2016 Congregation of M.U.S.T.
Macau University of Science and Technology (M.U.S.T.) held the 2016 Congregation at the M.U.S.T. indoor gymnasium in Block J at 2:30 p.m. on June 11th (Saturday). The Congregation was officiated by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of Macao S.A.R., Dr. Alexis Tam Chon Weng; this year, the University had about 2,600 graduating students, and approximately 1,200 undergraduates, master students and doctor students attended the Congregation. Other main guests that attended the Ceremony included Director Xu Ting of Department of Culture and Education, the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao S.A.R., Counselor Hu Xiao Lan of the Consular Department of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao S.A.R., Mr. Sou Chio Fai, Director of the Tertiary Education Services Office, Macao S.A.R. members of the M.U.S.T. Foundation, the University Council and the Advisory Board, officials of local government departments, and representatives from enterprises, scholarship sponsors, internship institutions, other local higher institutions, and secondary schools.
In addressing the Congregation, President Liu Liang noted that over the course of the past 16 years, MUST had walked on an extraordinary path of development. To fulfill the mission of fostering desirable high-quality talents that could adapt to social development and change of time, and advancing the development of local tertiary education and science and technology, several generations of MUSTers have made tenacious and perseverant efforts. The President believed that the students, during their time of pursuing studies here, must have personally felt and experienced the University’s fast expansion in faculty team, speedy enhancement in research capacity, continuous improvement in teaching quality, continuous innovation in teaching modes, increasing perfection in campus environment, and more and more frequent in-bound and out-bound exchanges. It is precisely through such progresses and advancements that the MUSTers shaped their characters and spiritual qualities of self-discipline, self-improvement, self-exploration, and pursuit of innovation and excellence; President Liu sincerely hopes that when the graduating students leave the University, they take up the baton and leave with such invaluable qualities, exerting them in creating their own future. Looking ahead, MUST will continue to follow closely the trends of the time, cooperate with the Macau S.A.R.’s development notion of “Prospering Macau by Fostering Talents” with great sense of responsibility and commitment, arrive at new leaping development in the foreseeable future with respect to the University’s overall academic standards and influences, research capacity and innovation, and international competitiveness, and become a pioneer in imparting humanistic spirit and advancing innovations in education and science and technology.
President Liu spurred the students to have an international outlook, a multi-dimensional mentality, innovative perspectives and capabilities, an accepting heart, and a perseverant mind so as to be able to overcome the obstacles and difficulties presented in their life paths and arrive at the successes they aspire for.
Chairman Zhou Li Gao of the University Council, M.U.S.T. also delivered a speech at the Congregation, holding that in recent years, the University had stridden steadily toward a greater height. The quality of teaching grows gradually to excellence, and high-level, high-standard research outputs are emerging. The State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines (the SKL), which was approved of for establishment by the national Ministry of Education, is already generating ample achievements. The fast development of the SKL has also contributed to the organic partnership of the SKL, the in-preparation World Health Organization Traditional Medicine Center, and the Hengqin Guangdong-Macau Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park, which will move forward the “industry-teaching-research” synergetic innovation and boost the diversified development of Macau’s economy.
Chairman Zhou emphasized that graduation does not mean the end of study, but the starting point of a new journey, where both challenges and opportunities await the students. He hopes that the students could aim at innovation, embrace the upcoming challenges, fully exert the knowledge and skills they’ve picked up in their university life, and arrive at innovative achievements.
When addressing the Ceremony, Secretary Tam noted that Macau University of Science and Technology was young and full of vigor; from its inception, it proposed and adopted the teaching philosophy of attaching equal importance to both professional education and general education, which has made available a unique and innovative way of fostering talents and has enabled the University to achieve fast growth. Striding into a new stage of development, the University is making great efforts in promoting teaching and education, attaching equal importance to both, working hard to bring in excellent faculty members, placing priority in development of key academic areas, and acting closely on the Macao S.A.R. government’s policies of “prospering Macao through education” and “developing Macao by fostering talents”. M.U.S.T did a great job in integrating modern higher education philosophy with the reality of the Macau society, by doing which, it broke a path that suited its very own development and achieved great success.
Secretary Tam also made a point on M.U.S.T.’s outstanding performance at this year’s Science and Technology Awards, where the University had 2 natural science research projects awarded the first prizes, evidencing the strengths of M.U.S.T in conducting science research; the Secretary gave warm congratulations to the University for its winning of the awards, promised that the Macao S.A.R. government would continue to provide great support for the University’s development, and noted that he would like to encourage Macau’s higher institutions to innovate their way of thinking, find an accurate positioning, put in great efforts in development of academic disciplines, and, above all, build up their own characteristics.
Secretary Tam encouraged the students to fly high and dream big, to always harbor a dream in heart, to have aspirations to reach higher, and to have a strong mind that will carry them where they want to be and their dreams to come true. He wishes the students a happy and wonderful life!
Representative of the graduating students gave a speech, speaking about the two valuable gifts he obtained at M.U.S.T.: knowledge and courage. The four years’ time living and studying at M.U.S.T has made him recognize the multiple sides of himself and empowered him to become stronger and to have the courage to break out his shell and face up many challenges.
