The Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) submitted an application to the Macao government late last year to set up a new campus in Hengqin. That’s according to the university’s president, Joseph Hun-wei Lee, who was speaking to local media outlets on the sidelines of the MUST open day yesterday.
Lee explained that the decision to expand into Hengqin was motivated by the current lack of space for development and mentioned that the plan had been years in the making.
If the application is successful, MUST intends to position its development so as to focus on strengthening scientific exchanges and cooperation with the mainland, Hengqin and the Greater Bay Area in areas such as traditional Chinese medicine, high technology, environmental science and engineering.
While it remains to be seen whether MUST’s Hengqin campus will materialise, the university has already made inroads into the mainland island. Lee pointed out the institution has been “building a MUST innovative Research Institution in Hengqin for three years,” as well as other “platforms” and an “enterprise” relating to material science.
[See more: Groundbreaking ceremony held for UM’s new Hengqin campus]
Aside from broadening its reach into Hengqin, the university is also looking to diversify its academic offerings. These include new bachelor’s programmes in global operations management, acupuncture and massage, and biomedical sciences, as well as new PhDs in education, environmental sciences, biomedical sciences, engineering and leisure management.
As for MUST’s student population, Lee said there would not be a massive increase in enrolments during the next academic year, as the institution intends to maintain its new enrolment level at around 7,000.
Founded in 2000, MUST’s current 210,000 square metre campus in Taipa is used by over 23,000 students.
MUST is not the only Macao-based education institution to consider expanding into Hengqin, as the University of Macau is in the process of building a second 375,000 square metre campus in Hengqin that is expected to be ready by August 2028.
