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Q1. What type of bank account should I provide in order to receive the stipend, payment, etc. from UM?
The bank account you provide must fulfill the below requirements:

  • Opened in Macao
  • MOP (Macau Patacas) account
  • Opened under your name or you are one of the holders of a joint account

Q2. I have checked the bank information input in SIW to ensure the correctness but still not received my stipend, why?
It might be that the bank account you input is a foreign currency account, not a MOP (Macau Patacas) account. Please input the information of a correct MOP account.

Q3. Can I use a non-Macao bank account for receiving my scholarship, assistantship, stipend, reimbursement, etc. from UM?
You are required to use the bank account opened in Macao for receiving scholarship, assistantship, stipend, reimbursement, etc. from UM.

Q4. Can I input the bank account of my parent or a friend in SIW for receiving my scholarship, assistantship, stipend, reimbursement, etc. from UM?
Your bank account or the joint account that you are one of the holders opened in Macao is acceptable.

Q5. What can I do if I am not able to open a bank account in Macao for receiving scholarship, assistantship, stipend, reimbursement, etc.?
If it is a one-time payment (i.e. you expect that you will not receive any payment from UM in the future), you may authorize another person who has a Macao bank account to receive the payment on your behalf by following the procedures below:

     5.1   If the authorized person is a CURRENT UM student, please provide the following documents and information to FO for processing the payment:

  • Original copy of the signed authorization letter;
  • Student card copies of the authorized student and yourself; and
  • The authorized student should have input/updated his/her bank information in SIW.

     5.2   If the authorized person is NOT a CURRENT UM student, please provide the following documents and information to FO for processing the payment:

  • Original copy of the signed authorization letter;
  • Copy of your student card;
  • Copy of bank passbook or bank statement of the authorized person with bank name (a Macao bank), bank account name, and account number; and
  • ID card/ passport number of the authorized person.

Q6. If I do not have a Macao bank account, can I use other person’s bank account to receive stipend?
If you are not eligible to open a bank account in Macao, or rejected by the banks in Macao, and you are receiving a one-time stipend/payment, you may authorize another person to receive the payment on your behalf. Please refer to Q5 for the procedures. If you are not receiving one-time stipend/payment, please contact FO for further arrangement.

Q7. Since I only have an overseas bank account, can I use that to receive my stipend/payment?
Please open a bank account in Macao if you are not receiving a one-time stipend/payment. If you are just receiving a one-time stipend/payment, you may authorize another person to receive the stipend/payment on your behalf. Please refer Q5 for the procedures.

Q8. Can I participate in the student trainee schemes offered by various faculties/ units at the same time?
You may participate in the Student Trainee Schemes offered by various faculties/ units at the same time. However, the upper limit of training hours is 15 hours per week per student. In case you are also receiving monthly scholarship or assistantship, please check the respective rules and guidelines carefully.

Q9. Am I eligible to participate in the student trainee scheme if I have already graduated?
Graduates and students who have withdrawn, discontinued, or deferred from study are not eligible to participate in the Student Trainee Scheme.

Q10. After I have graduated, can I still receive the stipend for the training completed before my graduation?
Even your current status is updated to “Graduated”, you can still receive the stipend for the training hours completed before your graduation. However, please make sure that your bank account provided in SIW is still valid.

Q11. How many hours I can participate in the Student Trainee Scheme?
The upper limit is 15 hours per week per student.

Q12. Why my classmates/teammates have received their stipends but I do not receive mine?
Causes of the delay include but not limited to:
12.1 you have not input your bank account information in SIW;
12.2 you have input incorrect or invalid bank account information in SIW;
12.3 the information on your stipend form needs further clarification;
12.4 FO has not yet received your stipend form;
12.5 the period of your stipend differs from that of your classmates/ teammates;
12.6 the start date of your stipend differs from that of your classmates/ teammates;
12.7 you and your classmates/ teammates are supported by different research projects and/ or under different payment arrangements.

For 12.1 and 12.2, please ensure that your bank account opened in Macao is still valid and you have input the information in SIW correctly.

For 12.3 to 12.7, please recheck the information in your signed stipend form. If your stipend is supported by research projects, please check with the staff members of RSKTO whether the hard copy of your stipend form has been submitted to FO. For the scholarship, assistantship, stipends, etc. that are not related to research projects, please check with the staff members of the respective faculty/institute or unit. If there are any changes in the stipend form, please keep a copy for future reference.

