate. During the period, an ISO Theme Logo and Slogan Design Competition for staff was run to help raise ISO awareness among staff. Over 30 competitive works were carefully studied by a judge panel composed of staff of UM and design professionals outside. Mr Sio Hok Lam from the Faculty of Science and Technology won first prize for the logo category; while Mr Joseph Adea Sy-Changco from the Faculty of Business Administration won first prize for the slogan (English) category. Winners of the Awards of Excellence were Lo Ping Cheong from the Registry, Ng Mu Kun from the Faculty of Education, Samuel Fernandes and Tang Wing Hong from the Personnel Office, and Iris Lio and Sarah Chan from the Public Relations Office. But the slogan in Chinese was collectively created by the panel using elements lifted from several of the works submitted.

The party organizing committee chaired by the Personnel Office threw the annual Christmas celebration party for UM staff on 19 December. Nearly 300 staff, teachers and their family members gathered together to celebrate the joyous occasion.
The committee arranged themed programmes with activities and games including: a children's fashion show, pipa solo performance, ballet dance and decorating a human Christmas tree. The party was brought to its climax with a lucky draw for prizes.

- The Administration of UM toast the staff