Officiating guests at the opening ceremony

The Postgraduate Summer School and Research Conference 2012 was held on 2 June and 3 June in Macao and Hong Kong. Co-organized by the University of Macau’s (UM) Graduate School, The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd), and the South China Normal University, the conference attracted more than one hundred postgraduate students from Macao, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou. The conference aimed to provide a platform for postgraduate students to present, interact and exchange ideas, as well as to receive feedback and comments from experts so as to improve their knowledge about research projects design.

UM’s Vice Rector (Research) Prof. Rui Martins delivered an inspiring opening speech at the conference, which was followed by a warm welcome speech by Prof. Lo Sing Kai, associate vice president for graduate studies and dean of Graduate School, HKIEd. Prof. Andrew Brown, former dean of Doctoral School, Institute of Education, University of London, gave an insightful keynote speech entitled “Specializing and Localizing: Developing a Theoretically and Empirically Coherent Research Project”. After lunch, Prof. Fan Xitao, dean of UM’s Faculty of Education, gave a keynote speech entitled “Avoiding Plagiarism and Presenting your Findings in Conferences and Journals”.

Postgraduate students made presentations in the fields of humanities, business, science and education, with focus on research methodology. Prof. Andrew Moody, chairman of FSH GSC, UM, Prof. Cheung Hin Tat, associate dean of Graduate School, HKIEd, Prof. Carlos Noronha, chairman of FBA AC, UM, Prof. Liu Zhiming, associate dean of Graduate School, South China Normal University, Prof. Kou Kun Pang, head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, FST, UM, Prof. Winnie So, head of the Department of Science and Environmental Studies, HKIEd, Prof. Teresa Vong, director of Educational Research Centre, FED, UM, and Prof. Andrew Brown reviewed the papers and provided valuable comments on the presentations of selected postgraduates.

The second day of the conference began with a stimulating keynote speech entitled “Publishing while Receiving Research Training: Special Reference to Measuring Quality of Life” by Prof. Lo Sing Kai from HKIEd. Afterwards, Prof. Maggie Fu, associate dean of Graduate School, UM, Prof. Cheung Hin Tat, Prof. Li Zhiming, and Prof.Teresa Vong co-chaired an open forum entitled “Effective Strategies for Improving Support to Postgraduate Research”. During the forum, postgraduate students from Macao, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou raised various questions, which were well addressed.

After lunch, Prof. Andrew Moody, Prof. John Corbett, coordinator of MA in English Studies, FSH, UM, and Prof. Teresa Wong teamed with the professors from the HKIED and the South China Normal University to review and comment on the papers and presentations of selected postgraduate students in the areas of social science and humanities, language and linguistics, and education.
 

Should you have any query, please feel free to contact Ms. Albee Lei at（853）8397 4325 or albeelei@um.edu.mo or visit UM webpage www.umac.mo.

08/06/2012