A word from the Rector
Round-Up 1997
Round-Up 1998

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Not just a matter of faith

Against a backdrop of millennial angst, the future role of universitiesis being increasingly questioned. Perhaps, as never before in their quasi-thousandyears of existence, have universities been so scrutinized. Never, likethe present, have universities been so pressurized to transform 'abstractvision into concrete provision,' particularly at the national level. ClarkKerr, in his 1963 Godkin Lectures, stated that 'the university is so manythings to so many different people that it must, of necessity be partiallyat war with itself.' The energy released in such a 'belligerent' milieuneeds to be channelled into effecting certain types of change which shouldensure that universities continue to flourish as immensely attractive albeitcomplex institutions. Today's university has to respond positively to changerequired by the needs of its host society; to change resulting from discoverieswhich have brought about the creation of new disciplines; to change neededto accept the establishment of new interdisciplinary institutions as wellas to internal organisational change, shifting from the 'administering'to the 'managing' mode.

If our university is to become a principal driver of the economy inthe 'knowledge century' that is fast approaching, it must be prepared torespond in a sensitive and sensible manner to the demands that mass education,ever growing requests for higher qualifications and new technologies areformulating. All this, at a time, when, as is happening in many universitiesoverseas, the finances available cannot be stretched to cover the demandsbeing made. It will have to vie with eager competitors - both local andforeign - who will also do their best to create niches and establish bridgeheadsinto a new market of knowledge and learning.

Dr. Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO, has recently had occasionto sound a warning against the transformation of universities into marketinstitutions, run purely on market principles. If this were to happen,he cautioned, whilst such universities 'may be of their age, they willnot be able to transcend it.' Whilst agreeing with this and accepting thata university is not a place where ideas are only considered because oftheir cash value, it would be foolish if one were to completely ignoremarket forces. Whilst accepting that universities do not exist simply toimpart job skills, a university should be concerned with the employabilityof its graduates. Naturally, it ought to be equally concerned with theviability of its efforts in research and consultancy.

Entrepreneurial activity within and by universities is a new desideratumof modern institutions of higher learning. For this to be attained, onemust remove all obstacles to enterprise that are inherent in bureaucraticallycontrolled higher educational systems and their centralised internal decision-makingstructures. We must strive to achieve this. Our university is, and mustincreasingly be, international in its reach. Many Faculties, in particular,Medicine and Surgery, have become more and more conscious of this. It isencouraging to note that they have started to register success and aremanaging to attract substantial numbers of foreign students to our campus.

I have great faith in our university. I am sure that it will manageto make an ever greater contribution to our 'knowledge society.' To riseto the occasion, we must be ready to accept change, to meet future challengesand to exploit all opportunities that present themselves to us.

Roger Ellul-Micallef
Rector
 

Round-up 1997

January

The Mediterranean Institute presented the first edition of the MaltaInternational Project of Computer Music directed by Ruben Zahra which introducedthis contemporary artistic expression in Malta. Composers/performers fromFrance, Italy, Germany and Malta participated in two concerts in whichworks in this genre were performed. A seminar was also held. The eventwas made possible through collaboration with the National Tourism Organisation,the Ministry of Education and National Culture, the Ministry of Tourism,the Embassies of the Federal Republic of Germany and France and the Delegationof the Commission of the European Communities in Malta.

The Academy of Physical Education and Sport organised a sports seminarentitled Assessed and Examined Courses in Physical Education and Sportrelated studies from 16 - 18 January 1997. This was well attended byphysical education teachers, undergraduates and people involved in thefield.

The Institute of Linguistics presented two books: Maltese. LinguaDescriptive Grammars (London: Routledge, 1997) by Albert Borg and MarieAzzopardi-Alexander and The Maltese Noun Phrase meets Typology (Pisa:Pacini Editore, 1996) edited by Frans Plank and Albert Borg. This was attendedby the President of Malta, H.E. Dr. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici as well as by theMinister of Education and National Culture, the Hon. Mr. Evarist Bartolo.

