Macau, China, Aug. 4, 2026 (Lusa) - A new Sino-Portuguese institute for technological innovation in aviation aims to develop projects for implementation «in real life and industry», including virtual and augmented reality simulators, one of the academics involved in the project told Lusa.
The China-Portugal Aviation Simulation Technology Research Institute was established following an invitation from China Southern Airlines and Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT) to the University of São José (USJ) in Macau, Carlos Sena Caires, director of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at USJ, told Lusa.
By including this Sino-Portuguese consortium, «in a role providing design consultancy and contributing to the field of virtual and augmented reality», USJ brought a Portuguese partner on board: the University of Madeira.
«They have carried out research in connection with Madeira Airport, specifically on the island's wind patterns and topography, and a great deal of research has been conducted in these areas, including the use of artificial intelligence to study models for the prevention and measurement of winds at Madeira Airport,» Sena Caires explained to the Lusa news agency.
The institute was launched in June in the city of Guangzhou, in Guangdong province, which neighbours Macau, and the partnership was formalised last week with the signing of a memorandum of understanding at the University of Madeira. The aim of this project, the academic noted, is to develop projects that can be «implemented in real life and in industry».
He also noted that the Chinese partners are keen to advance the use of artificial intelligence with a view to developing simulators that can be used for various types of training, including pilot training and modelling of China's topography (the study of landforms).
With researchers involved, the projects could have direct practical applications through «the creation of patents, new models and applications», Caires emphasised.
«China Southern Airlines is one of China's largest airlines; it carries enormous weight in the Greater Bay Area and in southern China, and we, as higher education institutions, are keen to forge links with industry,» he said.
In Portugal, he continued, this technological dimension of the region is still largely unknown: «Macau at the moment, from a design perspective – which is my field – I think is the place to be. The Greater Bay Area, in southern China, with Shenzhen right next door, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan (...) all these major cities are developing at a very rapid pace and need designers, architects and researchers».
The consortium also forms part of «the Macau Government's policy priorities», which since 2003 has been strengthening Macau's role as a platform for economic and commercial cooperation with Portuguese Language Countries.
As for USJ, this is part of an internationalisation strategy for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. GDUT boasts «one of the five best design schools in China», he explains. «It makes perfect sense to position ourselves in these areas and establish collaborations with the best institutions in China and southern China, in this case in the Greater Bay Area».
The memorandum also provides for academic mobility, staff and student exchanges, and the organisation of joint workshops.
The Greater Bay Area is a project launched by Beijing that aims to create a global metropolis comprising the special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong and nine cities in Guangdong province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Zhuhai and Zhaoqing), home to over 80 million people.


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