The University of Macau (UM) is set to establish a Faculty of Medicine on its new Hengqin campus with the help of the University of Lisbon, according to UM vice-rector, Rui Martins.
“The Faculty of Medicine, which will be the first public medical school here in Macao, will be developed in partnership with the University of Lisbon. We already have an agreement in this regard,” Martins said in an interview with TDM Portuguese on Friday.
In addition to the medical school, the vice-rector also made mention of the three other schools that will be housed on the Hengqin campus, including faculties for information sciences, engineering and design.
According to Martins, the new campus aims to offer dual degrees with overseas universities, with the Faculty of Medicine’s program tied with that of the University of Lisbon’s. Foreign collaborations are still being determined for the other schools.
[See more: Groundbreaking ceremony held for UM’s new Hengqin campus]
Covering an area of 375,6000 square metres, the Hengqin campus broke ground earlier this month and is expected to be ready for use by August 2028. It will be able to handle 10,000 students, with the two UM campuses eventually handling 25,000 students between them.
As for current enrolments, the UM representative said that 15,000 students currently study across the university’s seven departments, a figure that is set to rise to 17,000 within the next two years.
Macao’s healthcare sector has meanwhile seen a number of major developments in recent years, including the opening of the Macau Union Hospital in September and the expansion of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) big health industry, as part of the government’s broader agenda to diversify the SAR’s economy.
The local government has also been working to recruit more Portuguese doctors by opening up positions at the Conde de Sāo Januário Hospital in February and engaging in dialogue with Portugal’s minister of health last year.