Sixty-four students from the Institute of Health Care who had completedvarious certificate courses were awarded their certificates. The majoritywas in Nursing Practice but there were also several Pharmacy Techniciansand a number who received certificates in Medical Laboratory Science.

Peaceful Settlement of Disputes in Europe: Recent Developmentswas the title of a talk delivered by Professor Lucius Caflisch, Ambassadorat Large, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs when he visited theMediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies. Professor Norman Scott fromthe Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, also visitedthe Academy in January. He spoke on The Changing Role of Economic Sanctionsin International Affairs with special reference to the Mediterranean,while Professor Michael Pugh, from the Department of Politics, Universityof Plymouth and Editor, International Peacekeeping, delivered apublic lecture on The United Nations: Can it Rescue? Can it be Rescued?

The Faculty of Education held a one-day Faculty Seminar which addressedthe topic of The Faculty of Education: Today and Tomorrow.
 

February

The III Annual Saint Augustine Lecture organised jointly between theUniversity of Malta and the Maltese Augustinian Province was held. Dr CarolHarrison, Lecturer in the History and Theology of Latin Western Christendomat Durham University spoke about Saint Augustine on Language and Society.She also addressed The Philosophy Society.

A two-day postgraduate conference on Diabetes Melitus aimed at bridgingthe gap between primary and secondary care of diabetes was held. The conferencewas organised by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes,the University's Department of Medicine, the Department of Health and theMalteseDiabetes Association.

Professor René Schwok, University of Geneva, gave a public lectureon The Intergovernmental Conference: What will change for the EU andthe Mediterranean States? when he visited the Mediterranean Academyof Diplomatic Studies in February.
 

March

The Theatre Studies Programme held a one-day seminar on playwritingin Malta - is it in crisis.

An exhibition of Manuscripts & Rare Books held by the Library'sSpecial Collections Department was opened by the distinguished author,Guzè Chetcuti.

In order to acquaint the general public with its workings, the Universityheld Open Day between 13 and 15 March, when the campus was opento the public and a number of activities and exhibits were organised. H.E.The President, Dr. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici inaugurated the proceedings.

The University Vocal Ensemble performed Antonin Tucapsky's StabatMater in a concert of sacred polyphony.
 

April

A symposium entitled A Tradition of Excellence in Health Careorganised jointly by the Department of Pharmacy and the Institute of HealthCare was held in early April. The first Health Services Management MastersGraduates, among others, presented research papers at the symposium whichwas held in the Temi Zammit Hall.

The Centre for Mediterranean Studies, University of Exeter and the Universityof Malta's Department of History organised an international conferenceon population movements through the ages, entitled People Moving.This brought together delegates from Italy, France, Switzerland, Argentina,Cyprus, Israel, Britain and Malta.

The Department of Philosophy welcomed Professor David E. Cooper fromthe University of Durham as Visiting Guest Lecturer. In the course of hisvisit, he also addressed the Philosophy Society.

The Annual Lowenbrau Gozo Seminar organised by the University's GozoCentre in collaboration with the Parliamentary Secretariat for Gozo washeld at the Imgarr Hotel, Gozo. This year's theme was The Gozitan Woman.

The Department of Pathology together with the Thalassaemia AwarenessMalta Association and the Thalassaemia International Federation hostedthe Sixth International Conference on Thalassaemia and the Haemo-globinopathiestogether with the Eighth Parent and Thalassaemics International Conferenceat the New Dolmen Hotel, St. Paul's Bay. This was attended by some 600physicians, scientists, Thalassaemia patients, parents and support grouprepresentatives from Malta and many other countries.

The Third Annual Anthropology Conference Mediterranean Women: Concepts,Processes and Images was held. This was inaugurated by the Hon. HelenaDalli, Parliamentary Secretary for Women's Rights and had as its keynotespeaker, Professor Judith Okely from the University of Hull.

