The Faculty of Medicine at ULisboa is collaborating with the University of Macau (UM) to develop a curriculum closely aligned with the structure of courses at the Portuguese institution, according to the director.
Luís Graça emphasized that these courses will operate under joint supervision, enabling graduates from UM to obtain “equivalence and recognition” from ULisboa’s Faculty of Medicine.
One of the benefits is that it will allow trained doctors in Macau to practice medicine in Portugal, the researcher highlighted.
In December, UM’s Vice-Rector, Rui Martins, stated that ULisboa would assist in establishing Macau’s first public medical school on the new campus in neighboring Hengqin (Mountainside Island).
The Macau University of Science and Technology, a private institution, has had a Faculty of Health Sciences since 2008, officially rebranded as the Faculty of Medicine in 2019.
In an interview with the Portuguese-language channel of the local public broadcaster TDM, Martins mentioned that Medicine will be one of four new faculties at UM’s Hengqin campus.
“We will have an Information Sciences Faculty, an Engineering Faculty with new engineering types, and also a Design Faculty, which should include architecture,” the Portuguese academic said.
“The idea for this campus is to offer ‘dual degrees’ [jointly supervised courses] with foreign universities. Medicine is already with Lisbon, and we are now defining partnerships for the other faculties,” Martins added.
The new campus in Hengqin, whose cornerstone was laid on December 9, is expected to open in 2028, increasing UM’s capacity from the current 15,000 to a maximum of 25,000 students, noted the Vice-Rector for Global Affairs.
Luís Graça, an expert in transplant immunology, also expressed enthusiasm about potential collaborations between the two universities in scientific research.
“If we think in terms of science, strengthening the scientific potential of both institutions with close collaboration clearly benefits both sides of this partnership,” the director stated.
Graça noted that ULisboa’s Faculty of Medicine is organizing the first symposium to bring together researchers from both institutions, aiming to foster joint research projects.
The faculty has occasionally collaborated with researchers from other Chinese universities, recognizing the importance of proximity to centers of scientific and educational excellence, the director said.
However, Graça remarked that the collaboration with UM is “more institutional (…) and could further enhance these partnerships.”
