At a time when new discoveries and developments are daily occurrences, the worlds of academia and business should be best buddies. For businesses looking to stay on top, it makes sense to tap into fresh insights from tomorrow’s professionals. For students, what better way is there to prepare for their future than to shape their ideas with first-hand knowledge in their preferred areas of employment?
The process of bringing those worlds together continues to pose challenges. Start-ups and small businesses, the backbone of the Maltese economy, do not have the HR departments and resources necessary to organise such exchanges. The gap between these companies and students is difficult to overcome. However, steps are being taken to change the situation.
Go&Learn+ is providing a bridge between education and industry through an online platform that catalogues training seminars and company visits for students and educators in a multitude of sectors. The initiative has garnered a slew of supporters. 17 agencies in Europe and beyond are listed on the site, opening their doors to others. Among those are the Maltese companies, Thought3D, ZAAR, and The Galley, to name but a few.
Locally, the Malta University Holding Company and the Malta Business Bureau, the teams behind Go&Learn+, have worked together to create two new circuits involving groups of seminars, visits and programmes. One is dedicated to ICT for business, leisure and commodity, seeing students visit and learn from the people at Altaro, Scope Solutions, MightyBox, Trilith Entertainment, and Flat Number. The second circuit is related to food, involving companies such as Elty Food, Benna, Fifth Flavour, Da Vinci Pasticceria, and Contribute Water. Students reported that the visits were insightful, helping them to gain a better understanding of the sector and its nuances. In the case of the food circuit, it even proved popular with students from Italy who organised a trip to Malta to visit the companies involved.
The reality is that learning cannot be separated from work. The lack of communication between these endeavours has unfortunately contributed to a skills gap that threatens economic growth and employment. Programmes like Go&Learn+ are working towards remedying that situation. Continued support is essential.
Author: Cassi Camilleri
Go&Learn+ is a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
For further information on the project, visit www.goandlearn.eu or kindly contact Alexia Pace Kiomall on alexia.pacekiomall@muhc.com.mt and Marija Elena Borg on mborg@mbb.org.mt
Silicon is the go-to material for solar devices like photovoltaic panels despite its relatively low energy conversion rate of 15-22%. Researchers all over the world are analysing materials and creating new ones to find a better solution. A lucky handful are armed with a laser scattering tomograph (LST), the best instrument for the task.
An LST illuminates the sample material with an infrared laser beam, which scatters wherever it finds a defect. If there is a defect in a material’s structure, even one just a few nanometers wide, the very sensitive CCD camera at the other end of the machine will pick it up, allowing researchers to learn and adapt. It also boasts a robotic system that allows it to automatically load multiple samples at once.
The LST is very rare, but fortunately, one has found a home at the University of Malta’s (UM) Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE), a brand new, state-of-the-art facility aimed towards finding efficient solutions for harnessing solar power to its fullest extent. ‘There are probably 10 to 12 of these worldwide,’ confirms Prof. Luciano Mule’ Stagno, Director of the Lab at the ISE. ‘Ours is one of the few in the world to be found in a university, almost certainly the only one in a university in Europe. Most of these machines are in industry settings,’ he says.
This enables the UM to conduct cutting-edge research in a field that is practically nascent, putting it at the forefront. With the LST, material engineers could unlock the secrets behind the perfect variation of defect-reduced silicon. This rise in efficiency could have a substantial impact on the worldwide sustainable energy market.
The Sun is the most important source of energy for life on Earth. Powerful as it is, what would happen if humankind could create a miniature sun in a lab and harness its energy? This is the mission of Dr Ing. Nicholas Sammut, Dr Ing. Andrew Sammut, and Karl Buhagiar.
Malta is not a resource rich country, but in the shift towards renewable energies, our sunshine is now coveted for more than just tanning. Hans-Joachim Sonntag talks to Prof. Luciano MulèStagno about his experience in improving solar panel materials and building a research facility from scratch. Continue reading
Cars, motorcycles, machinery—gears are at the heart of them all. Dr Ing. Ann Zammit writes about challenges in producing and improving gears to make everything safer.
