The University of Macau (UM) held the Welcome Reception and Orientation for New Academic Staff 2026/2027 to welcome a new batch of outstanding scholars. With its growing international reputation and influence, UM has recruited nearly 80 distinguished scholars from around the world for the new academic year.
The new academic staff comprise both promising young scholars and internationally renowned academics. They come from diverse cultural backgrounds, including local talent and distinguished experts and scholars from other parts of the world. They are dedicated to cutting-edge research in various fields, including cloud computing technology, brain-computer interface systems, engineering psychology, novel pharmacological control of inflammation, the sustainability of social institutions and mechanisms, as well as the humanities and business administration. Leading figures among them include Pei Qibing, chair professor and director of the Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering (IAPME); and Yang Zaifu, chair professor and director of the Centre for Institution and Mechanism Design (CIMD) of the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS).
The new academic staff come from prestigious institutions around the world, including the University of Oxford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, Tsinghua University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, National University of Singapore, University of California, Los Angeles, Columbia University, University of Washington, and Nanyang Technological University. Their diverse and international perspectives and experiences will further enhance UM’s teaching quality and drive continued excellence in its academic and research endeavours.
At the event, Rector Yonghua Song highlighted UM’s vision to position itself as a university with firm roots in Macao, while at the same time being committed to contributing to the development of the Greater Bay Area, integrating with the nation, and going global. He added that the university will seize the opportunities arising from its ‘one university, two campuses’ model to continue providing high-quality education and advancing key research initiatives with international influence. He also wished the new academic staff success, fulfilment, and happiness in their careers at UM. Vice Rectors Michael Hui, Rui Martins, Ge Wei, Mok Kai Meng, and Claudia Xu also introduced UM’s latest developments in academic affairs, global affairs, research, student affairs, and administration. The event also featured a networking session between unit heads and the new academic staff.
Looking ahead, UM will continue to cultivate and recruit high-calibre talent across various disciplines and create a favourable research and working environment to support its academic staff in overcoming challenges in their academic and research careers, thereby building a high-calibre teaching and research team with international influence.
