The Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) at the University of Macau (UM) has recently concluded the nomination and selection process for the 2025/2026 Academic Award Scheme. The scheme was established to recognize the outstanding performance of faculty members in teaching, research, and service, aiming to inspire academic innovation and a spirit of professional dedication. This year, five distinguished faculty members received this honour: Dr. Hio Ieong Che, Prof. Hai Yang, Prof. Shanglyu Deng, Prof. Inácio Bó, and Prof. Linlin Fan.
Outstanding Teaching Award
Dr. Hio Ieong Che (Department of Communication)
Dr. Che holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Paris VIII in France. Having taught at UM for over 15 years, her courses are highly popular among students. Her teaching philosophy is dedicated to inspiring students to become active learners and critical thinkers. For years, she has guided senior-year students in independently interviewing, editing, and publishing a Chinese news magazine. Furthermore, Dr. Che has led her students into the local community to host Reading Week sharing sessions, strengthening the ties between the university and the community and demonstrating a true paradigm of “integrating teaching with practice”.
Outstanding Research Award
Prof. Hai Yang (Department of Government and Public Administration)
Prof. Yang received his PhD in Social Sciences from KU Leuven in Belgium. Since joining UM in 2023, Prof. Yang has focused on the legitimacy and legitimation of international organizations, demonstrating remarkable academic productivity in issues related to international relations and China studies. He has published seven papers in high-impact journals such as International Affairs, The China Quarterly, and the Journal of Contemporary China. Notably, five of these are single-authored, which fully reflects his strong capacity for independent research.
Outstanding Research Award
Prof. Shanglyu Deng (Department of Economics)
Prof. Deng received his PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland in the United States. He joined UM in 2023. His research emphasizes both quality and quantity, with findings published in top-tier journals in the field of microeconomic theory, including the Journal of Economic Theory and Theoretical Economics. In addition, his research project was awarded the Young Scientists Fund by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in 2024. He was also elected as a young fellow of the Game Theory Branch of the Operations Research Society of China (ORSC).
Outstanding Service Award
Prof. Inácio Bó (Department of Economics)
Prof. Bó received his PhD in Economics from Boston College in the United States. At the national policy level, he assisted the Brazilian government in designing two far-reaching public systems: a reform to the public university admission’s affirmative action rules enacted into law in 2023, and Brazil’s new unified civil service selection system. These achievements fully demonstrate how academic expertise can be translated into a driving force for institutional and social change. Prof. Bó is committed to building UM into a regional hub for market design research and has successfully organized the “Greater Bay Area Market Design Workshop” multiple times. He was also awarded a grant by the NSFC in 2025.
Early Career Award
Prof. Linlin Fan (Department of Psychology)
Prof. Fan received her PhD in Psychological Sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas in the United States. Joining UM in 2024, Prof. Fan is an exceptional scholar in the field of psychopathology. In just one year at the university, she has published three first-authored papers in top-tier international psychiatry journals, including the flagship journal Biological Psychiatry. Her research on using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to improve paranoia symptoms in schizophrenia provides a highly promising new direction for therapeutic interventions. She is also a recipient of the prestigious F.J. McGuigan Award from the American Psychological Foundation (APF).
Prof. Weixing Hu, Dean of the FSS, extended his warm congratulations to the awardees. He also expressed his gratitude to all faculty members for their unremitting efforts and pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, and service, which have made significant contributions to enhancing the international academic reputation of UM and the Faculty.
