Macau University of Science and Technology President Li Xingwei . Photo/Beijing News Xu Xiao Map
Recently, the university of Macau University of Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to as "MUST ") has frequently entered the public's vision.
Recently, a research team from the National Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Science of the University of Macau conducted a detailed report on a solar high-energy particle event encountered during the " Tianwen-1 " trip in November 2020. This is the first scientific achievement of the Mars energy particle analyzer launched by China's Mars exploration mission "Tianwen-1".
As the only national key laboratory in the field of astronomy and planetary science in China, the laboratory keeps pace with the national lunar and planetary exploration, actively establishes close cooperative relations with relevant domestic and foreign units, and carries out multidisciplinary comprehensive research in the fields of planetary science and deep space exploration.
"The 'AOK-1' satellite originally launched in 2021 is scheduled to be launched in December this year," said Li Xingwei, president of the University of Science and Technology, and told the Beijing Think Tank. The satellite will be used to observe the fine characteristics of the magnetic field changes in the Earth's magnetic field anomaly area over the South Atlantic Ocean, realize the forecast of recent changes in the geomagnetic field , and obtain information such as the high-energy electron wide energy band energy spectrum distribution of the radiation band. Of course, this satellite is a joint development by the MUST team of scientists and engineers from mainland China and abroad.
In February 2019, " Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan " (hereinafter referred to as the "Outline"). This year is the first year for the presentation of results proposed in the Outline. As an important participant in the construction of Greater Bay Area , how do universities in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao participate in the construction of the Greater Bay Area and help the construction of the " International Science and Technology Innovation Center " in the Greater Bay Area? For this purpose, the Beijing Think Tank launched a series of reports on "Interviews with principals of well-known universities in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao". How did Macau University of Science and Technology participate in it as a member of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao universities? The Beijing Think Tank interviewed Professor Li Xingwei, President of the Macau University of Science and Technology.
Li Xingwei is the chairman of the International Society of Water Conservancy and Environmental Engineering (IAHR), and is the first Chinese president in the history of IAHR and a world-renowned scholar in the field of environmental hydraulics. He has served as vice president in Hong Kong University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology . In January 2021, Li Xingwei became the fourth president of the MUST. Li Xingwei is also a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering and an academician of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences.
As a young university founded in 2000, MUST also has outstanding influence and status. MUST has now become the largest comprehensive university in Macau and is also the top 20 universities in the cross-strait and Hong Kong and Macao. It ranks 32nd in the 2021 " Times Higher Education " Asian university rankings, and 38th and 32nd in the world's young universities rankings (2020) and 32nd (2021).
actively integrate into the development of the Greater Bay Area
New Beijing Think Tank: The "Outline" that has been issued for more than three years, what impact do you think has had on Macau and MUST?
Li Xingwei: I feel it is a good opportunity for Macau. It is a good driving force for Macau to move towards economic diversification, because moderate economic diversification has been discussed in Macau for a long time, but the results are not very ideal.
For MUST, its positioning has changed from being based in Macau to being based in the Greater Bay Area. MUST now has a clear development goal, namely "actively integrate into the development of the Greater Bay Area." The MUST Strategic Planning 2021-2025 also deploys talent training and scientific research development around this focus. The MUST has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities, the most prominent of which is that it has greatly increased cooperation opportunities with all sectors of mainland society, including the government, colleges, research institutions and industries.
New Beijing Think Tank: For example, what kind of opportunities did it bring?
Li Xingwei: Many. In September last year, the "Overall Plan for the Construction of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan") issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council put forward requirements for both Macao University and Macao University of Science and Technology, that is, it is necessary to build the industry-university-research demonstration base of the two schools with high standards, and build a technological innovation and transformation center to "promote the cooperation zone to build an important fulcrum for the international science and technology innovation center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area."Subsequently, some alliances emerged in various fields, such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Alliance, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Artificial Intelligence (AI) Alliance and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Intellectual Property Law Alliance. Everyone starts to walk together, this is very important. It was not before that there was no, but there were many institutional obstacles in tangible or intangible. Now it is different, and these obstacles have been broken.
New Beijing Think Tank: That is to say, the impact of the "Plan" on MUST is more direct?
