Self-management is our ability to regulate emotions and control actions and behaviours. Strong self-management skills prevent us from missing deadlines and help us navigate workplace conflicts. The inter-college communal dining environment allows students to choose what they want to eat from a variety of cuisines with a safe food source. Our suppliers are local Macau enterprise with a long history and strong experience in catering service with international Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification (please visit New RC Catering Service page for more information), and our residential college staff is a professional team with personnel having trainings in TQUK Diploma Level 4 in Food, Nutrition and Health. All our undergraduate freshmen are required to take the residential college credit-bearing CPED courses where they can acquire basic knowledge in healthy diet and the benefits of a balanced diet and doing regular physical exercises. Colleges’ dining halls are an educational space where students develop, practise and enhance their self-management skills independently. New catering service providers for the residential college dining halls will be on board from August 2024! Each college dining hall has its own unique features and offers a variety of cuisines. There will be a wide range of variety of choices from traditional Chinese set dishes, steamed rice with stewed soup, to Sichuan spicy, Macanese dishes, vegetarian options, and freshly cooked seafood! You can choose according to cuisines (menus) or your personal preference. Starting from 1st August, the college dining halls will provide breakfast (7:30-10:30), lunch (11:30-14:30), and dinner (17:30-21:00)* for UM staff and students.

Social interaction is good for our brain health. Social engagement stimulates cognitive processes, including memory, attention, and problem-solving, which can help keep the brain active and resilient. Strong social connections provide emotional support during challenging times, which has a direct impact on our brain health. The inter-college communal dining environment and the implementation of “Communal Meal Education” subsidy system encourages students to dine with their peer and teachers with different backgrounds and interests. Colleges’ dining halls are an educational space where students develop, practise and enhance their inter-personal and socializing skills.

Both of the above skill sets are important to a healthy lifestyle and students’ whole-person development.

To implement “communal meal participation”, the university offers a designated subsidy called the “Communal Meal Participation Subsidy” (CMP Subsidy) to eligible undergraduate students to use within specified college dining hall groups. Not sure how to use your CMP points? Please visit “How to use your CMP points.”

The University of Macau encourages students to have regular exchanges with academic staff members through having meals together in RC dining hall. To implement the communal meal participation education, the university also organize High Table Dinner (HTD) for their students. HTD is a formal dinner with a long and significant history, carrying educational significance. During the HTD, members of the college wear formal attire and gather in the college dining hall to partake in a formal dinner. The college extends invitations to scholars or distinguished guests with remarkable life experiences to serve as esteemed keynote speakers, sharing their successful stories or delivering speeches on socially relevant topics. As an integral component of collegiate dining education, the HTD combines ritual and cultural immersion to provide students with a valuable educational experience. The university aims for college residents to consider taking part in HTD as a learning opportunity, familiarize themselves with social and dining etiquette, enhance their communication and interpersonal skills, and reflect on their learning experience, thus preparing them for their future endeavors in the professional world. The HTD holds great importance as a college educational event and is normally organized twice per semester, with all college residents required to attend at least once during their undergraduate studies.