Executives of the University of Saint Joseph Macao (USJ), Dr. Teresa Loong, Vice Rector for Student Affairs, Fr. Cyril Jerome Jr Law, Dean of the Faculty of Religious Studies and Philosophy and Prof. Alexandre Lobo, Head of the Department of Business Administration, attended the Leading Catholic Universities in the Twenty-first Century Programme, an action-oriented programme for senior leaders of Catholic Universities organised by the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) from the 10th to 15th of September 2023, in Rome, Italy. It was a one-week intensive programme for senior leaders, equipping rectors or presidents, vice-rectors and executives with the approaches to facilitate the sustainability of individual institutions and to strengthen the capability of the higher education system to play an increasingly more valuable role in the contemporary world, especially in light of the Papal expectations of higher education. It was an enriching programme with discussions and exchange among the 16 executives from countries around the world.
On the second day, Rev. Prof. Stephen Morgan, Vice President for Asia in the IFCU Administrative Board and Rector of the University of Saint Joseph, delivered the lecture on “The Identity of Catholic Universities in the 21st century— Embedding Catholic Value in Institutional Practice and the Opportunities and Challenges”. Rector Morgan prompted the audience to reflect on the characteristics of a Catholic University and how we incarnate our identity and mission through our governance and what we do and how we do.
The group also had the opportunity to exchange ideas with Prof. Antonella Alibrandi, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education and had a warm reception by Rev. Prof. Mark A. Lewis, S.J., Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University with colleagues of the pontifical universities in Rome.
The programme was inspiring and fruitful and a sincere gratitude to the three mentors, Emeritus Prof. John L. Davies, Prof. Chris Brink, CBE and Prof. David Lock for their expertise and guidance.