Alumni Sharing: Giving back to Alma Mater with Professional Knowledge from Student to Teacher

Adhering to the philosophy of “firmly rooted in Macao, jointly developing the Greater Bay Area, integrating with the nation, and going global”, the university is always committed to providing high-quality education and advancing key research initiatives with international influence. With its growing international reputation and influence, UM has established a teaching and research team with global impact. Many of them are experts in their respective fields, some are internationally renowned academics, with some born and raised in Macao, and some of them are UM alumni. In this issue of the “Alumni Journal”, we interviewed three alumni who are currently teaching at UM. Among them are alumnus Wong Fai, who was awarded the “Teaching Excellence Award” for outstanding teaching performance and achievements; alumnus Lei Ka Meng, who was appointed the “UM Macao Fellow” for his remarkable research accomplishments; and alumna Liu Mingxuan, who newly joined as our faculty member. They have shared their stories from students to academics, giving back to their Alma Mater and society with their expertise.

Integrating Education and Research: Excellence in Teaching Recognized

Technology is advancing rapidly, artificial intelligence and machine translation are reshaping the way people communicate at an unprecedented speed. Prof. Wong Fai (Derek), an alumnus and associate professor of the Faculty of Science and Technology at UM, embarked on the journey of machine translation research as early as the 1990s. He developed the world’s first Chinese-Portuguese machine translation system. Besides being a pioneer of Macao machine translation research, he is also the guide for students. With his educational philosophy of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude as well as nurturing talents, he has eventually nurtured many talents for the Alma Mater. His outstanding achievements in the field and his relentless dedication to education also earned him the UM Teaching Excellence Award for the academic year 2023/2024.

Academic Journey Begins in the Alma Mater

Upon receiving his bachelor degree in software engineering from UM in 1995, Derek got a chance to further his studies for a year at a scientific institute in Portugal, due to the recommendation of his mentor Prof. Rui Martins. During this period, he developed a geographical information system for the local organization. The experience opened up his view which led to pursue of a master’s degree at UM upon his return to Macao.

On the eve of Macao’s return to her motherland, Derek was one of the university researchers whom the government convened to discuss about the possibility of developing Chinese-Portuguese machine translation, in order to solve the problem of translating Portuguese documents. “Machine translation is very challenging. At that time, there was hardly any research on Chinese-Portuguese translation in the world. I decided to take on the challenge with the sole aim of doing it well,” he says. In 1999, UM launched the world’s first Chinese-Portuguese electronic dictionary (PCT), widely adopted by the government and various sectors. The success of PCT was inseparable from the opportunities and platforms provided by the Alma Mater. Derek realized that the field of machine translation has great research value and potential, leading him to choose the related research direction for his doctoral study at Tsinghua University.

Being a Guide to Inspire Students

Derek is fortunate to have met good teachers who inspired him and gave him the opportunity to pursue his academic career. From a student to a researcher, he has accumulated experience and knowledge. He started his academic career in 2008. He emphasizes teaching students according to their ability, advocating for implementing research-based methods that integrate theoretical knowledge with practical applications. To uncover students’ potential, he starts with their strengths and interests, guiding them to develop diverse research directions. “Every student is No.1. Never underestimate students, their potential is immense,” he says. In 2009, Derek became the person-in-charge of UM’s Natural Language Processing & Portuguese-Chinese Machine Translation Laboratory (NLP²CT). With the enhanced platform, he promotes the advancement of related research, allowing students to creatively implement what they learn from text.

Under his guidance, Derek’s students have excelled in various fields including working on research at university pushing scientific frontier, being employed in Fortune 500 tech companies, being recognized in the MIT Technology Review as 35 Innovators Under 35 for China, etc. Over the years, Derek has not only strived for innovation in scientific research, but also always encouraged students and research teams to actively promote industry-academia collaboration. The UTRAN-I Technology Limited found by him and his research team joined UM’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center for incubation. The company has successfully commercialized the translation products benefiting society.

Derek considered it an honor to receive the Teaching Excellence Award. He believes that a good teacher should focus on cultivating students’ academic skills and social responsibility, enabling them to become well-rounded citizens and allowing them to achieve success in and out of school and contribute to society. As an alumnus, he encourages fellow students to stay focused on the pursuit of knowledge and valuables for life, as well as make good use of the rich research resources and platforms of UM. Students need to continuous learn and progress like the sustainable innovation of machine learning, and also to explore the unlimited possibilities of different fields to grasp the opportunities in order to perform well and succeed in future.

Nurturing Talents by Inheriting the Past and Opening the Future

Dr. Lei Ka Meng, an assistant professor at the Institute of Microelectronics of UM, was born and raised in Macao. He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from UM in 2012. He was also among the first batch of graduate from the UM Honours College (HC). Due to his outstanding academic performance, he was directly admitted to UM for PhD studies after graduation. After completing his PhD, he was appointed as a UM Macao Fellow and later invited to Harvard University as a visiting scholar for interdisciplinary research collaboration. From a bachelor graduate at UM to a PhD and then to a Macao Fellow, Lei Ka Meng eventually decided to be a scholar, embarking on a path of teaching and research, hoping to achieve on research and nurture talent as a way of giving back to the Alma Mater.

