The School of Arts at Macao Polytechnic Institute aims to establish a distinctive design programme, not only answering the needs of the society, but to pursue an international standard and to present a unique quality of Macao. Macao is a small city that merges East and West, tradition and yet modern. The diversity in livelihood forms a unique style in terms of cultural feature, economic structure and humanity development. Macao cultural heritage and the liberalization of the gaming industry lead to a rapid change and growth in the creative industry despite the small demand of local market. The proportion of cultural design and promotion is high compare with other regions, and the economy is moving on a fast lane. To cope with the change, design education needs to be tailored to the needs of local industry, to explore its path in programme structure and to be adjusted for better direction and strategy positioning. The structure of the design programme needs to be broad and flexible, well balanced on commercial and cultural feature, and to present the uniqueness mingled from Chinese and Portuguese art and culture. With the training in design education we offer, our mission is to create a unique programme for students to assist the creative industry, and to make the metamorphosis of Macao a new city and a better community in terms of cultural, environmental and spiritual.

Based on the skills and knowledge graduates acquire during their studies, they can work in a variety of design such as graphic design, advertising design, multimedia design, web design, 3D animation design, exhibition design and interior design. Graduates can work as design lecturer in high school or establish their own design company.