The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Macau recently held its second Distinguished Alumni Sharing Session, drawing students from programmes of various levels, including undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programmes. The event aimed to provide students with an opportunity to engage in direct interactions with exemplary alumni, allowing them to glean firsthand experiences and acquire invaluable insights for their career planning and future trajectories.
The session was presided over by Assistant Dean (Student Affairs) Xuanjun ZHANG, who expressed that by inviting distinguished alumni from different fields to return to their alma mater and share their personal experiences and career development journeys, the faculty aspires to assist students in delineating their futures with greater clarity. These events not only assist students in charting their futures but also enable them to draw wisdom from their predecessors’ experiences and find the most suitable paths for their development.
At this session, Dr Zuxianglan ZHAO, currently the Director of the Bioinformatics Department at Jingjie PTM BioLab (Hang Zhou) Co. Inc., recounted her journey from selecting her major to her career development. Dr Zhao mentioned that she faced challenges during her university years when she switched her major from mathematics to bioinformatics during her graduate studies. This transition was fraught with difficulties initially, such as assimilating an entirely different knowledge system and skill set. After graduation, she joined Jingjie PTM BioLab (Hang Zhou) Co. Inc. and quickly became a core member of the bioinformatics department. In her work, she faced new challenges, such as applying complex bioinformatics techniques to practical high-throughput sequencing, data analysis, and interpretation services. Her personal experiences inspired students to comprehend that embracing challenges and actively exploring new domains in their academic and career development can often lead to unforeseen success.
Dr Zhao emphasised that students should actively broaden their horizons, pay attention to the development trends of their disciplines and the broader societal context, and better grasp future opportunities during their studies. She highlighted that while professional degrees are significant, they constitute only a segment of one’s resume. More crucially, it is the cultivation and enhancement of personal competencies. She encouraged students to try new things, actively embrace challenges, and not be confined to established frameworks. By continuously breaking through themselves, they can maximise their personal value and unlock broader career prospects. The sharing session was conducted in an interactive and relaxed manner, with students actively posing questions, and Dr Zhao patiently answering each one, providing valuable advice and guidance based on her own experiences.
This Distinguished Alumni Sharing Session not only provided students with invaluable information on further studies and employment but also fostered communication and learning among students of different grades. It strengthened the connections between senior and junior students, helping them gain a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of their future development directions, and accumulating more experience and confidence for their future academic and career paths.
Dr Zuxianglan ZHAO
Dr Zhao patiently answering students question
A group photo