In order to improve the capacity in the monitoring and evaluation of education quality, Educational Testing and Assessment Research Centre, University of Macau (ETARC, UM) and Collaborative Innovation Centre of Assessment for Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University (CICABEQ, BNU) jointly established the “University of Macau–Beijing Normal University Joint Research Centre for Monitoring of Basic Education Quality (JRCMBEQ, UM-BNU) in 2021. The establishment of JRC-MBEQ was based on four principles: (1) sharing of resources; (2) complementary advantages; (3) mutual benefit and reciprocity; and (4) joint development.

To cultivate postgraduate students and scientific talents jointly in areas of monitoring and assessment of basic education quality

To conduct high-level cutting-edge research, and promote the integration of University of Macau and Beijing Normal University further into the educational development of the Greater Bay Area

To inform policy making scientifically based on data, and carry out collaborative PISA research for policy consultation

To prepare for the establishment of an alliance on educational assessment and evaluation in the Greater Bay Area, unite the universities with outstanding academic standards in education quality monitoring and evaluation, as well as to conduct academic exchange programs in the field of education quality monitoring and evaluation

To participate in R&D related to item bank, as well as authoring of the assessment reports for the monitoring of educational standards

To promote academic exchanges and cooperation between schools in Macao and counterparts in Chinese Mainland, and improve curriculum and instruction of Macao’s primary and secondary schools in line with the national curriculum standards

The UM research team of the Joint Research Centre continues to participate in the R & D tasks related to language items for the implementation in the 2024 National Assessment for Basic Education Quality. This Assessment is steered by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China and  is administrated by the Collaborative Innovation Centre of Assessment for Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University. The Joint Research Centre, together with a number of academic institutes  and language experts, are actively assisting the Collaborative Innovation Centre of Assessment for Basic Education Quality in the construction of national language item bank.

This is the fourth time the UM-BNU Joint Research Centre, ETARC, has been sponsored by the MOE of PRC to provide a training course for UM and BNU students in assessing and monitoring basic education quality. The topics of this program were large-scale assessment and evaluation. It focuses on the theory, practice, academic achievements, and local experiences of education monitoring, as well as how to utilize machine learning to address research problems when analyzing secondary data.

The World Conference on Science Literacy 2023 (WOSL 2023), organized by the China Association for Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, was held on 17-19 September 2023. The theme of this conference is “Scientific Literacy and the Community of Human Destiny,” which aims to build an international platform for exchange and global cooperation and establish adequate organizational arrangements to promote the improvement of public scientific literacy. Prof. Cheung Kwok Cheung, who represented the UM-BNU Joint Centre, was one of the keynote speakers for WOSL 2023. Starting from the experience of PISA, he demonstrated the cultivation of scientific education capabilities in secondary schools. The lecture was also broadcast to educators nationwide through the Internet.

Beijing Normal University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Macau have joined forces to create the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Alliance for Education Quality Monitoring and Evaluation. The goal of this alliance is to elevate academic standards in the region by collaborating with universities and research institutes in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. On May 21, 2023, scholars and guests from the three regions gathered at BNU’s Zhuhai Campus to launch the initiative. Prof. Cheung Kwok Cheung, representing UM, emphasized the importance of cultivating a research community, developing top-tier talent, establishing a high-level education quality monitoring and evaluation system in the Greater Bay Area, and bolstering Macau’s strengths.