In order to further deepen the advantages of Macao as the “platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries”, give full play to its role as a bridge between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and strengthen Sino-Portuguese academic cooperation to assist the development of a “Chinese-Portuguese bilingual talent training base” in Macao, the Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI) and the University of Cape Verde gathered in the cloud, with President Marcus Im and Rector Judite Medina do Nascimento signing the cooperation agreement on behalf of their respective institutions on 27^th October. Through the agreement, both parties look forward to cooperating in areas such as the cultivation of innovative talents, deepening academic exchanges, and enhancing the level of scientific research, so as to achieve complementary advantages and resource sharing, and jointly cultivate more outstanding talents for the construction of the “Belt and Road” and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The “Online Signing Ceremony of the Cooperation Agreement between Macao Polytechnic Institute and the University of Cape Verde” was held at 7 pm on 27^th October and 10 am local time in Cape Verde.  At the ceremony, Marcus Im stated that MPI actively cooperates with the construction of the “platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries”, and pays equal attention to teaching and scientific research.  With the strong support of the Central Government and the Macao SAR Government, the “Engineering Research Centre of Applied Technology on Machine Translation and Artificial Intelligence, Ministry of Education” and the “International Portuguese Training Centre for Conference Interpreting” have been established, as well as Doctoral and Master’s degree programmes. In addition, MPI has developed the most accurate Chinese-Portuguese Neural Network Machine Translation System, which is widely used in Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries of the “Belt and Road”.  Last October, Maritza Rosabal Peña, the Minister of Education, Family and Social Inclusion of Cape Verde, visited MPI and fully affirmed the Institute’s contribution to educational cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Judite Medina do Nascimento expressed her appreciation for the scientific research achievements made by MPI. She pointed out that the University of Cape Verde has established cooperative relations and signed cooperation agreements with 175 universities around the world, and has established a rich academic research cooperation network.  She looks forward to signing agreements with MPI to further strengthen the academic exchanges between teachers and students of the two institutions, jointly apply for scientific research projects, jointly organize high-end academic forums, as well as more exchanges and cooperation in Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral programmes. Judite Medina do Nascimento stated that MPI is an important partner of the University of Cape Verde, and the signing of this agreement will be a new starting point for a profound and fruitful collaboration between the two institutions.

Representatives of the University of Cape Verde attending the ceremony included Mário Lima, the Pro-Rector, Maria de Lourdes Gonçalves, the Pro-Rector and Bruniguel Andrade, the advisor of Intercollegiate Exchange and Cooperation. Representatives of IPM included Vivian Lei, the Vice-President, Zhang Yunfeng, Director of Centre for Portuguese Studies, Joaquim Ramos de Carvalho, Professor of Centre for Portuguese Studies and Evelina Maria de Souza, the acting Head of Registry.