Li Xingwei: The "Plan" is equivalent to raising the positioning of MIT University to a higher level. This not only gives MIT a new mission, but also a challenge. Therefore, MUST has carried out several aspects of work. The first is to deepen and promote cooperation between Zhuhai and Macau. For example, in cooperation with Zhuhai People's Hospital, we jointly built the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology Medical College as a teaching hospital; further strengthened the scientific research cooperation between the two parties. A recent study led by Han Shouyu, assistant professor of the University of Science and Technology Medical College, and Professor Lu Ligong, director of the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology Medical College, found that people vaccinated with BioNTechm RNA vaccine as a booster will produce more neutralizing antibodies against Omickron . The study was published in "Signalization and Targeted Therapy", a subsidiary of the international academic journal " Nature ".
Secondly, expand cooperation with enterprises, including carrying out more scientific research projects in cutting-edge technologies such as automated driving, robots, unmanned ships, , simulation technology, etc., including the " Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area New Generation Communications and Network Application Demonstration" project by Assistant Professor Li Dagang of the "Next Generation Internet International Research Institute" among the key projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the "Oralpharyngeal Swab Nucleic Acid Sampling Robot" project by Assistant Professor Han Zitian of the Macau System Engineering Institute.
Once again, it reorganized the institutes of information technology, nanotechnology and materials science, systems and control, environmental science and engineering, integrated resources, established the School of Innovation Engineering, committed to cultivating interdisciplinary engineers in the new era.
Finally, in terms of the industrial chain, MIT has carried out industrial cooperation with companies such as Yingkerui, Fosun Pharma , Qi'anxin , and hrsin to continuously expand MIT's industrial circle. In terms of service chain, MUST has added more than 2,000 square meters of office space in Hengqin, introduced 18 innovative scientific research platforms, and served nearly 20 companies.
New Beijing Think Tank: The University of Macau has moved to Hengqin as a whole. Does MUST have any plans to build a campus in Hengqin?
Li Xingwei: In recent years, MUST has conducted feasibility studies on running schools in Zhuhai and Zhongshan . We have plans to prepare campuses in these two cities. In Hengqin, we are currently focusing on Zhuhai Macau University of Science and Technology Research Institute. Of course, if Hengqin still has a chance and has enough school management skills, we will also consider it. Education is also an industry, and China's development still requires better higher education to cultivate more talents.
Macau University of Science and Technology. Photo/Photo provided by the respondent
Cultivate talents who can stay in local development
New Beijing Think Tank: MUST has taken steps in talent delivery and training in integrating into the development of the Greater Bay Area. Have there been relevant plans for scientific research cooperation or plans to start implementing? Is the School of Innovation Engineering established on March 27 this year a plan for scientific research cooperation? What other measures will be taken next?
Li Xingwei: The most important mission of colleges and universities is to cultivate talents. I think the most critical point is to cultivate talents who can stay locally for development in the Greater Bay Area and Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone. Although we have also introduced talents from outside, these talents cultivated locally, their natural sense of belonging and understanding of this region will be the most suitable force for building high-level development in the Greater Bay Area and Zhuhai and Macau. We need to let them take root and develop in this land and make long-term contributions. For example, some graduates from the Macau University of Science and Technology have already carried out their careers and scientific research paths in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone.
Employee development is also very important. I have been in charge of personnel and research and development affairs at the University of Hong Kong and the University of Science and Technology for more than ten years.After I worked at the MUST last year, I introduced several new support measures, including increasing teaching and research rewards, providing more opportunities for further study, and promoting teachers' academic public leave. We have also launched the "Jinghai Scholars Program" to attract 100 high-quality talents in the next 3-5 years. Through these plans, we hope to further improve scientific research innovation and internationalization, and build a talent pool for the Greater Bay Area's scientific and technological innovation highland.
Everyone knows that independent innovation is important, and this often requires support and accumulation based on years of basic research. Our country also attaches great importance to promoting the development of basic research and scientific and technological self-reliance as the strategic support for national development. Basic research is often called "blue-sky research" (i.e. basic scientific research without direct use value), which complements applied research. If you cannot obtain sufficient investment and support, and train and cultivate enough excellent basic scientific research talents to carry out long-term research, it will be difficult to achieve original results; and at the same time, you also need to have the right time, place, and people to generate huge economic benefits.
