At the Ceremony for Conferment of Honorary Degrees and Higher Degrees held today (6 December), the University of Macau (UM) conferred honorary doctorates on two Nobel laureates, namely Prof Robert C Merton and Prof Mo Yan, as well as two distinguished individuals in the field of civil engineering, namely Prof Lee Chack Fan and Ir Siu Yin Wai, in recognition of their outstanding achievements and significant contributions to society and education. PhD degrees and master’s degrees were also awarded at the ceremony. Florinda Chan, acting chief executive of the Macao SAR and representative of the chancellor of UM, officiated at the ceremony. Chan said that UM’s new campus provides a very good platform for the long-term development of UM, adding that in the long run the campus will not only benefit UM, but will improve the overall quality of higher education in Macao.
Chan said in her speech that UM’s new campus provides a beautiful and comfortable environment for students to live and study in. She noted that the state-of-the-art facilities, the rich research resources, and the cultural diversity at UM combine to create an inspiring environment that helps students to broaden their perspectives, to think creatively and independently, and to develop positive character traits. Chan added that in the long run, the new campus will not only benefit UM, but will improve the overall quality of higher education in Macao, and for this reason the Macao SAR government has high expectations for UM’s future development. Chan also congratulated UM on being ranked among the world’s top 300 universities. She added that the ranking is testament to the progress that UM has made in improving its hardware and software.
Prof Robert C Merton, a Nobel laureate in economics, gave a speech on behalf of this year’s five honorary doctorate recipients. Prof Merton said that he was honoured to be awarded the honorary doctorate alongside four distinguished individuals, namely Prof Chen-Ning Franklin Yang, who won a Nobel prize in physics for disproving the “parity laws”; Prof Mo Yan, a renowned contemporary Chinese writer and the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize in literature; Prof Lee Chack Fan, an expert on geotechnical and hydraulic engineering who participated in the construction of the Three Gorges Project and the Ertan Dam; and Ir Siu Yin Wai, a native of Macao who has received numerous honours in engineering, including the Structural Excellence Award from the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and the Institution of Structural Engineers. Prof Merton added that just like the diversity of expertise among the five honorary doctorate recipients, the diverse disciplines that UM offers are suitable for the growth of Macao and beyond.
UM Rector Wei Zhao said in his speech that as testified by their professional and academic accomplishments, as well as the numerous important positions and honours they hold in their own fields, the five honorary degree recipients are the people who know how to make their dreams come true and they certainly inspire UM students in the search for their ideals.
In addition to honorary doctorates, UM also awarded certificates to 551 graduates of PhD programmes, master’s degree programmes, and postgraduate diploma/certificate programmes, from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences, and Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences. Representative of this year’s graduates, Dr Kuok Chin Him, expressed his gratitude to Rector Wei Zhao for managing the university with vision to establish and promote UM to reach world-class standards in research and teaching, while providing pathways for graduates and current students to achieve very promising futures and leading the university into a new era.
