SDG 1 No Poverty

Equal access

At USJ we are aware that education is a powerful tool to address poverty. Equal access to education can help students from low-income backgrounds find success, build more resilient communities, and create positive change. To promote accessibility, USJ has established a set of policies for admission and success targets, as well as, financial, housing, academic, and counselling support measures targeting local and international students from lowincome backgrounds. As the COVID-19 epidemic worsened in our region at the start of 2020, several of our students faced unexpected financial pressures. In response, USJ quickly established a Hardship Fund to help release students from those pressures and allow them to continue their studies. In the 2021-2022 academic year, 2% of our low-income students were receiving financial aid, among which 10% of them were from developing countries.

Entrepreneurship and sustainable businesses

Sustainable businesses contribute to economic development and have a positive impact on the community. USJ partners with the local government and other organisations to provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to development sustainable businesses. We are committed to offering start-up opportunities through training programmes, capital investment, resource allocation, sharing of space, and networking.

In 2021-2022 academic year, a group of Bachelor of Social Work students organised a 3-day charity sale, titled BBQ & COFFEE, for raising funds local charity association – Caritas Macao. At the end of this event, they donated all the profit to Caritas Macao. The students not just alleviated poverty by contributing their time in this charity activity but also gained the experience for developing into a future social worker.

Access to basic services

In oder to promote access to basic resources – such as food, water, and hoursing – for economically marginalised groups, our students regularly engage in volunteer and fundraising activities for charity events.