Going for it… and all it takes!

Antionette Caruana shares her successful career from banks to food manufacturing companies. Female, over 50 years old, raising two young adults (who think their mum is technologically challenged and old),a patient and supportive husband (partner for over 24 years), encouraging parents, and friends and family who have been there for me whenever needed. These qualities are the critical aspects of my life which is full, overflowing, sometimes exhausting but truly rewarding. My first job was nearly 35 years ago, and the years have flown by.

Many opportunities were opened by starting my career at a local bank after my first degree at the University of Malta, B.A. (Hons) in Business Management. At the same time, I married my husband who gave me more enthusiasm. My studies opened up a great interest in understanding the role of people in organisations, management, strategy, and performance.

Then I changed my job. Soon after I got married, I took the plunge and joined Playmobil entering a career that lasted more than 13 years. During this time, I learnt so much about business, running an organisation, and people management. The job was challenging and needed long hours with some tears and a dose of determination to succeed, but I could make things happen.

During my job at Playmobil, I had two children, completed my Masters’ degree and also got involved in many opportunities outside Playmobil including the Federation of Industry, the Foundation for Human Resources Development, the Richmond Foundation and worked with different departments of the public sector. I also took on different projects and lectured at University to keep in touch with students (the employees of the future) and academics (the launchpad of innovation and debate).

Being an idealist who is obsessed about achieving results, I sought my next challenge: to make a difference by taking a leading role. I applied to head Heritage Malta as CEO and was chosen. The team was extremely committed to preserving and managing Malta’s unbelievable heritage. We did some great things together like keeping museums open 7 days a week and put up the shelters over the Neolithic temples of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra. Following that, I worked with Lufthansa Technik Malta when this organisation was quickly growing on the island. Currently, I work with the Farsons Group as Company Secretary and Group HR manager. Being part of the senior management team of one of the long established and most successful local group of companies is another very rewarding experience and continues to provide me with enthusiasm, ambition, and pride.

Top tips to succeed
by Antoinette Caruana

  • My family remains my priority, though they may not believe this. My career has helped shape me. The following are the best values that have made a difference to who I am.

  • Have a dream and go for it… Make it happen. Believe that no one owes anyone a living. If you falter, try again.

  • Work with others.

  • Be as good as you can in what you do.

  • Always have a passion for learning in everything you do. Keep your eyes and ears open. Be aware of what is happening and contribute.

  • Keep true to your values.

  • Tell people who have made a difference to your life that they have, and treasure them.

  • Say sorry at work, at home, and invest time to build trust and commitment.

  • Be a good example by working long and hard. Sometimes you will be tired and grumpy but pick yourself up and move forward.

  • Invest in relationships which really matter.

Nobody is an island and networking is vital. You need it to work with other organisations, to continue learning, to contribute, and to be part of a country’s culture. Networking gave me confidence and helped open up opportunities. I have served as director at the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) and until recently the Central Bank of Malta. Before that I served on MEUSAC and also on MPVQAC. The list is very long and I was in touch with various sectors of society from youths to industry. These experiences have touched my life and enriched me.

Now I’d like to talk about being a woman on the job. First off, do not let this make a difference to how you behave since your skills, competence, and professionalism matter. Going for a career demands a strong partnership at home, but I believe that if a woman is good at what she has chosen to do, she would have the sheer determination to succeed by finding those critical opportunities. In Malta, I already see a number of successful women in many spheres. And I hope we will see even more.

Ships to Computers

In 1991, when the first DOS-based PCs started to become available, I graduated from the University of Malta after having read for a degree in Electrical Engineering. The Internet and mobile telephones still had not appeared.

There were no ICT courses at the UoM. Engineering courses were the closest I could come to entering this field. Teaching of computer science was therefore obviously limited, but at least we recieved a fair amount of computer architecture and networking theory. We also built our first processor boards, and wrote our first code in assembly language. The Dean was not thrilled when I approached him to announce that I wanted a ‘software only’ thesis, a first. But I got away with it, and built a software driver for a LAN card, a networking card, using a programming language called Modula 2.

When I graduated my computing future did not look bright. I was tied by a two-year contract with Malta Shipbuilding, to whom I was assigned during the student worker scheme. I had spent three summers working there managing a team of electrical technicians, which toughened me. After this experience, managing teams should have been relatively easy.

During my last months at University I decided that I wanted to enter the IT world. I started shopping around for a job while doing some teaching at a private school. I landed a job at the software company Megabyte as a systems engineer and decided to end my contract at Shipbuilding paying the required financial penalties. Financially not the best decision but best for my career.

After seven years at Megabyte , I moved on to become the CEO of the Internet company Maltanet. I spent 8 years running the company. In Malta, during this time the Internet market was growing exponentially. The pace of technology accelerated tremendously making it a very exciting time within a highly competitive environment. When GO was fully privatised we merged all the subsidiaries and I spent nearly 3 years as Chief Commercial Officer for the group. Managing the commercial portfolio of a quad play operator was an instructive and rewarding challenge.

Today I run my own firm called ICT solutions. In 2009 I set up a joint venture focused on two areas, ICT servicing and software development. It employs a team of over 20 people, mostly UoM graduates. They provide solutions to cater for the ever growing ICT requirements of the corporate world.