Nowadays, Guangdong has invested heavily in the construction of large scientific installations and large scientific projects, which is a good measure. Hong Kong has done a good job in basic research, but there is still a lot of room for improvement in applied research; Macau has achieved some good results after development in recent years. For example, our research in traditional Chinese medicine; in addition, we established the School of Innovation Engineering, one of the important goals is to cultivate interdisciplinary talents with solid basic research skills and applied research capabilities.
Basic research requires a lot of data to support, and Macau is far from enough in this regard. Last year, the National Field Science Observation and Research Station of the Macau Coast Ecological Environment, which was applied by the Macau University of Science and Technology, was officially approved by China's first and only national field science observation and research station for overseas development. With the support of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Macau University of Science and Technology jointly established the "Ministry of Water Resources Digital Twin Watershed Key Laboratory" with the China Academy of Water Resources and Hydropower Sciences to carry out water conservancy research based on new generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence , big data and digital twins. Next, the MUST will strongly support the construction of these two national-level platforms and provide more data support for basic research.
New Beijing Think Tank: An interesting phenomenon is that the University of Macau, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and the University of Macau all have schools of traditional Chinese medicine. Are you worried about homogeneous competition?
Li Xingwei: We welcome competition, and we have always been a competitive relationship. In fact, several universities in Hong Kong (such as the University of Hong Kong and Baptist University ) have made achievements in the discipline of traditional Chinese medicine for so many years. The discipline of traditional Chinese medicine at the University of Science and Technology has a long history because the Macau government has proposed to focus on supporting the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry. Therefore, the MUST mainly teaches modern Chinese medicine . For example, traditional Chinese medicine does not have relevant standards, so we teach students to use modern methods to study Chinese medicine. Is this Chinese medicine good or not? Only after understanding the mechanism can we scientifically solve the problems of related traditional Chinese medicine development and marketing. In addition, we are also trying to build a "bridge" between traditional Chinese and Western medicine. This requires a strong scientific research foundation, and universities in Hong Kong and Macao have their own advantages. I think this kind of healthy competition is very necessary in chasing each other, learning from each other, and progressing together.
is of course a private university for . As a private university, MUST faces its limitations when resources are limited, so we have always attached great importance to finding the right positioning and our own advantages, making good use of existing teaching resources, and making full use of our existing international network resources to make MUST’s achievements and contributions.
Borrow modern technology to make good use of water resources in the Greater Bay Area
New Beijing Think Tank: Guangdong's coastline ranks first in the country, and the sea area is 2.3 times the land area. In the context of the construction of the Greater Bay Area, will this also have a great impact on the discipline development of the MUST?
Li Xingwei: For the entire Greater Bay Area, the development of marine resources is indeed very important. Macau had no sea areas before, and it was not until December 2015 that Macau had 85 square kilometers of sea areas. There has always been a Hong Kong.Therefore, Macau also needs to vigorously develop the marine economy, promote moderate diversified economic development and contribute to the sustainable development of the Greater Bay Area. The construction of the Greater Bay Area will also bring more opportunities to Macau.
For the Greater Bay Area, typhoon and other climate disaster prevention and control is very necessary. "Smart Water Conservancy" can be used to quickly predict through AI and hydrodynamic models, and effectively warning through image and data analysis. Therefore, it is very meaningful to study and develop "Smart Water Conservancy". For example, the salty tide phenomenon in Guangdong is related to climate change and extreme weather. The precipitation and river flow in the dry season decrease, resulting in the sea water backflow in . "Smart Water Conservancy" can play a monitoring and early warning role.
Faced with the challenges of various natural disasters in the face of climate change and extreme weather, it is more important for human beings to build ecological civilization, reduce carbon and save energy. Ecological water conservancy is also an important research field and is widely used. We can combine the Internet of Things with hydrology , hydrodynamics and other marine sciences, and use marine monitoring data to conduct engineering construction planning, environmental assessment, ecological early warning, etc.
Because field monitoring sites are often insufficient, the existing monitoring data is very scarce, which is the case in the entire Greater Bay Area. For example, Hong Kong plans to build a "Lantau Tomorrow" artificial island, but the ocean data available for planning is relatively lacking, and the wave data is much less than other developed countries. Carrying out "smart water conservancy" research will also help tell us where to lay out monitoring points. This is also the value of the construction of the Macau Field Observatory and the Ministry of Water Resources’ Digital Twin Basin Key Laboratory.