Launch of Education 2000, a teacher's journal produced by theFaculty of Education in collaboration with the Education Division, Ministryof Education and National Culture. The journal aims to provide ongoingtraining for teachers by supplying a practical application for researchcarried out by contributors.

The fourth annual conference organised by the European Documentationand Research Centre was held at the end of the month. This year's centraltheme was The Individual and the Entrepreneur in Malta and the EuropeanUnion. This was addressed by a number of local and foreign speakers.

Designs '97 an exhibition of work by Faculty of Architecture& Civil Engineering students was mounted by SACES (Society of Architecture& Civil Engineering Students) in the Junior Common Room, UniversityHouse.

Ms. Ileana Curmi, only daughter of the distinguished author and educationalist,Dr. Giovanni Curmi, donated her father's portrait as well as his collectionof manuscripts, correspondence, photos and original editions of his worksto the University Library.

Mgr. René Coste, honorary professor from the Faculty of Theology,Catholic University of Toulouse, gave the annual St. Thomas Aquinas Lecture.He spoke on Reconciliation: a Mediterranean perspective.
 

May

Professor Jarlath Ronayne, Vice-Chancellor Victoria University of Technology,Melbourne, Australia, visited Malta at the head of a delegation. Academiclinks were further cemented at the signing of a renewed Exchange Agreementbetween the two universities. This covers student and faculty exchangesas well as cooperation between the two universities.

Under the auspices of the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies,Dr. Giancarlo Aragona, Secretary-General of the OSCE, gave a public lectureat the Aula Magna, Foundation for International Studies Valletta on Therole of the OSCE in the emerging security architecture with special referenceto the Mediterranean dimension.

The Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies held a three-day internationalconference on Information Technology and Diplomacy followed by aworkshop on the use of IT in diplomatic activities. These were organisedin conjunction with the Commonwealth Network of IT for Development andsponsored by the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Foreign Ministry and theSwiss Development Corporation.

Pinzellati ta' Malta, an exhibition in the foyer, Temi ZammitHall, of watercolours by Douglas Allan Eckheart, artist and art professorat Luther College, Iowa. Professor Eckheart was visiting Malta as a guestlecturer with the International Study Abroad Programme.
 

June

The Workers' Participation Development Centre in collaboration withthe Friedrich Ebert Stiftung held a weekend residential seminar for CMTU/GWUofficials, employers and the Department of Labour on Contemporary Issuesin Labour Relations: New Participative Relations between Unions and Employers.

A private Graduation Ceremony for foreign students of the MediterraneanAcademy of Diplomatic Studies and of the Gerontology Division of the Instituteof Health Care was held.
 

July

The fifth edition of Evenings on Campus was launched with a PhotographicExhibition by University students.

Projected Visions - Summer 1997 included video presentationsof final year Communication Studies students' work. Third year studentstogether with visiting Eastern Kentucky students exhibited some of theirwork: commercials, a music video and a fashion video. This came at theend of a five week joint programme conducted by Dr. John W. Taylor, a formerFulbright Scholar.

Fourth year Engineering students held the annual Projects Exhibitionwhich was opened by the Hon. John Attard Montaldo, Minister for Industry.

The First International Conference on Inclusive Schooling and Communitiesorganised by the Inclusive Education Programme was held between 23 - 26July 1997. It offered teachers, parents, persons with disability, therapistsand policy makers from various countries, the opportunity to share theirexperiences in the field of Inclusion and Disability. Several post-conferenceworkshops on related topics were also held.

Third International Conference on Creative Thinking and EdwardDebono seminar on Thinking Skills took place.
 

August

A Summer School in Banking Law was conducted in collaborationwith La Sapienza University.
 

September

The Institute of Anglo-Italian Studies in conjunction with the BritishCouncil and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, hosted its third InternationalConference on the theme England and Italy: Literary and Cultural Relationsfrom 1300 to the present day.

