In order to understand the development of higher education and quality assurance in Macao, under the arrangement of the Higher Education Bureau (DSES), the Chairman Cheung Po Tak and the members of Quality Assurance Expert Group visited the Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI) on the afternoon of 14th February, and was warmly received by the President of MPI, Professor Im Sio Kei. President Im introduced the development of MPI, its teaching, research, and quality assurance to the expert group. The expert group and MPI held fruitful discussions on topics such as the process of teaching and learning evaluation of higher education.

President Im welcomed the visit of the Quality Assurance Expert Group members who were from mainland China, Hong Kong, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Malaysia and so forth. President Im introduced the current situation of MPI, the internal evaluation mechanism, and the teaching and learning evaluation process from 2006 until now. He said that MPI adheres to the student-centred learning and educational quality. In recent years, it has actively completed the academic review and accreditation process through international institutions. MPI is the first higher education institution in Asia to have obtained the authoritative assurance from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) in the United Kingdom. Most of the programmes have also undergone programme-specific academic review and accreditation by various international academic agencies. MPI is the first higher education institution in Macao to win the “National Teaching Achievement Award 2018”, and have received the “APQN Quality Awards” twice which is awarded by Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN). The achievements not only monitor the high teaching quality, but also guarantee the recognition of students and graduates in employment and overseas study. MPI is a higher education institution which is very popular among the local and overseas students. The quality of the offered programmes is excellent and popular among students.

The Quality Assurance Expert Group praised the Macao SAR Government for its strong support for the development of higher education and actively promoted the quality assurance work of higher education institution. During the meeting, the experts shared the quality assurance system around the world and discussed the experience and challenges of the implementation of quality assurance in higher education institutions, as well as considerations of the external evaluation agencies. Chairman Cheung encouraged MPI to carry forward the achievements of its quality assurance processes and to continue to perform well in higher education and quality assurance.

The participants of the meeting also included the Quality Assurance Expert Group members Chairman Cheung Po Tak, former President of Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN) and former Executive Director of Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ); Carol Lynn Bobby, former President of International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) and former President and Chief Executive Officer of Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP, USA); Ji Ping, former Director-General of Higher Education Evaluation Center of the Ministry of Education, China; Alberto Manuel Sampaio Castro Amaral, President of Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES), Portugal; Aileen Mary Ponton, Director of Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF); Chong Siong Choy, Director of Accreditation, Chief Technical Officer (Quality Assurance) of Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA, Malaysia); Dorte Kristoffersen, former Commissioner of Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA, Australia); the representatives of Higher Education Bureau, and others.