It all started with half a thousand books donated to the UM Library in 2018. Then, six years later, your columnist attended an event called Friday Talks, organised by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti (FPM), the guardians of Victor Pasmore’s legacy. And like that, you, dear reader, and I – together, we fall into the rabbit hole of abstract art. From order to chaos. Down, down, down. ‘“I wonder how many miles I’ve fallen by this time?” she said aloud. “I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth.”’
Continue readingTiny Sensors, Big Impact: Revolutionising Air Quality Monitoring with Cutting-Edge Tech
With the rising population density and increasing number of cars on the roads, monitoring air quality is essential. As technology advances, sensors play a crucial role in detecting harmful substances in the air. However, most sensors are bulky, costly, and limited to industrial use. The University of Malta is working to develop smaller, more affordable, and accessible alternatives.
Continue reading3D Printing Balloons Inflates Enthusiasm for Future Technology
With the rise in popularity of 3D printing, the medium has become more accessible. What’s more, recent advancements in the field have made the technology rather intriguing. THINK explores the latest UM research on the development of 3D-printed balloons.
Continue readingExclusive: Metsola’s Road from Sunday Lunch Politics to European Parliament Presidency
Roberta Metsola took the helm of the European Union’s core decision-making body after a political career characterised by dedication and leadership prowess. With a year-long experience of being the President of the European Parliament, Metsola, a University of Malta (UM) alumna, talks to THINK magazine about the oft-bumpy road to the prestigious role.
Continue readingIs Digital Immortality Possible?
What if technology allowed us to map our entire brain? What if we could upload ourselves into an online world to live forever once our body wears down? Would that be a genius piece of technology or a beehive of unethical practices?
Continue readingBreaking the Hubble Tension: Researchers Deploy Machine Learning to Understand the Universe
Have you ever wondered how big or old the universe is? Actually, scratch that; how would you even measure it? A group of scientists at UM hope to answer these questions through machine learning.
Continue readingBlending Stoicism with Ethics Education Can Raise a Happier Society
Stoicism, a philosophy that kept both a slave and an emperor sane, is embraced as a useful philosophy today, two and a half millennia after it first surfaced. Adding it to the educational syllabus via ethics classes can bring ample benefit to students’ lives, Luke Fenech tells THINK.
Continue readingDecolonising the Maltese Mind
For such a tiny nation, isolated on the periphery of many gargantuan nations and empires, the Maltese share an eventful and varied history. Dr Charles Xuereb, in his new book Decolonising the Maltese Mind: In Search of Identity, gives a fascinating account of the Maltese existence and how different peoples passing through the island nation have affected its culture across history.
Continue readingModl.ai: Creating the Ultimate AI Game Testers
A spin-out from the University of Malta’s Institute of Digital Games is working on artificial intelligence-run game testing software. The engine would run thousands of low-level testing rounds before humans engage in high-level testing of a game prior to market release. Modl.ai co-founder Georgios N. Yannakakis tells THINK how his team aspires to change the game.
Continue readingForensic Interdisciplinarities with HUMS
On 21 October 2022, HUMS presented their first event of the new academic year! Four speakers explored ‘forensics’ in a variety of scenarios, from police work and literature to archaeology and medicine. Just in case you missed it, we’ve prepared an article to bring you up to scratch!
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