Of the astronomical phenomena, we can witness with our own eyes, a solar eclipse is one of the most spectacular. This phenomenon was used early in the 20th century to prove Einstein’s new theory of gravity. As light passes around a celestial object, its path is bent exactly as predicted by Einstein’s theory.
When researchers compared the amount light that was bent by large clusters of galaxies with the observed mass of the galaxies, they found that there was a discrepancy of over a factor of 1000, giving birth to the phenomenon known today as dark matter.
Deandra Cutajar
The distortions of galaxy shapes by large masses, provide astronomers with a tool to construct a dark matter map and its distribution in the universe we observe. Images captured using telescopes are analysed carefully to understand the distortions of galaxies due to the presence of dark matter lenses. However, in practice this is a very arduous task because telescopes suffer both from electronic noise as well as atmospheric distortions, so throughout my PhD, I investigated how the noise present in astronomical images could contribute to the distortion of galaxy images and also introduce errors in our maps of dark.
Under the supervision of Prof Kristian Zarb Adami, I applied Bayesian inference to determine the correct measurements of galaxy shapes. However, since the variations in the shape and size of galaxies due to lensing is very small, the measurement of dark matter is extremely difficult. Only novel statistical methods developed within a consistent Bayesian framework allow us to extract the maximum amount of information in such difficult scenarios.
Unfortunately, the application of the new methods in my Ph.D. have shown results that are similar to those reported by other researchers, with the techniques failing to provide the desired accuracy. Nonetheless research goes on, unravelling more mysteries and questions that still need answers.
Filmmaker Kenneth Scicluna originally wanted to work in computer animation but finally found his calling in film. Veronica Stivala joins him on his journey so far, which despite being rather distressing at times, is also one that brings with it some rewards.
Valletta is living proof that major cultural and artistic events can breathe new life into the city. When Malta’s capital was granted the title of European Capital of Culture for 2018, all hands were on deck to prune and preen, reversing decades of decay to make it ‘worthy’ of such a prestigious title. Now, after years of intense effort, the hard work has paid off. City Gate now provides an appropriately magnificent entryway into Valletta. Dingy, long-shuttered venues have been restored and reinvigorated. The once sleepy city has roared back to life with the wealth of events being organised. Valletta is no longer a stop on the hop-on hop-off bus; it is a bustling melting pot of old and new with an inescapable siren song.
This shift has created positive momentum in the arts scene. But not all outcomes have been positive. Valletta’s overhaul can look very different for the ones who call the city home. The burst of activities may have disrupted some people’s day-to-day business, while also contributing to the congestion and noise. The solution is in identifying ways to effectively balance the discomfort brought about by social change and the valued benefits that same change brings.
Jaakko Blomberg
Finnish social activist, Jaakko Blomberg knows the struggle. He founded the NGO Yhteismaa (Common Ground) in Helsinki in 2012. Yhteismaa specializes in new participatory city culture, co-creation, and social movements. ‘In the beginning, many municipal officers in Helsinki were against our events and projects; they just didn’t have any procedure for handling them, so we kind of had to find a new way to do things.’ Leaving room for people to share their ideas and expressing themselves is also essential, he says. ‘There should be different kinds of roles and tasks for people to take on; all changes are scary, so it’s important to inform people and make them feel like they’re part of the process. For example, many people are prejudiced against street art, but when you explain more about it and give people the chance to take part in the process, their attitude becomes much more positive. Organisers have to provide enough information and make participation easy. It’s important that it’s not just about a small circle of activists, but about the whole community.’
Residents often felt ‘helpless and disowned of their spaces.
Victor Jacono
Closer to home, project leader of the Ġewwa Barra initiative, Victor Jacono, tells us how Valletta residents often felt ‘helpless and disowned of their spaces.’ Ġewwa Barra was created to address precisely that issue: to empower residents and give them ownership of their community, using artistic tools to get a glimpse at the cultures affecting their lives and help them express the needs and dreams that shape their experience in the capital city.