In response to the needs of the civil service, a memorandum of intentwas signed for the establishment of an Institute of Public Administrationand Management which will provide further training and re-training of civilservants in an endeavour to enhance their career prospects and strengthenthe government's infrastructure. Its aim is to conduct certificate, diplomaand degree courses in public administration; organise public lectures andconferences; carry out research including an ongoing evaluation of theeffects of public policy on society and to publish reports, books, papersand journals.

The Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, hosted a small internationalworkshop on Graph Theory and Combinatorics with participants fromthe UK, Malta, Catania, Milan and Moldova.
 

October

Some 2000 new students started university while more than 1000 enteredthe Junior College
 

November

The Department of Biology held a one day symposium during which graduatestudents presented their research findings on a range of topics which included:marine pollution studies, marine and terrestrial ecology, faunistics andfloristics, acquaculture, fish pathology and other related fields.

On the occasion of Graduation 1997, a Mass of Thanksgiving was heldat St. John's Co-Cathedral celebrated by H.G. The Metropolitan Archbishopof Malta. Some 1,700 students graduated in various disciplines in the courseof a number of ceremonies.

Published in the Threshold Level Series, Fuq l-Ghatba tal-Malti byManwel Mifsud and Albert Borg is the first comprehensive communicativegrammar of Maltese. This new publication by the Institute of Linguisticswas officially launched on the occasion of a visit to Malta by Dr. J. Trimfrom the University of Cambridge who is an international authority in thefield of Communicative Language Learning and Project Adviser to the ModernLanguages Programme of the Council of Europe.

The Malta Joint Groups (IEE, I.Mech.E. and I.Civil. E.) awarded thetop prize to a Mechanical Engineering student for his project on Grit Blasting.
 

December

Dr. Peter Maddison, first holder of the Chair in Rheumatology at theRoyal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath and currently ConsultantRheumatologist in Bangor, Wales, gave the third Ralph Arrigo Lecture entitledNatureand Nurture in Connective Tissue Diseases. This coincided with RheumaDerm'97,an interdisciplinary International Medical Meeting organised jointly bythe University of Malta Medical School and Jefferson Medical College atThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, U.S.A.

Presentation of the first Panta Lesco Environmental Engineering InnovationDesign Award by the Hon. Evarist Bartolo, Minister of Education &National Culture to the three finalists, all former final year engineeringstudents. The Panta Lesco Group of Companies established the annual awardto encourage greater consciousness of the environment amongst architects,engineers and science graduates.

Professor F.E. Karasz from the University of Massachusetts gave a seriesof lectures on Polymer Engineering.

The University Vocal Ensemble and the Collegium Aureumunder the baton of Mro. Dion Buhagiar held its annual Christmas Concertat St. John's Co-Cathedral. This has been an annual feature on their artisticcalendar since 1980. The evening's programme included works by Bach, Mendelsshon,Handel, Terry and Grüber as well as various Maltese, Italian and FrenchChristmas melodies. Mezzo-soprano Claire Grech and sopranos, Sonia Agiusand Claire Debono participated.
 

Round-Up 1998

January

Official launching of Professor Alfonso Sammut's posthumous publicationBibliographyof Anglo-Italian Comparative Literary Criticism 1800 - 1990 editedby Professor Peter Vassallo, Director of the University of Malta's Instituteof Anglo-Italian Studies and Professor Franco Lanza from the Universityof Viterbo. Professor Sammut was, until his untimely death in 1994, Headof the Department of Italian, Faculty of Arts.

The German Ambassador, HE Mr. Gerhard Kunz presented books and audioequipment on the occasion of the inauguration of a German Room which isset to develop into a fully-fledged German resource centre.

The Institute of Health Care organised a three day workshop which dealtwith the Pharmacy Technician: an evolving discipline. This was dedicatedto the memory of the late Carmel Fenech, the first coordinator of the course.
 

