A proposal that allows Macao higher education institutes to rent eligible buildings in Hengqin has been made by Zhuhai representative Pan Ming to the13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Pan said a pilot of “cross-border education” would benefit 10 higher education institutions and 360,000 college students in Macao. Most of the universities and colleges, apart from the University of Macau that has a sprawling campus in Hengqin, he said, cannot expand due to insufficient space in Macao.

University of Macau Hengqin Campus [File photo by Yuan Tianxiao]

He advocated allowing the teaching and experiments of some public as well as science and engineering courses. The pilot project could also be included into the first list of reform authorization items concerning the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.

Pan, who also is vice chair of the CPPCC Zhuhai Municipal Committee, wants to promote the industrialization and innovation of higher education in the two regions, which have collaboration and complementary advantages.

According to the overall development plan for the Cooperation Zone released in early September 2021, education, living, working, and entrepreneurship will be made more convenient for Macao residents in the Cooperation Zone.

In his proposal, Pan also noted that a modern urban framework has taken shape in Hengqin. A new mode of “space in Hengqin + Macao’s education development needs” and pilot of “cross-border education” for Macao universities and colleges would address the lack of physical space. More high-quality talents from home and abroad will be attracted to the cooperation zone, he added.

Limitations on the duration of stay for overseas academic degrees certification could be loosened, Pan said. A cross-border “classroom + practice + educational excursions” mode would boost exchanges between Hengqin and Macao’s education systems.

To ensure the quality and steady progress of “cross-border education,” Pan also called for a risk prevention and control management system and legislative guarantee from the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone.