On 15 April 2026, Macau Millennium College (MMC) successfully held the kick-off seminar for the Macao Foundation’s 2026 academic funding project, Morrison’s Early Language Service Practices and Macao’s External Communication, at its Taipa campus.

Experts and scholars attending this kick-off seminar included Dr. Wu Zhiliang, Chairman of the Administrative Committee of Macao Foundation, Professor Chen Weiming from MMC, Professor Li Li from the Macao Polytechnic University, and Assistant Professor Qi Juanjuan from the Macau University of Science and Technology. Several key mid-career and early-career researchers from MMC also attended the seminar.

At the seminar, the project leader, Professor Zhong Weihe, Rector of MMC, delivered the opening report, providing attending experts with a detailed overview across six key aspects, including the background and practical significance of the topic, research questions and core objectives, research methods and technical approach, as well as the project timeline and expected outcomes. Zhong Weihe stated that the project will leverage the strengths and resources of MMC’s Digital-Intelligent Language Services research team to move beyond traditional perspectives such as theology and history and, by introducing “language services” as the core research framework, the project aims to reassess the objective significance of Morrison’s early language service practices and highlight Macao’s unique position as a hub for Sino-Western knowledge transfer and cultural exchange in the early modern period.

Experts attending the seminar highly praised the project’s thematic focus, theoretical framework, and methodological innovations, and put forward insightful and constructive suggestions. In his remarks, Wu Zhiliang fully affirmed the academic value of the project, and pointed out that Macao is a key node in the exchange between Chinese and Western civilizations and holds a unique position in China’s multifaceted interactions with the world. He suggested that the research should adopt a China-centred perspective, align with the needs of national cultural development and external communication, thoroughly identify Macao’s historical role in the cultural exchange between China and the West, highlight the role of Chinese communities, translators, and cross-cultural collaboration teams, and further enhance Macao’s function and value in cultural communication, youth cultivation, and serving the broader national development agenda.

Participating experts and scholars engaged in in-depth discussions on the project’s academic positioning, research methods, interdisciplinary integration, the application of digital humanities, and pathways for commercialising research outcomes. The lively exchanges generated substantial academic consensus, laying a solid foundation for the advancement of the project.

MMC will take this kick-off seminar as an opportunity to further drive innovation and development in interdisciplinary research, diligently advance the project, and strive to produce high-quality academic outcomes, thus contributing to the growth of Macao’s scholarly community.