The Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) of the University of Macau (UM) recently organised two sessions of the Health Sciences Summer Camp, which attracted nearly 70 students from 34 local secondary schools. With the theme of ‘Biological Detectives’, the summer camp provided students with an opportunity to explore the world of biomedical sciences as ‘detectives’ and learn about biomedical research techniques under the guidance of professors and students in the FHS.

The summer camp, which included lectures, hands-on experiments, visits, and exchange sessions, aimed to cultivate students’ interest in health sciences and offer them a glimpse of university life. At the opening ceremony, Xu Ren-He, associate dean of the FHS, welcomed the participants and encouraged them to acquire new knowledge and take an interest in biomedical sciences. Poon Chuen Wai, associate professor in the FHS, told the students about the fundamental concepts, scope of application, and new technologies of biomedical sciences. The participants also visited the Animal Research Core to learn about how it breeds experimental animals that meet the recognised standards and uses transgenic and gene knockout technologies to build animal models, gaining an understanding of UM’s research progress and results in precision oncology.

Many participants said that the summer camp provided them with the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge technologies and experience the strong research atmosphere of UM. Xu Ziheng, a student at Pui Ching Middle School, said that the summer camp enabled him to acquire biological knowledge, and strengthened his interest in health sciences research through hands-on experiments. Leong Choi Io, a student at Colégio de Santa Rosa de Lima – Secção Chinesa, mentioned that engaging in hands-on experiments allowed her to apply basic knowledge to practical operations and made her realise that the accuracy of experiments depends on every single detail, adding that the summer camp enabled her to experience the life of university students and researchers. Chen Hanyang, a student at the School of the Nations, said that he and his teammates worked together to find out the ‘murderer’ using genetic identification technology in a course, which made him realise that scientific research and technology are closely linked to everyday life. Mok Weng Io, a student at Macau Anglican College, noted that the summer camp offered a wealth of activities. In addition to conducting hands-on experiments, she visited core facilities that are equipped with a lot of advanced biomedical equipment, which made her realise that every important invention is the result of the joint efforts of many parties.