On the morning of March 27th, 2023, the 23rd Anniversary of the Macau University of Science and Technology and Presentation of Honorary Doctoral Degrees was celebrated with a ceremony in the University’s Grand Auditorium in Block R Academic Complex, and an online broadcast. Guests from within China and all over the world attended the ceremony, including Ao Ieong U, Secretary for Social and Cultural Affairs, representing the Chief Executive of the Macao SAR, and Yan Zhichan, Deputy Chief of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR. In the ceremony, the 2023 honorary doctoral degrees were presented to six distinguished guests namely Dr. Fung Kwok King Victor, Prof. Wang Enge, Prof. Zhao Yupei, Mr. Fok Chun Wan Ian, Prof. Peter Doherty, and Mr. Haruki Murakami. Due to an epidemic precluding the timely presentation of honorary doctoral degrees for the previous year, the 2022 honorary doctoral degrees were also presented to eight other internationally distinguished guests, namely Prof. Lou-Chuang Lee, Prof. Heung Yeung Shum, Mr. Chua Lam, Prof. Wu Weishan, Prof. Zhou Zhonghe, Prof. Hao Ping, Prof. Robert Samuel Langer, and Prof. Andrew Michael Spence.
From left: Chair Prof. Joseph Hun-wei LEE, Dr. Fung Kwok King Victor, Ms. Ao Ieong U, Dr. Liu Chak Wan, Mr. Fok Chun Wan Ian, and Prof. Wang Enge; Prof. Peter Doherty attended the ceremony online
From left: P Chair Prof. Joseph Hun-wei LEE, Prof. Lou-Chuang Lee, Prof. Wu Weishan, Ms. Ao Ieong U, Dr. Liu Chan Wan, Prof. Zhou Zhonghe, and Prof. Heung Yeung Shum
From left: Chair Prof. Joseph Hun-wei LEE, General Vasco Joaquim Rocha Vieira, Prof. Zhang Wenhong, Ms. Ao Ieong U, Dr. Liu Chak Wan, Dr. Takeo Kawamura, and Prof. Kishore Mahbubani
Other guests who attended the ceremony were leaders and representatives of governments, educational institutes, enterprises, and other organizations from mainland China, Hong Kong, and other countries, Dr. Liu Chak Wan, Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of M.U.S.T., Chui Sai Cheong, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the M.U.S.T. Foundation, Tong Chi Kin, Chairman of the Consultation Committee, the Foundation committee, Members of the Board of Trustee and Members of the Consultation Committee, the M.U.S.T. honorary doctoral degree recipients, officials of the local government, representatives or sponsors of scholarships, associations of enterprises and secondary and tertiary educational institutes, current and past students, and teaching staff. Guests unable to attend expressed their wishes via correspondence and souvenirs.
At 8 am a flag raising was performed.
The national anthem ushered in the ceremony.
Speech by representative of the Macao SAR Government, Secretary for Social and Cultural Affairs Ms. Ao Ieong U
Representative of the Macao SAR Government, Secretary for Social and Cultural Affairs Ms. Ao Ieong U gave a speech, saying that, ever since its foundation, the Macau University of Science and Technology has been closely responsive to the development needs of Macao and China, and complying with the policies carried by the SAR Government, valuing teaching as much as research, and achieving appreciable development in talent growing and research. The result is a university influential in Macao, China, and worldwide. The Secretary pointed out that the Government will make further efforts at talent-making and set visions and objectives in higher education by publishing the Outline for Medium and Long Term Development of Higher Education in Macao (2021-2030), motivate Macao’s institutions of higher education to form academia-industry partnerships with businesses and educational institutes in the Deep Cooperation Zone and in the Greater Bay Area. She also exhorted the University to afford impetus to Macao’s development as “one center, one platform, one base”, to make good use of opportunities, and to nurture high-quality, skilled, and disciplined talent with the country’s well-being in mind.
Speech by President, Chair Professor Joseph Hun-wei LEE
President Joseph Hun-wei LEE delivered a speech saying that the University confers lifelong doctorate honoris causa as the highest level of honor, giving utmost tribute to the accomplishments and contributions of these distinguished individuals, and as a token of welcoming them to the University community.
In May 2022, M.U.S.T. became the first university in Macao to receive full Institutional Accreditation by the UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education and ranked among the Top 250 Universities in the “World University Rankings 2023” as published by the Times Higher Education. The University was the only one in Macao to be ranked top 250 in the Employability Ranking published by the Times Higher Education. In October, the National Natural Science Foundation of China made its first grant to a group of key projects outside of mainland China of 20 million yuan to “Studies on Several Scientific Questions Based on Macao Science 1” for studying the Earth’s magnetic field.
The Faculty of Innovation Engineering established a science center with a floor area of 10,000 square meters located in the Coloane Industrial Area. This innovation base will house inter-disciplinary ventures such as the newly approved Key Laboratory of Digital Twinning of River Basins under the Ministry of Water Resources, and the Respiratory Disease AI Laboratory on Epidemic Intelligence. The center will foster development of innovation and entrepreneurship in areas that include robotic surgery, autonomous systems for transport and environmental monitoring, new OLED materials for health care, advanced IC chip manufacturing, and AI for water resilience. We have also re-organized our medical school to form a new Medical Science Division (MSD) together with the School of Pharmacy and School of Chinese Medicine – to foster cross-disciplinary large scale research in frontier areas such as AI for medical diagnostics and drug discovery.
