The Secretary for Social and Cultural Affairs of the Macao SAR Government, Ke Lan, recently pointed out in response to an oral question from Legislative Council member Song Biqi that the Aoqin International Education (University) City will be developed and constructed in three phases according to the principles of unified layout, coordinated design, and open sharing, and will be basically completed by 2030. Starting from 2025, various tasks will be carried out in an orderly manner, and the student population will gradually increase to over 20000 annually. With the support of the central government, the Macao Special Administrative Region obtained approval from the Ministry of Education in November 2024 to extend the operation of three public universities in the cooperation zone. The SAR government immediately implemented the construction of the major project of Aoqin International Education (University) City, and continued to communicate with the Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province to promote the introduction of extended school management measures. The plan is to build a high-quality and distinctive international education (University) City within five years, and build Macau into an international high-end talent gathering highland. Ke Lan stated that the first phase of the University of Macau, Macau Polytechnic University, and Macau Tourism University will settle in the Hengqin Guangdong Macau Deep Cooperation Zone with a construction area of approximately 65000 square meters from August to September 2026 to carry out graduate teaching activities. The courses will cover disciplines such as artificial intelligence, data science, financial technology, microelectronics, and international tourism management. The student population will be set at 1200 in the first year and will gradually increase thereafter. The relevant enrollment work is already underway. The second phase is the construction period of the "University of Macau Cooperation Zone Campus" area. The project was inaugurated by the Chief Executive on December 12, 2025, and is expected to undergo trial operation in 2028 and be fully completed by 2029. The third phase is the construction period of the joint campus area between Macau Polytechnic University and Macau Tourism University. The SAR government coordinates the land investment and construction of the two universities, and has already carried out demonstration and planning. The land will be purchased in 2026 and construction will begin in 2027, with basic completion by 2030. After achieving phased progress and operational experience, we will gradually study allowing other qualified private higher education institutions to extend their operations in the cooperation zone. In recent years, the scale of graduate students in Macau's higher education institutions has steadily increased, with graduate students accounting for 42% of the total student population and doctoral students accounting for about 15% of the total student population. In addition, the University of Macau has launched the "University of Macau Talent Program" in recent years, including the University of Macau Haojiang Scholar Program, the University of Macau Postdoctoral Researcher Program, the University of Macau Research Assistant Professor Program, and the University of Macau Outstanding Visiting Scholar Program. Over 360 people have been hired or invited to the University of Macau to pursue doctoral degrees and conduct research, effectively supporting the talent cultivation and diversified development of industries in Macau. Ke Lan pointed out that in order to meet the new demand for teaching and research talents in the Aoqin International Education (University) City, the third phase of Macao's talent introduction plan will create more favorable conditions and attract high-quality international teaching and research personnel. For example, in the recognition criteria for high-end talents, more potential and representative awards have been added. In the scoring items of the Excellent and Advanced Professional Talent Plan, the top ten university degree sub items in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy have been added, and international work experience scores have been added. According to the new development pattern of "Macao+Hengqin", we will further strengthen the coordinated development of talent work with the Hengqin Guangdong Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, and jointly attract international academic and research talents to develop in both Macao and Hengqin. (New Society)