February

Students from the Communication Studies Programme presented 24 videoproductions in the course of Projected visions - Winter '98. Thescreening of students' films has become a regular feature on the CommunicationStudies Programme calendar.

Questioning Human Creativity as Acting (xHCA), the CognitiveSciences and Theatre research programme celebrated three years of activity.Cognitive Psychologist, Dr. Glyn Goodall from the University of Bordeauxand Professor Nicholas Arnold from the Theatre Arts Department of De MontfortUniversity, Leicester, visited Malta to lecture Psychology and TheatreStudies students respectively as well as to participate in a symposiumon the theme The Performer: Working-Knowingly-upon Oneself whichwas addressed by representatives from various disciplines including CognitivePsychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Theatre Theory and Theatre Praxis whichoperates in the context of xHCA.

An exhibition covering documents relating to the foundation and activitiesof the Ghaqda tal-Malti (Università) founded in 1931 by medicalstudents Ruzar Briffa and Guzè Bonnici was mounted in the UniversityLibrary and was open to the public until the end of April. Exhibits includedmanuscripts, documents and correspondence covering the establishment andrecognition of the Ghaqda, original drafts of its statutes, recordsof minutes and its intervention in such matters as the Language Question;Maltese orthography and the teaching of Maltese in state schools as wellas letters by renowned Maltese writers, copies of early editions of Lehenil-Malti and material relating to the present workings of the Ghaqda.

Ten final year Faculty of Arts students' performance over two yearsearned them the coveted Dean's Award sponsored by the Bank of Valletta.

The Graduating Workforce: A Tracer Survey of University Graduateson the Malta Labour Market by Godfrey Baldacchino and contributorswas launched. The publication documents the results of Malta's first graduatetracer study which was undertaken by the Workers' Participation DevelopmentCentre in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) on behalfof the Employment & Training Corporation, the Foundation for HumanResources Development and the University.
 

March

Launch of Corsairing to Commerce a new book on the history ofMaltese-Spanish trade relations in the eighteenth century by Dr. CarmelVassallo.

The fifth annual conference organised by the European Documentationand Research Centre, entitled Malta-EU Relations and Restructuringwas held.

The Third International Conference of the Association Internationalede Dialectologie Arabe (AIDA) organised by the Institute of Linguisticswas held at the University Residence in Lija. Some ninety scholars fromthirty countries including European and Arab states, Israel, America andJapan participated.

Some sixty final year Pharmacy students presented their projects atthe annual Pharmacy Symposium. A pharmaceutical exhibition was held concurrently.

Presentation of annual awards to students of the 1992 - 1997 B.A.(Hons.)Accountancy course. The awards were sponsored by the Chartered Instituteof Management Accountants; Deloitte & Touche; Price Waterhouse; K.P.M.G.;Coopers & Lybrand; Grant Thornton and the Malta Institute of Accountants.

Dr. Geoffrey Stern from the London School of Economics, a well knownInternational Relations analyst, gave a course entitled The Structureof International Society. This was the first visiting lectureship inthe field to be sponsored under the auspices of the XEROX Lectures in InternationalRelations.

The fifth annual Gozo seminar sponsored by Löwenbräu was organisedby the Gozo Centre in collaboration with the Parliamentary Secretariatfor Gozo. This year's theme was Education in Gozo: Issues and Prospects.

A forum which discussed Id-direttur elett mill-haddiema forma validata'partecipazzjoni fit-tmexxija ta'azjenda was organised by the Workers'Participation Development Centre in conjunction with Malta University ServicesLtd. together with the Employment & Training Corporation. This broughtto a close a short course organised specifically for Worker directors.
 

April

Lessons for Malta's development was a seminar organised by studentsfrom the Department of Public Policy, Faculty of Economics, Managementand Accountancy. The students developed course research into three audiovisualpresentations focussing on Switzerland, Singapore and Ireland respectively.They invited the audience to consider the potential lessons for Malta'sown socioeconomic development which could be extracted critically fromsuch role models. A panel also reacted to the presentations. The eventwas sponsored by Marsovin, Xerox and Paparukei.