In the same year, M.U.S.T. made new undertakings in internationalization by visiting 8 prestigious universities in Portugal, Spain, and Korea and establishing memoranda of understanding. Such measures become a firm foundation for the upcoming China-Portugal Forum on Coastal Environment and Innovative Technology for Sustainable Development, and a resounding answer to the UN 2023 Water Conference to be held in New York. It is aimed at speeding up goals of sustainable development and solving problems arising from adaptation to climate changes, a major issue faced by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. M.U.S.T. also entered into a partnership with Oxbridge in talent cultivation. Such cooperative efforts are intended to widen scientific research, innovation, and entrepreneurship and to elevate students’ understanding of the world.
President LEE congratulated the 2023 and 2022 recipients of honorary doctorates and gave his appreciation to all the individuals and organizations that have supported the Macau University of Science and Technology.
Chancellor Dr. Liu Chak Wan conferred the 2023 honorary doctoral degrees.
Dr. Fung Kwok King Victor, Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa.
Prof. Wang Enge, Doctor of Science honoris causa.
Prof. Zhao Yupei was unable to attend the ceremony, the University will hold a presentation on a separate date.
Mr. Fok Chun Wan Ian, Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa.
Prof. Peter Doherty, Doctor of Medicine honoris causa, attended online.
Mr. Haruki Murakami, Doctor of Letters honoris causa, pre-recorded a thank-you speech due to the impossibility of attending the ceremony in person.
Dr. Fung Kwok King Victor gives a thank-you speech
On behalf of all the honorary doctorate recipients, Dr. Fung Kwok King Victor thanked the University for the given recognition. He commended the University’s growth, its considerable success in teaching and research, its refined academic portfolio, and the setting of a solid foundation for cultivating interdisciplinary talent. He also pointed out that interdisciplinary research and studies were important for today’s globalised challenges and they afforded us a better understanding of the interrelations of the various economic and social systems, fostering cooperation and exchange of the various disciplines to motivate knowledge sharing and innovation. As a new member of the M.U.S.T. community, he intends to join the faculty and students in giving his part for the University’s development, for the building of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, and for China’s prosperity.
Chancellor Dr. Liu Chak Wan conferred the 2022 honorary doctoral degrees.
Prof. Lou-Chuang Lee, Doctor of Science honoris causa.
Prof. Heung Yeung Shum, Doctor of Engineering honoris causa.
Mr. Chua Lam, Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa, pre-recorded a thank-you speech due to the impossibility of attending the ceremony in person.
Prof. Wu Weishan, Doctor of Humanities honoris causa.
Prof. Zhou Zhonghe, Doctor of Science honoris causa.
Prof. Hao Ping, Prof. Robert Samuel Langer, and Prof. Andrew Michael Spence were unable to attend, and the University will hold a presentation on a separate date.
Prof. Heung Yeung Shum gives a thank-you speech
Prof. Harry Shum, a 2022 honorary doctorate recipient, mentioned ChatGPT, noting that it brings AI from laboratories to mainstream society and that it will change the way people work and transform people’s lives. He commended the University for being at the forefront of academic excellence and innovation and thanked the University for conferring on him an honorary doctorate. He hopes the teaching staff and the students will have the courage to take risks in pursuing progress.
The guests specifically mentioned by President LEE were General Vasco Joaquim Rocha Vieira, Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa, Prof. Kishore Mahbubani, Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa, Prof. Zhang Wenhong, Doctor of Medicine honoris causa for 2021 and Mr. Takeo Kawamura, Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa for 2019.
Speech by Takeo Kawamura
Mr. Takeo Kawamura said it was a great privilege to come to the University as a recipient of an honorary doctorate and specifically extended his anniversary greetings to the University. As Macao’s biggest internationalized research-oriented university, M.U.S.T. is not just a talent incubator but also a beacon in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He expressed his hopes to become a channel for Macao and Japan, intensifying connections between China and Japan through inter-regional exchange, aiding in talent-growing and innovating various forms of academia-industry collaboration with the University, and put in his part in Macao’s economic diversification and sustainable development, and in enterprising the Greater Bay Area.
The ceremony
The guests, faculty, and students noted that it was a privilege to witness the University’s 23rd anniversary, the presentation of honorary doctorates, and attend the upcoming seminars by internationally eminent experts. It is hoped that, as the University matures and progresses, its administration and the educational opportunities it offers will flourish. On that day, the honorary doctorate recipients delivered several seminars to the faculty and the students.
In the afternoon of March 26th, the M.U.S.T. Foundation, the Board of Trustees, and the Consultative Committee of the University for the 2022/2023 academic year held their first joint conference in the N101 Hall to 60 members. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Liu Chak Wan, Chief of the Board of Trustees, President Joseph Hun-wei LEE reported on the University’s recent development, Vice President Tong Ka Lok gave updates on the M.U.S.T. Zhuhai Research Institute, and other attendees spoke on the University’s future. Mr. Chui Sai Cheong, Chairman of the Foundation, approved of the University’s progress in internationalization, and relayed on the national spirit after the recent meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee, calling for active participation in the University’s edification. Mr. Tong Chi Kin, Chairman of the Consultative Committee, revisited the early days of the University, commended the University’s flexible curriculum, and recommended that the University should introduce high calibre members into the teaching team.
The China-Portugal Forum on Coastal Environment and Innovative Technology for Sustainable Development (CPCET 2023) will be held from March 27th to April 1st. The second Summit on Exploring the Forefront of Medicine, entitled Transformative Medicine and Drug Development, will be held from April 3rd to 4th.