Encounter Mentor in the Journey of Learning

The learning experience at HC not only helped Dr. Lei set goals and research directions for the future, but also affirmed his mind of being a teacher. During that time, he participated in the HC programme and had the opportunity to engage in research work with professors from his faculty. He successfully joined the “UM’s State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI (AMS-VLSI Lab)” led by Prof. Rui Martins, and was able to participate in chip research. He also met his mentor, Prof. Mak Pui In who was also an alumnus of UM. “I admire his attitude of working and solving problems together with students, as well as his dedication and passion to research. Whether in observing research methods, finding problems in research, or thinking about how to make breakthroughs, Prof. Mak’s guidance has had a profound impact on my personal growth and career development,” he says.

Upon completing the PhD degree, Dr. Lei was appointed UM Macao Fellow due to his outstanding research achievements. In 2017, he was invited to join Professor Donhee Ham’s laboratory at Harvard University as a postdoctoral researcher. After two years at Harvard University, he decided to return to UM to focus on chip research and engage in talent nurturing. Currently, Dr. Lei is an assistant professor at the Institute of Microelectronics, teaching basic physics courses for freshmen and sensor circuits courses for graduate students. As a teacher and alumnus, he hopes to give back to his Alma Mater like Prof. Mak who achieves great success in research and is a great mentor to his students. He therefore joins the HC programme as mentor, offering research opportunity for HC students and sharing his experience to students.

Student-oriented Teaching Attitude

From a student to UM Macao Fellow, it has shown an inseparable relationship between UM and Dr. Lei.  He hopes to use what he has learned as a giving back to the Alma Mater. On the other end, he enjoys teaching and is proud to be nurturing the next generation for the city as a citizen of Macao. With several years of teaching experience, he has gradually come up with a set of teaching methods. He mentioned that every teacher has own unique teaching method, and he focuses on students’ thought on the questions in the physics course for the undergraduate programme. In order to enable students to better understand the questions, he prefers to write down the problem-solving steps one by one on the whiteboard than to explain with PowerPoint, so as to strengthen students’ sense of participation and make the problem-solving ideas clearer. Whenever he develops a new topic, he first puts himself in the role of a student and recalls the teaching approaches he encountered during his student days, striving to devise teaching methods that are easy to understand and to better convey knowledge to students.

The academic path of Dr. Lei started at UM.  He encourages fellow students to make good use of the resources provided by the university, as UM provides students with a spacious study and research environment, as well as advocates interdisciplinary studies. UM’s innovative teaching also allows students to learn subjects other than the major course.  A diversified learning approach enables students to acquire richer knowledge, supporting own development and creating more opportunities for the future.

Embarking on the Path of Talent Nurturing at UM

Every year, in addition to welcoming thousands of new students, a group of teaching staff who are enthusiastic about education and academics join UM. Liu Mingxuan (Elaine) is one of the new force joining the university this year. After graduating from the Department of Communication of UM in 2016, she went to the United States to continue her studies and obtained a master’s degree in communication from the University of California, Davis, and a doctorate from the University of Southern California. Elaine completed a journey of learning and growth from UM to the international community, and then returned to UM. From being a student to a teacher, she will set sail again at UM, embarking on a new journey in her academic pursuit.

The Starting Point of the Academic Path

In 2012, Elaine enrolled in the bachelor’s degree program in the Department of Communication of UM. Due to outstanding academic performance, she was also admitted to the Honours College. “I successfully applied through the Honours College to become a research assistant for a professor in the Department of Psychology. This opportunity allowed me to participate in various research projects, through which I realized that I am more suited for an academic career,” she says. The experience as a research assistant at UM helps her establish the direction of research and lays a foundation for her future academic path.

The multicultural charm of Macao and the academic atmosphere of UM were the main reasons that prompted her to return to Macao for development. She decided to return to UM to start her career as an assistant professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences. For her, Macao is not only one of her favorite cities, but also the starting point of her academic dream. Back to her Alma Mater, she still feels a strong academic atmosphere. She said that the academic environment of UM is free and student-centered, so that students can allocate their study time independently. UM also encourages interdisciplinary collaboration among faculties, and provides all-around support to new teachers, which makes her feel at home.

Cultivating Students’ Civic Awareness

Elaine is now responsible for the English journalism writing course in the second year of undergraduate students. In her view, news is not only a tool to convey information, but also an important force to shape public awareness and promote social justice. Therefore, she not only teaches students the basic skills of news writing, but also focuses on cultivating their ability to distinguish true and fake news, as well as paying attention to society through news, and cultivating their empathy and social responsibility. Currently, she is conducting research projects on digital media, user psychology and behavior, and encourages interested students to join her team. She hopes that students can gain richer academic experience at UM just like herself back then.

Elaine encourages fellow students to face difficulties and challenges with courage, viewing obstacles as opportunities for growth. She also stresses the importance of staying humble and being unafraid to ask questions. She says, “Everyone’s experiences and knowledge are invaluable assets. In the international campus of UM, no matter in faculties, RCs and other places, you can encounter a variety of role models. Interacting and learning from different individuals is definitely beneficial for personal growth.” She hopes every student keeps UM’s motto in mind: “Humanity, Integrity, Propriety, Wisdom and Sincerity”. These are not just virtues for personal cultivation, but the foundation for becoming pillars of society. Only in this way can we not only realize our personal value, but also contribute to society in the future.