In 1978, when the economy of South East Asia was in rapid growth and the Open Door Policy of China was initially confirmed, Dr. Peter Eng, Dr. Edward P. H. Woo and Dr. K. K. Wong, founders of the University, recognized the desirability of having an international university in Macau. They negotiated with the Macau Government for permission to set up an international university in the territory. Consent was promptly given and the first university in Macau, the University of East Asia commenced operation in September 1981.

In February 1988, the University of East Asia was restructured to become a public university, renamed as University of Macau. Programs previously offered by the Open College and Graduate Collage of the University of East Asia were handled by a new East Asia Open Institute. To cope with the ever increasing and changing needs in the territory, the East Asia Open Institute entered into a joint venture with Universidade Aberta (Open University) of Portugal to form a new university - the Asia International Open University (Macau), with the approval of the Macau Government in 1992. Dr Hsueh Shou Sheng was appointed as the Founding Rector and Professor Zhuang Shanyu succeeded the position on 1 January 2001.

Over the past 20 years, thousands of students from Macau, Hong Kong, China and the Asia Pacific region had been attending courses offered by the University. Most of them graduated from the Master of Business Administration program and many of them are engaged in important positions in political, economic and commercial fields.

The University consists of School of Undergraduate Studies, School of Graduate Studies, School of Professional Studies and Portuguese School, offering a variety of programs covering business administration, international law, Chinese literature, social science and computer science, etc. In accordance with the Macau Government Decree Law 196/92/M, the university was approved to award Bachelor, Master and Doctor degrees.

The University is a member of the International Council for Educational Media (ICEM) and the Associacao das Universidades de Lingua Portuguese (AULP). A collaboration agreement was signed between the University and the British Columbia Open University of Canada to enable Macau and Hong Kong students to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with Canadian credential. The University has been actively organizing and participating in different international academic conferences. Seminars like the “Chinese Distance Learning Seminar”, “International Information Education Seminar”, “Investment Strategy Seminar”, “E-Government” and “Assessing Sovereign and Corporate Credit Risk in Greater China“ were hosted by the University in Macau.

The University always maintains close cooperation with institutions of higher education in China. In 1993, the University established the East Asia International Institute in Shanghai offering a wide range of high level business studies programs that were highly valued by both the community and the authorities. In 1997, agreement was signed with Shanghai Television University (the pioneer of distant learning in China) to establish a sister-institution relationship. The University has launched several high level Business Administration programs in different parts of Mainland China in conjunction with Mainland institutions. On the other hand, in response to the demand in Hong Kong and Macau on the knowledge of China trade and China law, the University has launched various Diploma programs on China law, China finance/banking, China finance/accounting, China trade and China public administration to the community. Currently, the University is developing a series of e-learning programs.

Macau has been an unique meeting place between the Eastern and Western cultures from its earliest history and has been a gateway of the trade between China and Europe. It can be seen that the hand-over of Macau to China in December 1999 and the implementation of “One country, two systems” have brought significant impact to Macau and China, especially the ties between China and European Community. The University will endeavour to establish closer ties in the trade and cultural exchange amongst Macau, China and Europe. It will make full use of its close relations with higher education institutions in China and will continue to develop quality professional programs including business administration, public administration and international commercial law programs to be offered in Macau, Hong Kong and China. The University will continue to strive to strengthen academic programs and research and to provide lifelong learning opportunities to train and cultivate distinguished professionals in Macau, Hong Kong and China.