The Macao University of Tourism (UTM) has deep expertise in culture tourism, hospitality, events, cultural heritage, and smart tourism, producing outstanding graduates who have gone on to work internationally in cultural heritage conservation, museum curation, creative industries, rural revitalisation, and other high‑quality fields. Fannie Lin Fengwen from Fujian is one of these exceptional alumni.
After graduating from the Cultural Heritage Management programme in 2013, Fannie was recommended by a UTM faculty staff and successfully gained admission to the Master of Arts in Heritage Conservation at the University of Hong Kong. Following graduation, she secured her first job in India, and then spent over a decade deepening her work in cultural heritage and the arts, gradually stepping onto the international stage. She is now Project & Development Lead at a renowned international design studio, and also oversees the development and collection of an art centre. She leads multiple flagship projects including museum development, international art exhibitions, and traditional craft conservation. Her journey breaks the stereotype that “UTM only leads to careers in hotels and tourism.”
As early as 2012, while still a student, Fannie earned a valuable internship at the UNESCO New Delhi office through her own abilities and the university’s platform. This internship at a top international organisation not only brought her close to cultural heritage conservation, international cultural cooperation and World Heritage affairs, but also connected her deeply with India – a turning point that later led her to develop her career there.
In her early career, she joined CRCI, a leading architectural conservation organisation in India, where she worked on the Punjab Heritage Trail project and drafted World Heritage nomination dossiers. She then worked at the National Museum of India, coordinating an international exhibition co‑organised with the Museum Rietberg in Zurich, Switzerland, as well as an art exhibition on the Ganges theme. Later, she joined Siddhartha Das Studio in New Delhi, rising rapidly from researcher to Project Lead, taking full responsibility for project planning, budgeting, team management, and implementation.
Looking back on her time at UTM, what impresses Fannie most is the project‑based teaching model. Unlike single‑exam assessments, UTM’s courses emphasise real research, proposal development, and live presentations – closely mirroring real workplace scenarios. Academically, the foundation built at UTM allowed her to excel in her first job. Even when her career direction later shifted, the core thinking and working methods developed during her studies – rigorous research attitude, structured problem‑solving, clear communication and expression, and efficient project management – became her core competitive advantages in the cultural heritage field.
Fannie believes that the vision and capabilities UTM gave her have allowed her to stand firm in any country and any role. She strongly recommends that Mainland students, especially those who wish to study abroad or pursue international careers after graduation, consider UTM. The university’s English‑medium teaching environment, practice‑based teaching model, international perspective, and strong faculty and student networks are all advantageous springboards for global development.