A delegation from the National University of East Timor (Universidade Nacional Timor Lorsa’e, UNTL), led by Professor João Soares Martins, president of UNTL, visited City University of Macau (CityU) today and was received by Vice Rector Ip Kai Peng. The two universities signed a memorandum of understanding and a student exchange agreement, laying a solid foundation for deeper cooperation. The guests visited the campus, and both sides engaged in in-depth discussions on university exchange and cooperation, student and faculty exchange programs, and talent cultivation.

At the meeting, Vice Rector Ip Kai Peng warmly welcomed President João Soares Martins and his delegation and gave an overview of the faculty structure, discipline development, and future development direction. Professor José C. Alves, dean of Faculty of Business; Vera Da Cunha Borges, assistant professor of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; and João Pedro Lopes Simões, assistant professor at the Institute for Research on Portuguese-Speaking Countries, introduced the characteristics and curriculum strengths of their respective faculties.

President João Soares Martins introduced the current development of UNTL and expressed his appreciation for CityU’s achievements in education. He continued by saying that this visit gave him a better understanding of CityU’s disciplinary strengths and expressed his hope to improve the teaching and research levels of UNTL through cooperation between the two universities. UNTL Vice Rector (Academics Affairs and Quality Assurance), Samuel Venâncio de Sousa Freitas, highlighted UNTL’s commitment to promoting international education, emphasizing the importance his university places on promoting Portuguese language education in Timor-Leste, and expressed his hope to strengthen cooperation and exchange with CityU.

Both sides had a thorough discussion on the scope and direction of future cooperation and expressed their willingness to further strengthen cooperation and exchange in areas such as student exchange, scholar exchange visits, regional and country studies of Portuguese-speaking countries, and the promotion of Portuguese language education. The two universities expressed hope to leverage their respective strengths to continuously improve the teaching and research levels of both sides.