Macau University of Science and Technology
Congregation, 2013
Speech by Professor Zhou Ligao
Chairman of the University Council
June 8, 2013
We are joyfully gathered here today to bid farewell to our graduates, so first I want to congratulate the graduates on their success in being awarded their degrees after several years’ hard work. I also want to thank our teachers and the parents and families of our graduates, for it is through your guidance and concerns that this new generation has grown up so successfully. From the very first day that Macau University of Science and Technology was founded, the University has committed itself to adopting creative perspectives and innovative thinking to cultivate talents and build the University with enthusiastic passion and practical spirit. Thirteen years on, the University has achieved enormous progress in teaching, research, social services, and team-building for both academics and administration; it has remarkable achievements and has won respect and recognition from the community. I therefore also want to take this opportunity to thank all M.U.S.T. staff for their hard work and congratulate them on their achievements!
In this academic year, the University has successfully completed the transition of presidents. Professor Xu Ao Ao, the previous president, has made significant contributions to the University in his term. On January 1st, 2013, Chair Professor Liu Liang succeeded Professor Xu Ao Ao and became the third president of Macau University of Science and Technology; we are confident that the new president will take the University to a higher level and create an even more glorious future for the University. Now, the University has entered a new phase in which it will continue to improve its teaching quality and teaching facilities. The University has built a Training Restaurant for the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, so as to offer internship opportunities in the relevant programs of the faculty. In order to better advance the University’s pace of internationalization, the University International College was founded in 2010, and up to this moment, the University has signed cooperation agreements with more than one hundred teaching and research institutions, undertaken collaborations in different forms of teaching and research, and provided opportunities for many students to study overseas. The University has identified its research priorities and the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines has attained fruitful achievements in the past two years. Under President Liu Liang’s leadership, with its outstanding research achievements, the Chinese Medicine research team has beaten many fierce competitors in the appraisal for “2013 National Science and Technology Progress Awards”; this is the first-ever such award in research of Chinese Medicine in the Hong Kong-Macao region and therefore it is worthy of celebration. Our University has also made great achievements in lunar and space study and gained recognition from peers in the field. It has been agreed that M.U.S.T. will build a Partner Laboratory for the Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Research outcomes of high quality and high significances are booming. The University Council of M.U.S.T. has set up a new plan for the development of the University to provide better teaching facilities and environment for our teachers and students. We are now preparing to build a large-scale teaching complex of eleven floors and a dormitory building of fifteen floors; the construction of the two buildings is expected to start soon. Seeing these encouraging achievements and progress, we have good reason to believe that your alma mater is certain to have a splendid future.
The University Council will continue to devote itself to the advancement of the University, the perfection of its academic programs, the improvement of the academic team, and the promotion of research, so as to further enhance its academic prestige and the quality of its social service. We believe that with the warm support of the society, we will continue to strive after independence and excellence and raise the University to better ranks and a better future.
Dear graduates, today you are leaving the campus for different work locations and new challenges. We hope that you will demonstrate diligence and commitment in your work, embrace new challenges, fully utilize the knowledge and skills you have learnt in the University, overcome all difficulties, and achieve remarkable successes. We welcome you to pay regular visits back to your alma mater and to show warm concern for its development. My wishes are for you to strike hard and fly high! I wish all our guests health and happiness!
Thank you!