CityU Academy for Seniors holds Program Graduation Ceremony to advance lifelong learning and talent cultivation

The 2025-2026 Academic-Year Program Graduation Ceremony of the Academy for Seniors, City University of Macau (CityU) was held today at Ho Yin Convention Centre on the Taipa campus. A total of 18 students finished the one-year systematically learning and graduated successfully. This not only reflected the achievements for seniors’ life-long learning but also demonstrated the positive outcomes harvested through collaboration between universities and communities in advancing seniors education. The ceremony also invited official representatives, university leaders, teachers and learners’ families to jointly witness the precious moments.

Carlos Roberto Xavier, head of the Department of the Tertiary Education of Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) of the Macao SAR Government, extended warm congratulations to the learners who successfully completed the academic-year program at Academy for Seniors, and expressed sincere gratitude to all the faculty. He noted that Academy for Seniors aligns with the Macao SAR Governments’ policy on promoting lifelong learning, as well as addressing the aging population and declining birth rate. He highlighted the academy’s commitment to providing diverse learning and experience platforms for the seniors since its establishment in 2015, and has been actively collaborating with multiple social service organizations to expand seniors’ access to educational resources. As he mentioned, the DSEDJ would continue to encourage and support higher education institutions in leveraging their professional strengths, through resource sharing and collaborative efforts to optimize learning platforms for the elderly, jointly advancing life-long learning and active aging.

Vice Rector Ip Kuai Peng noted that China attached great important to the development of elderly education and the lifelong learning system, emphasizing the need to address population aging and build a lifelong education system, enabling the seniors to share the outcomes of reform and development and enjoy happy twilight years. He regarded the successful completion of the first academic-year program at the Academy for Seniors as a vivid practice of the implementation of national strategies and its positive response to the policy directions of the SAR Government.Vice Rector Ip mentioned that the academy adhered to the core concepts of “lifelong learning” and “social inclusion”, striving to create diverse learning and experience platforms for the elderly, helping them on life-long learning, active aging and productive aging. Looking ahead, the Academy for Seniors will continue to follow the development of the nation and the SAR, further strengthen digital empowerment and cross-regional collaboration, promote the deep integration of smart elderly care and lifelong learning, and through high-quality lifelong education services, contribute the wisdom and strength of CityU to building an age-friendly and inclusive community in Macao.

Lei Chi Hong, the teacher representative of Academy for Seniors shared his reflections and noted that it was a journey of mutual inspiration between teachers and learners. He mentioned that the curriculum covered practical knowledge in physiotherapy and fitness exercises, nutritional meal planning, traditional Chinese medicine wellness, health psychology, community service learning, traditional Chinese and Portuguese cultural crafts, smartphone operation, and AI-assisted creation, aiming to help learners break down the stereotype of aging, fully embodying the philosophy of “life-long learning, productive aging and active aging”. Speaking on behalf of all the teachers, he thanked CityU for its support and extended appreciation to the learners' families. He encouraged the graduates to put their knowledge into practice in everyday life and to stay curious as they continue their journey.