The University Vocal Ensemble together with the CollegiumAureum gave a concert of Choral Music for Holy Week and Easter. Thiswas held at St. John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta and was well attended. Thetwo choirs were under the baton of Mro. Dion Buhagiar and were accompaniedon the organ by Gino Mulè Stagno.

The joint University of Malta - Mid-Med Bank Computer and Commerce SciencesFoundation, established in 1992, hosted a visit by Professor Wolfgang Strasser,Head of the Graphic Research Institute, Eberhard-Karls-Universität,Tübingen, Germany. Professor Strasser gave an intense course on thetheory and practice of computer graphics to second and third year computerscience, information technology and business & computing students.

The final match in a fiercely contested five a-side inter-staff footballtournament was played between Finance and the Beadles. Trophies and medalssponsored by V. J. Salomone (Equipment) Ltd., agents for Ricoh, were presentedto the winners, Finance, as well as to all participants by the Rector.

The Faculty of Theology in conjunction with the Foundation for TheologicalStudies of the Archdiocese of Malta hosted the European Meeting of theConference of Catholic Theological Institutions (COCTI). The themeof the Conference was Judaism - Islam - Christianity: The Challengeof Inter-Religious Dialogue to Faculties of Theology in a Euro-MediterraneanContext and was attended by more than fifty Deans from various institutesacross Europe.

Representatives from 25 European student organisations met in Maltato discuss Education in an International Perspective. The European StudentInternational Bureau (ESIB) seminar was hosted by the Kunsill ta' l-IstudentiUniversitarji (KSU).

The Faculty of Engineering in collaboration with the Technology Unitof the Malta Development Corporation held an evening seminar which discussedBiotechnology & Engineering.

Teatru ta'Konfront f'Malta: Alternattiva Artistika u Politika wasa one day seminar organised by the Theatre Studies Programme which discussedPolitical Theatre in Malta over the last thirty years and was attended,among others, by playwrights and directors.

A good turnout of staff and students making up some eleven teams inall, participated in Sports Week organised by the Precincts Officein conjunction with the Physical Education Programme. Disciplines included5 a-side football, snooker, table-tennis, volleyball, basketball, athletics(long distance and relay), and wrestling. All events were played on a knockoutbasis. Trophies and medals, sponsored by Bank of Valletta's BOV Club, werepresented by the Minister of Education and National Culture.

The Workers' Participation Development Centre in collaboration withFriedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) organised a seminar on Privatisationand Trade Unions: The European Experience. This residential seminarforms part of a series of tripartite seminars organised by the WPDC inconjunction with FES on contemporary issues in Labour Relations.

Challenging Behaviour Workshop organised by the Dar tal-Providenzatogether with the Programme for Inclusive Education, Department of Psychology,which discussed and sought to understand Challenging Behaviour and wasconducted by Ms. Pattie Scott and Mr. Kenn Jupp who have developed stronglinks with those working in the area of Disability in Malta.
 

May

Fourth Euro-Mediterranean Information and Training seminar whichfocussed on various aspects of the Euro-Med Partnership process two yearsafter its launching. This was organised by the Mediterranean Academy ofDiplomatic Studies on behalf of the European Commission. The four day internationalgathering brought together diplomats from most European Union states andtheir Mediterranean counterparts which are parties to the November 1995Barcelona Declaration.

Professor Dr. Antoine Wessels from the Free University of Amsterdam,was this year's guest speaker at the annual academic evening held in honourof St. Thomas Aquinas which is organised by the Theology Students' Associationunder the patronage of HG the Archbishop of Malta. He spoke on The HolyScripture in a Multicultural Society.

Mrs. Louisette Briffa, widow of the renowned Maltese poet, Ruzar Briffa,donated her husband's papers to the University Library where they willbe preserved in the Special Collections Department. The prestigious donationcovers practically all Briffa's poetic output and includes draft manuscripts,copies and holographs of some 200 poems in Maltese as well as a small numberof poems in English and Italian.