Q13. Why the amount of my research assistantship differs from that of my classmates/ teammates?
FO processes the research assistantship according to the stipend form sent by your supervisor / Principal Investigator of the respective research project via RSKTO. You may check with your supervisor / Principal Investigator if you have queries on the amount received.

Q14. Why I only receive the stipend from one supervisor?
The main reason may be that your stipend form has not yet been sent to FO for processing or has been sent to FO after the payment cut-off date of the month. Please check with your supervisor or the related staff members first. Please note that FO will process your stipend only upon receiving the hard copy of the application form.
Besides, if you are a newly admitted PhD student, you may not be eligible to receive stipend from some types of research projects. Please refer to the related guidelines on RSKTO homepage for details.

Q15. Can I receive stipend from more than one research project at the same time?
Stipend relating to research assistantships is governed by the “Funding Guidelines for Research Assistantships” on GRS homepage. On the other hand, if the stipend is supported by external funded research projects, the related rules and guidelines of the respective funding entities such as FDCT, SZSTIC, etc. should be applied.
In general, students can receive stipend from more than one research project simultaneously as long as the total stipend amount for the month does not exceed the monthly maximum amount as stated in the “Funding Guidelines for Research Assistantships”. Besides, there are specific restrictions on stipend supported by some external funded projects. It is advisable to check with your supervisor / Principle Investigator or staff members of RSKTO for details.

Q16. Why the amount I received differs from the agreed amount?
Common causes for students not receiving full month stipend include but not limited to:

  • Newly admitted students supported by research projects may be paid on a pro-rata basis in the month of admission. For example, if you are a new student and complete your admission process in mid-August 2023, your stipend which is supported by research projects may be paid on a pro-rata basis in August 2023.
  • Stipends supported by research projects may be paid on a pro-rata basis in the month that the student graduates, withdraws, discontinues, or defers from study, etc. and the payment may also be delayed.
  • The amount is released per the instruction from the supervisor or PI of the research project.

Q17. What is the payment schedule of receiving monthly stipend? Why I could not receive my stipend on time?
Normally, the monthly stipend will be released to you by the last working day of the month when the following conditions met:

  • FO receives the correct and complete stipend form/payment instruction by 10th of the month and
  • you have input/ updated correct and valid bank information in SIW by the time your stipend form is submitted to FO.

If the above requirements are not fulfilled, the stipend MAY NOT be released to you on time.

Q18. Can I receive my monthly scholarship/assistantship earlier in order to pay the tuition fee?
Monthly scholarship/assistantship will be released to students on the last working day of the month.

Q19. Why some of my scholarship/assistantship is withheld?
The amount withheld from your scholarship/assistantship is to offset part of you tuition fee as per your application.

Q20. Why I need to return part or all of my stipend received to UM?
You are required to return part or all of your stipend to UM when:

  • your training hour exceeds 15 hours for that week;
  • you have received scholarship / assistantship and the total amount for the month exceeds the monthly maximum amount;
  • you have graduated, withdrawn, discontinued or deferred from study; or
  • you are terminated from study.

Q21. I have updated my bank information in SIW, is there any other procedure needed to do?

Since there may be a time gap between the moment you update your bank information in SIW and the moment FO processes the payment of your scholarship, assistantship, stipend, etc., please inform FO by email (fo_ast_grp@um.edu.mo) once you have updated your bank information in SIW.

The above mentioned email should include the following information (the template is for illustration only):

Subject of the email: ZC123456 – Update bank information

Content (template):

  1. Student no.: ZC123456
  2. Name: CHEN Cheng Cheng
  3. Update date of the new bank account information in SIW: 20/9/2023
  4. Effective date of the new bank account: 17/9/2023
  5. Is the original bank account still valid?: No
  6. The bank account is for collecting: A

         [Options: A. Scholarship/Assistantship; B. Stipend; C. Reimbursement; D. Others (if D is chosen, please briefly describe, e.g. “Prize”)]

  1. Reason for updating bank information: B

       [Options: A. The previous bank account was closed; B. The previous bank account information needed to revise due to error; C. The previous bank account information does not meet the requirement of UM; D. Others (if D is chosen, please briefly describe, e.g. “To receive the payment with my another bank account)]