‘We seek to encourage creativity, but also responsibility. We hold creative workshops conducted by different facilitators and artists to give people the chance to look at themselves through the aesthetic lens of the artworks. Currently we are engaging the residents of Duwi Balli in a process of creative place regeneration, through a collaboration between architects Maria Cerreta and Franco Lancio, the Valletta Local Council, and the Valletta Services Directorate. It is not simply a matter of approaching the residents and asking them what nice things they would like us to do for them. It is a matter of asking them what they wish to express with our support, of providing them with tools and opportunities to respond creatively to the changes affecting their lived spaces,’ Victor says. In 2017 and 2018 Ġewwa Barra is going to extend its reach even further in order to involve residents from across the capital city, with different artists conducting a series of creative workshops that will culminate in an exceptional performing arts event.
Ġewwa Barra was created to […] empower residents and give them ownership of their community, using artistic tools to get a glimpse at the cultures affecting their lives and help them express the needs and dreams that shape their experience in the capital city.
While Victor is realistic about the forward march of change, he believes it is unjust and unacceptable that changes are engineered by a handful of stakeholders, whose decisions everyone else simply has to accept— especially when such changes are going to affect Valletta’s residents’ lives dramatically. Much like Jaakko with Yhteismaa, he believes that the fear of change can be lessened if people are informed and included in the process. ‘The voices of those stakeholders with lesser means need to be amplified and given the importance they deserve. The arts can contribute greatly towards this. Ġewwa Barra is not so much about single events, but the mainly bottom-up processes engaging the residents creatively. I believe it is the experiences brought about by such processes that will leave an important and long-lasting legacy with the inhabitants of Valletta.’
Jaakko Blomberg and Victor Jacono are keynote speakers at the Valletta 2018 conference titled Living Cities, Liveable Spaces: Placemaking & Identity. More information on this conference can be accessed at conference.valletta2018.org. Registration ends on 12th November. Discounted rates are available for students.
From its very inception, the University of Malta Research Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT) aimed to catalyse a societal culture change—to see funding for research and innovation receiving broad-based and sustained support, as well as donations from large corporate donors. Indeed, a few productive years later, a silent revolution is gaining momentum as Maltese society embraces this concept.
To underline this shift, there couldn’t have been a more significant donor than the Malta Community Chest Fund (MCCF). The MCCF, under the patronage of the President of the Republic, is considered by many to be the people’s philanthropic saving pot, the national piggy bank for good causes. It raises funds through its relentless campaigning and public generosity. Following in the steps of her predecessors, the current President, H.E. Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, has taken this endeavour to new heights with L-Istrina, the yearly telethon fundraiser which hit the €5.5 million mark in 2016.
In December 2014, following an invitation by RIDT’s CEO Wilfred Kenely, The President visited the University of Malta’s research facilities and was shown some of the world-class research projects in areas such as breast cancer, brain-computer interfacing, and kidney disorders. Following that visit, the RIDT engaged with the Office of the President to identify research projects that would be supported by the Malta Community Chest Fund.
The first project to be funded was a study in the genetics of osteoporosis. Dr Melissa Formosa (Faculty of Health Sciences) is leading this project which, having conducted studies on animal models, is looking at Maltese families with members affected with osteoporosis in a bid to to determine whether genetic factors also increase susceptibility to this bone disease.
The President’s commitment has been re-endorsed with the signing of an agreement to finance a three-year National Eye Study to the tune of €132,000. The project investigates the incidence of eye disorders such as glaucoma and cataracts across the Maltese population. To date there is no reliable data available on blindness and common eye diseases. Led by ophthalmic surgeon and visiting senior lecturer Francis Carbonaro (Faculty of Medicine and Surgery), the project will be gathering data from 1% of the Maltese population aged between 40 and 80. The goal is to determine both age and sex-specific prevalence, and the cause of blindness and visual impairment in adults.
In her message to the RIDT, the President of the Republic spoke of her ‘distinct honour and great privilege to offer the full support of the Republic of Malta to the Research Trust. My office is committed to help achieve the aspiration and values we share with the Research Trust to create sustainable economic growth as a means to social development and prosperity.’
The Malta Community Chest Fund has chosen to invest in medical research conducted within the University of Malta. In doing so, it is not only supporting the quest for research-based solutions to our daily challenges, but also sending a clear message to the Maltese community—investment in research pays.
Prof. Joseph N. Grima’s work on auxetic metamaterials has been lauded the world over. Now that NIKE has released a shoe with an auxetic sole, he talks to Clemens Uhl about his thoughts on sharing knowledge.