As the chairman of IAHR, I have always been committed to promoting interdisciplinary research such as ecological water conservancy, AI and water, and it is still in its early stages. From mid-June to early July this year, I went to Spain to host the 39th IAHR World Congress, during which I visited many universities and research institutions in Spain and Portugal. They are very interested in their cooperation with Macau. I think Macau, including the Macau University of Science and Technology, has great potential in regional cooperation and talent exchange with these countries, so as to promote cooperation and exchanges between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the international community.
Macau University of Science and Technology Zhuhai Macau University of Science and Technology Research Institute. Photo/Photo provided by the respondent
needs more international talents to build a "bridge" for communication
New Beijing Think Tank: As a Hong Kong person in Macau, what challenges and difficulties do you think there are currently in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area? What is the main challenge?
Li Xingwei: For Hong Kong, we need to have a deeper understanding of the Mainland, especially the in-depth interpretation of the Outline, and we should participate more actively; Hong Kong's basic scientific research and applied scientific research need to be smoother connection (combined) to promote more high-level cooperation and exchanges with the Mainland.
Macau higher education has shown a rapid development trend in the past 20 years. Now Macau has 10 higher education and colleges including the University of Macau and the University of Science and Technology of Macau. However, Macau's degree of internationalization is lower than that of Hong Kong, and we should have more cooperation with Hong Kong in order to better play the role of Macau's "window".
Whether it is proposed by Hong Kong, the "two cities and three circles" with Shenzhen, or the coordinated development between Zhuhai and Macao and other cities in the Greater Bay Area, institutional innovation, scientific and technological energy release, talent support, service improvement, social integration, and infrastructure convenience are always the most important and should be paid attention to.
But in the final analysis, I think it still needs talents, and more government policy support, introducing international talents and retaining locally cultivated talents.
For example, a targeted talent introduction policy is introduced, and under appropriate conditions, foreign teaching and research personnel from the two universities in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone are allowed to flow freely, stimulating and releasing the scientific research and innovation energy of Macau and the Greater Bay Area.
New Beijing Think Tank: There is a recent view that a change since this year is that Hong Kong lost to Singapore in the field of international finance. What do you think about this?
Li Xingwei: To be honest, Singapore is an international and diversified country. For example, there are many Indians and they also have their own unique roles. There is no doubt about this.For some reasons, in the short term, Hong Kong did lose to Singapore in some areas, for example, the headquarters of some large companies moved to Singapore.
However, in the long run, I feel that if Hong Kong maintains its advantages in the later stage and does not take the wrong path, especially in the context of the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong's international status is irreplaceable because our country still needs to go global. Going abroad is to let the world understand China. We need a large number of people - who are familiar with developed countries and have a deep understanding of China's national conditions - to build a "bridge" that communicates at home and abroad.
Hong Kong is a city with a high degree of internationalization, and a major change in Hong Kong in recent decades is that it has cultivated several systematic universities and a group of local international talents. Of course, it is necessary to further introduce non-local international talents. How to attract them to Hong Kong and stay in Hong Kong? This is a matter that the government needs to take seriously.
New Beijing Think Tank: Yes, our country has entered the middle and late stages of industrialization and urbanization, and human capital at this stage will play a decisive role. Although Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, especially Guangdong, still have human capital advantages, they also face many challenges. For example, the Double First-Class Universities are fewer than , Yangtze River Delta , Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the proportion of urban registered population is low (and thus affects the urban public services enjoyed by permanent residents). Do you think this also gives more opportunities to universities in Hong Kong and Macao? What better coordination mechanism can Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have to promote the flow of talent factors and better play the role of talents?
Li Xingwei: As mentioned earlier, talent is the key. Now the whole world is scrambling for talents. For example, Europe conducted a survey 10 years ago and found that they needed 200,000 scientific and technological talents. Germany, France and other countries have introduced various policies to attract international talents; our talent training and introduction still have a long way to go.
