MACAU (UCAN): St. Magdalene School in Macau, founded in the spirit and tradition of St. Magdalene of Canossa, has launched what is reportedly the city’s first artificial intelligence-powered exercise and health classroom to support students’ physical fitness and emotional well-being.
The classroom is being run jointly with Macao Polytechnic University and Beijing E-Way Technology Co. Ltd., with the school serving as the project’s first local demonstration site, The Macau Post Daily reported on July 15.
The university provides research support in child health and psychology, while the Beijing-based company supplies the AI system and hardware.
The classroom combines AI, exercise science and mental health support to create a safer and more personalised health model for students, according to the school.
Students utilise smart bikes, heart rate monitors, and psychological questionnaires. The AI system analyses this data to generate exercise recommendations tailored to each student’s fitness, heart rate, and emotional state.
School officials said the system does not automatically adjust exercise intensity or make final decisions. Recommendations must be approved by exercise science and child health professionals before teachers use them.
The school emphasised its “human-in-the-loop” approach, ensuring student safety is always supervised and auditable, with teachers remaining responsible for monitoring students and adapting sessions as necessary.
Importantly, the classroom supports students with special educational needs without segregating them into separate programmes. Its design is particularly suited to Macau’s compact campuses, where limited space and mental health concerns often challenge student wellbeing initiatives.
The project team hopes the concept can be expanded to other schools across Macau and to develop a “one student, one health profile” system, tracking each student’s long-term physical and emotional development
Its modular design allows several smart bikes to be used indoors without a large playground. Students can complete 10- to 15-minute sessions during recess or lunch breaks.
The project team hopes the concept can be expanded to other schools across Macau and to develop a “one student, one health profile” system, tracking each student’s long-term physical and emotional development.
St. Magdalene School is a member of the Macau Catholic Schools Association, which says it has 26 member schools, and serves grassroots families, students from low-income households and children with special educational needs.
The project comes as Macau’s education authorities have put greater emphasis on student health, campus safety and diversified learning.
In the 2024-2025 academic year, the city had 76 non-higher education schools and 116 school units, with 103 units in the free education network serving about 80,000 students, according to the Education and Youth Development Bureau.
The Macau Diocesan Social Service Society says it provides counselling services for students, parents and school staff and supports students facing academic, social, emotional and family difficulties.
