MPI's Bachelor's programme in Chinese-Portuguese/Portuguese-Chinese Translation, which is jointly offered by the Institute's School of Languages and Translation and the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, has recently passed an academic review by the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES), Portugal. This marks a recognition of MPI's academic quality, and that the programme provides excellent teaching and well-endowed learning opportunities and environment for its students.

During the assessment, representatives from A3ES had meetings with the President of MPI, the Director of the School of Languages and Translation, programme coordinators, faculty members, administrative colleagues, students, graduates and their employers. A3ES gave their full recognition and praise of the programme's teaching quality, research development and student learning environment. The agency also commended the exchange programme between the MPI and the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria for providing an immersive learning experience to students.

Having received a very positive evaluation from A3ES, the Chinese-Portuguese/Portuguese-Chinese Translation programme becomes the second Bachelor's programme in the Macao SAR recognised by the agency. The first programme to have passed the academic review by A3ES was the Bachelor of Social Sciences in Public Administration (Portuguese) offered by MPI's School of Public Administration.

MPI's School of Languages and Translation was previously known as the School of Chinese established by the government. As a public school with a history of one hundred years, it has been playing a crucial role in training Chinese-Portuguese translators for Macao ever since it was formally inaugurated in 1905. The School seeks to train well-qualified translators for the Macao SAR government and acts as a platform to nurture translation and interpretation professionals. Apart from providing Chinese/Portuguese and Portuguese/Chinese translation and interpretation training to students from Macao and the Chinese Mainland, this programme also organises annual competitions such as the Inter-Tertiary Portuguese Debate Competition and the Portuguese Poetry Recital Competition, at which MPI students have achieved outstanding results.

Having passed the academic review with high recognition from A3ES, the Bachelor of Arts in Chinese-Portuguese/Portuguese-Chinese Translation and Interpretation programme will remain dedicated to ensure quality teaching. At the same time the programme seeks to soar to even greater heights by aligning with Macao's positioning as an exchange platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, as well as China's ‘Belt and Road’ initiative.