I think international scientific research talents are more likely to adapt to a diversified and international environment, and Hong Kong and Macao have certain advantages in this regard. In the future, we can consider adopting a new talent introduction model, such as allowing overseas talents to spend part of their time in Macau and part of their time in the mainland (such as Hengqin), to help foreign talents better integrate into the Bay Area and to have a more comprehensive understanding of China's national conditions.
Hong Kong and Macao should play a greater international role
New Beijing Think Tank: From the inside of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the strength of cities west of Zhujiang (such as Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Macau, etc.) is relatively weak. Can the Shenzhen-China Channel , which will be completed and opened to traffic, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bridge play a role in improving the current situation of these cities? How do you think these bridges should be better played?
Li Xingwei: The area west of the Pearl River started relatively late and the starting point was relatively low, which is an objective fact. Therefore, our MUST has a clear positioning and serves Zhuhai and Macau. The completion and opening of these bridges will naturally be conducive to the development of the West Coast region. After the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Channel is completed and opened to traffic, it will be much more convenient to go from the West Coast (especially Zhongshan) to Shenzhen. I often went to Nansha, Guangzhou more than ten years ago. It took more than two hours to get there. Now I have a high-speed rail for about an hour. Better and faster transportation is definitely a good measure to promote the economic development of a place, but more importantly, the improvement of supporting measures and systems, and it is necessary to solve the deep-seated problems encountered in development.
A more effective solution is to strengthen communication and exchanges between the Pearl River, such as talent training exchanges, and to achieve communication through students, teachers, and cooperation with enterprises. This not only promotes mutual understanding between bilaterals, but also promotes the collision of ideas between the two sides, thus facilitating economic development. For example, MUST is doing these things now. We not only cooperate with Zhuhai People's Hospital, but also with Zhuhai's high-tech enterprises to give full play to our advantages. I also hope to give full play to my personal international network resources, bring more international resources and connections to the Greater Bay Area, participate in the construction of the Greater Bay Area, and give full play to the MUST and my personal due strength to promote the development of Zhuhai and Macao.
New Beijing Think Tank: According to the goal of the "Outline", to build the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international first-class bay area and a world-class urban agglomeration, what other issues do you think need to be paid attention to, or what suggestions do you have?
Li Xingwei: Compared with the first-class international Greater Bay Area, such as the New York Bay Area, the internationalization of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is far from enough, especially the internationalization elements of mainland cities are still relatively low, and Hong Kong and Macao need to play a greater role in this regard.
Macau has a 400-year history of the intersection of East and West cultures and has played a "window" role for a long time. During the Ming period, Europe, India, Japan and other Asian countries entered China through Macau. After I came to Macau, I felt that Macau was between the mainland and Hong Kong. Macau universities were very familiar with the national conditions and could also provide an in-depth interpretation of national policies. This is very important for Macau universities to actively participate in the development of the Greater Bay Area and help Macau integrate into the overall national development.
also mentioned earlier that after visiting Spain, Portugal and other countries, I found that I have great confidence in the cooperation and exchanges between Macau and the countries of the "Belt and Road". In terms of education, industrialization of science and technology, internationalization, and helping the country "go global", the University of Science and Technology can actively play its role and make greater contributions. Our two national key laboratories have always played an international leading role. For example, the industrialization of traditional Chinese medicine and the formulation of international standards have played a leading role internationally. In terms of space science, our key laboratory serves as a bridge to allow the world to better understand China's development and contributions in aerospace science through high-level academic exchanges. I believe we can expand more cooperation in the future.
In addition, I think a very important element cannot be ignored, that is language. The Greater Bay Area has the conditions to cooperate and promote national development plans, but its role needs to be further played, especially in internationalization, where language is a very important medium. As an international language, we must master and make good use of this international language. Whether it is introducing talents, scientific research, international exchanges and cooperation, English is currently an indispensable element.
Finally, the current COVID-19 pandemic has made the demonstration and leading role of the Greater Bay Area construction fail to fully demonstrate, and the development of the Greater Bay Area has also fallen into a certain degree of stagnation. Hong Kong and Macao should shoulder the burden, and under the important development goals entrusted by the country, grasp the needs of the country, give full play to the strengths of Hong Kong and Macao, and play a positive role in promoting the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area.
Written by/Senior Researcher of Xinjing Think Tank Xiao Longping
Edited by/Li Xiaoxiao
Proofreading/Chen Diyan
