During a visit to the SAR, Yin Hejun set the goal for Macau’s four state-level reference laboratories as “creating a favourable environment to attract qualified personnel.”
In a speech, the minister stressed the need to “take advantage of Macau’s environment and strengths,” notably its tradition of “cooperation with the outside world,” to recruit more “international talent.”
Yin was speaking at a ceremony marking the restructuring of the four State Key Laboratories, which focus on Traditional Chinese medicine, lunar and planetary science, microelectronics, and the Internet of Things (communication between devices and objects).
The laboratories, based at the University of Macau and the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), have achieved “remarkable results,” said the head of the local government at the same event.
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai cited examples such as “scientific research, transformation of research outcomes, training of qualified personnel, and international cooperation.”
On the sidelines of the ceremony, the rector of MUST told Lusa that the laboratory dedicated to Chinese medicine could benefit most from enhanced international collaboration, “especially with Portuguese-speaking countries.”
We first need to strengthen collaboration, which must begin with mutual understanding and involve an increase in trade flows of products related to Chinese medicine,” explained Joseph Lee Hun-wei.
The rector also noted that the MUST laboratory dedicated to lunar and planetary science “has already recruited a large number of excellent scientists from Europe,” including Portuguese astrobiologist Marta Filipa Simões.
In January, the new Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, O Lam, expressed the intention to “make Macau a hub for qualified personnel worldwide,” citing the four Chinese state-level reference laboratories as an example.
The official said the aim was to “fully leverage the unique blend of Eastern and Western cultures (…) making Macau an important gateway for exchange and mutual understanding between Chinese and Western civilisations.”
In 2023, Macau approved several programmes to attract “highly qualified personnel” and “advanced-level professionals,” including Nobel Prize laureates, offering benefits such as tax incentives.
The various plans – targeting sectors such as sustainable financial products, fintech applications, artificial intelligence, and robotics – include criteria that give weight to knowledge of the Portuguese language.
Platform with Lusa
