UM has recruited a team of high-calibre faculty members from around the world. Many of them have earned prestigious titles, such as member of Academia Europaea (Academy of Europe), fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, member of the Portuguese Academy of Sciences, fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, fellow of the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, and Chang Jiang Scholar Chair Professor (Ministry of Education).

Not only does the university constantly search for high-calibre scholars, it also offers attractive work conditions to enable faculty members to achieve their full potential. For example, the university offers the UM Macao Talent Programme to nurture young local scholars and to encourage talented professionals to develop their careers in Macao.

In addition, UM has established five joint laboratories with institutes under the Chinese Academy of Sciences to carry out joint research and development projects in five areas, namely brain science, artificial intelligence, spatial information, marine environment and ocean engineering, and precision medicine

UM has established close strategic partnerships with leading academic institutions in China and abroad, including those in Portuguese- and English-speaking countries. The university has launched joint training programmes with a number of world-renowned universities, including Imperial College London, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Bristol, Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Bath, the University of Toronto, Temple University, Washington University in St Louis, the University of Lisbon, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Zhejiang University, and the South China University of Technology.