So what lessons have I learnt? Firstly, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution and everyone needs to build on their strengths. Secondly, you need to put in long hours. If you do not work harder than your normal 9 to 5 employee, then you will remain a normal 9 to 5 employee. Thirdly, you need to keep abreast and understand technology cycles and where the market is going.
Be technically competent but appreciate business logic. Fourthly, and most importantly, relate to people and build relationships with your team and clients.

Dentists on wheels

The RIDT is supporting a community project that is being spearheaded by the Faculty of Dental Surgery (University of Malta). The project should improve the Maltese population’s quality of life and supply vital oral health information.

The Mobile Dental Clinic Project will carry out research through standardised scientifically established methods to determine the oral health status of Malta. As a result of scarce epidemiological data, this particular health status is not known, although various factors suggest it may be suboptimal. With such a mobile unit at hand, the Faculty will be able to study (and prevent) all areas of oral health. It will be in an excellent position to reach all sectors of society, providing routine dental care as an outreach clinic. The clinic will visit all localities in Malta and Gozo, focusing on underprivileged communities, homebound elderly patients,
special-needs schools, and institutionalised people. Equipped with modern facilities on par with any dental clinic, this unit will be manned by staff members of the Faculty of Dental Surgery together with final year dental students.
To finance this community project, the RIDT has found the backing of a number of corporates and institutions who have pledged their support through their donations. The clinic is estimated to cost around €120,000. The mobile dental clinic is expected to be on the road this Autumn.

 

 

Funding of academic chairs by FIMBank and The Alfred Mizzi Foundation

As from the next academic year, the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy of the University of Malta will be providing a course in International Trade Finance which is being sponsored by FIMBank Malta plc and the International Factor Group (IFG). The same faculty will also introduce a course in Digital Marketing which is being sponsored by The Alfred Mizzi Foundation. These new additions will offer a unique educational experience in modern commercial activities to both local and foreign students. The financing of the courses has been facilitated by the RIDT. 

Cycling for breast cancer research

Forty cyclists will be covering an endurance route of 720 km. They will cycle from London to Brussels to Paris this July to raise funds for breast cancer research at the University of Malta. For this initiative to happen, the RIDT has teamed up with two not-for-profit organisations, Action for Breast Cancer Foundation and ALIVE Charity Foundation. The former is an organisation that brings together breast cancer survivors, patients, and well-wishers, while ALIVE consists of a group of cyclists are dedicating their cycling efforts towards good causes.

The cyclists are currently undergoing training to get in shape for this challenge. Their objective is to each raise €1,800. 

KSU joins list of donors

In a typical case of charity beginning at home, the Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (KSU) has donated €1,000 towards the research trust of the University of Malta. Speaking during the presentation of the donation, Mr Mario Cachia, former president of the KSU pledged that the KSU shall venture to promote the objectives of the Trust among the students it represents, and encourage them to support it, even by organising activities to raise funds for specific future research. 

Hotline Miami

Game Review_Costantino

Push start. Grab a weapon. Get shot. Repeat… ad infinitum. ‘Punishing’ hardly describes a session of Hotline Miami. Typically, within 10 seconds you could die three or four times. It is just as frustrating as it is challenging. Addictively, you will not give up until you pass that sneaky little passage. 

Hotline Miami is an ultra-violent, psychotic game, where your only aim is to kill all the ‘bad guys’.

Yet, every little move counts, and deciding which weapons to use or which door to open first will reveal the deep strategic possibilities of the game’s intense experience. As you make your way through a pile of corpses, the suspense builds up to unbearable levels as you risk losing all in-game progress for just a little mistake. The massacre is only interrupted by brief moments that reveal details of our mysterious ‘hero’s’ back-story. Keeping true to expectation, even these interludes are awkward if not disturbing, and hardly shed light on our displaced, faceless avatar. 

The excellent game tops it all with an irresistible ‘80s aesthetics and a neurotic electronic soundtrack. You’ll quickly find out why this game has stolen the show winning so many awards, and has hooked fans of Grand Theft Auto and of good old shoot’em up games. Hotline Miami is a joy in repetition, providing that being stuck in a Clockwork Orange–like scenario is your idea of joy. 

Screenshot from Hotline Miami
Screenshot from Hotline Miami

www.hotlinemiami.com 

Hand pose replication using a robotic arm

Robotics is the future. Simple but true. Even today, they support us, make the products we need and help humans to get around. Without robots we would be worse off.  Kirsty Aquilina (supervised by Dr Kenneth Scerri) developed a system where a robotic arm could be controlled just by using one’s hand.

The setup was fed images through a single camera. The camera was pointed towards a person’s hand that held a green square marker. The computer was programmed to detect the corners of the marker. These corners give enough information to figure out the hand’s posture in 3D. By using a Kalman Filter, hand movements are tracked and converted into the angles required by the robotic arm.

The robotic arm looks very different from a human one and has limited movement since it has only five degrees of freedom. Within these limitations, the robotic arm can replicate a person’s hand pose. The arm replicates a person’s movement immediately  so  that a person can easily make the robot move around quickly.Controlling robots from afar is essential when there is no prior knowledge of the environment. It allows humans to work safely in hazardous environments like bomb disposal, or when saving lives performing remote microsurgery. In the future, it could assist disabled people.

This research was performed as part of a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) at the Faculty of Engineering.

A video of the working project can be found at: http://bit.ly/KkrF39