To deepen cooperation in higher education between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, and to resolutely implement a high-level internationalisation strategy with distinctive characteristics, the Rector of Macao Polytechnic University (MPU), Zhou Zhongrong, led a delegation on a visit to Brazil from 17 to 25 September. During the trip, the delegation visited several renowned Brazilian universities and the Consulate-General of China in São Paulo. A number of cooperation agreements were reached and exchange projects brought to fruition, further strengthening Macao's role as a bridge in the "Platform for Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries".
During the visit, Rector Zhou Zhongrong presented to each of the universities the distinctive features of MPU's teaching, as well as the planning and construction of the Macao–Hengqin International Education City. He emphasised that, as a public institution of higher education, MPU enjoys outstanding advantages in areas such as public administration, Chinese–Portuguese translation, physical education and applications of artificial intelligence. He also noted that Macao is making every effort to promote the construction of the Guangdong–Macao Deep Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, actively integrating into, and contributing to, the nation's development agenda. MPU will focus on areas such as advanced manufacturing and robotics, smart cities and transport, as well as artificial intelligence and its applications, with a view to continuously improving its teaching capacity and contributing to the creation of an international hub for talent.
The MPU delegation visited the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), where it was warmly received by the Rector, Paulo César Montagner, as well as by representatives of the university's departments of international relations, applied sciences, linguistics and publications. As a top-ranked university of renown in Brazil, UNICAMP has an extremely solid scientific research capacity and a complete postgraduate training system, attracting a large number of outstanding academics and students from outside the university for exchange programmes, creating a highly active and open academic environment. At the meeting, the two sides deepened their discussions on cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, smart cities, translation and languages, as well as nursing. Following the meeting, the rectors of the two universities jointly signed a cooperation agreement on student exchange, with the aim of promoting joint scientific research projects and developing diverse cooperation projects, including the exchange of teaching staff and students and summer language and cultural immersion programmes.
(Source: Macao Polytechnic University, 6 October)
