Students from the Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) programme in the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) at the University of Macau (UM) conducted a study tour in Hangzhou, with the aim of gaining first-hand insights into the city’s smart city development and exploring social governance and business innovation.
Led by FSS Dean Hu Weixing and Assistant Dean Wen Bo, 25 students from the DPA programme first visited Zhejiang University (ZJU). They toured the History Museum and the Ideological and Political Education Base of the School of Public Affairs, where they gained a deeper understanding of the school’s development and its latest achievements in ideological and political education. They then attended a lecture on ‘Social Governance and Zhejiang’s Experience’ delivered by Fan Bonai, associate dean of the Institute for Public Policy of ZJU. In the lecture, Prof Fan offered an overview of Zhejiang’s theoretical innovations and practices in enhancing social governance, improving people’s livelihoods, accelerating reforms in the social governance system and mechanisms, and advancing the Chinese-style modernisation. The lecture sparked lively discussions among the study tour members.
During their stay in Hangzhou, the group visited several public administration service institutions. At the Hangzhou Government Service Center, the group learned about the city’s initiatives for smart city development and governance, which include advancing government service reforms; fostering a high-quality business environment; improving public services by accelerating the development of smart healthcare, smart education, and smart elderly care through advanced technology, and promoting common prosperity through charitable initiatives. At the Hangzhou Citizen Service Center, they participated in in-depth discussions with representatives from the Foreign Affairs Office, the Administrative Examination and Approval Office, and the Data Resource Bureau on public service platforms and smart city development.
In addition, the group visited the Alibaba’s Xixi Campus, where they attended talks and site visits to learn about the company’s efforts and successful practices in global cooperation, digital transformation, and its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives for innovative, green, and sustainable development.
Dean Hu said that through site visits and face-to-face exchanges, the DPA students gained a deeper understanding of social governance, smart city development, and business innovation. The study tour broadened their horizons, enhanced their overall capability, and strengthened exchanges and joint teaching between UM and mainland universities, government agencies, and renowned enterprises. It also provided new insights for UM to explore innovative teaching models under the ‘one country, two systems’ policy with Macao characteristics.
UM’s Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) programme is the first doctoral programme in public administration in China that uses Chinese as the medium of instruction. It is practice-oriented and aims to produce professionals who are well versed in both theory and practice. Since its launch in 2021, the programme has been well received, with enrolment increasing every year.