To mark the establishment of two institutions in Malta which have beenof considerable importance for the development of trade, locally and regionally,that is, the Consolato di Mare and the Chamber of Commerce, an InternationalConference entitled Consolati di Mare & Chambers of Commercewas organised in conjunction with the Malta Chamber of Commerce and theIMO-International Maritime Law Institute. This was held at the Aula Magna,Foundation for International Studies, Valletta in early May and broughttogether economic historians and maritime legal historians from France,Italy, Spain, Morocco, Germany, Tunisia and Malta.

An exhibition of drawings, paintings and sculptors by Victor Diaconowas mounted in the foyer of the Temi Zammit Hall, organised by the KoperattivaKulturali Universitarja, the Art Unit and the Precincts Office. This wasinaugurated by the President of Malta, H.E. Dr. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici.

The Chairman of the Institute of Health Care presented certificatesto some 40 students who completed courses in Nursing Practice and MedicalLaboratory Science at the Institute.

On the occasion of International Nurses Day, a one-day conferencefor qualified nurses entitled Nurses Leading Change was organisedby the University's Institute of Health Care in conjunction with the Directorateof Nursing Services and the Nurses Association of Malta. This was the firsttime such a seminar was held to mark Nurses Day and it generated much interestand was very well attended. It is hoped it will become an annual event.

A team of fourth year Youth Studies Programme students organised anawareness initiative: Youth Work 2000 - Youth and Community Work asa profession which was held under the auspices of the ParliamentarySecretariat for Youth, Sports and the Arts.

A ceremony for the presentation of awards to members of staff who successfullyobtained higher degrees in the course of 1997 was held. These included:Dr. Stella Borg Barthet PhDMalta (English); Dr. John Chircop PhD Essex(History); Dr. Joseph Cilia PhD Nott. cum laude (Engineering); Mr. JamesL. Borg MSc Malta cum laude (Mathematics); Mr. Rodney Naudi MSc Sheff.cum laude (Computer Information Systems) and Dott. Joseph Chircop D.Litt.Firenze (Italian). From the Junior College, Mr. Jean Buttigieg MA cum laude(Philosophy).

The First EuroMed Workshop on Multimedia Technologies for a Euro-MediterraneanInformation Society and their application in various fields was organisedas a collaborative project between the Minister without portfolio withinOPM; the Ministry of Education & National Culture; the European Commission;Maltacom plc; the University of Malta and the National Commission for InformationTechnology.

Lecturers from the South Texas College of Law and the University ofMalta participated in the third programme, organised under the umbrellaof the International Office, for law students and recent graduates. Thecourse covered three modules: justice and international relations; internationaladmiralty law and financing the operations of government: a policy analysis.
 

June

A private graduation ceremony for the award of degrees to internationalstudents of the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies as well asto students who completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Gerontology and Geriatricswas held.

A Summer School in Archaeology involving a two week course of lecturesand a further four weeks of fieldwork at major sites in Malta and Gozo,was organised by the Foundation for International Studies and the Departmentof Classics & Archaeology.
 

July

Comedies, tragedies, experimental theatre, concerts, exhibitions andfilms are all part of Evenings on Campus, a cultural festival heldon campus during the summer months. The sixth edition was launched witha photographic competition entitled Valletta - City of Culture organisedunder the patronage of the Malta Photographic Society. Participation wasopen to the general public and photos submitted were exhibited in the JuniorCommon Room. The presentation of prizes to the winners coincided with theinauguration of this year's Evenings on Campus.

Projects '98 an exhibition of Final Year Engineering studentswork. The mechanical and electrical engineering projects form part of thestudents' fourth year final assessment. The exhibition, which is held annually,provides an opportunity for the general pubic and in particular, thoseworking in the field, to view the projects and become acquainted with tomorrow'sengineers.
 

October

Some 2000 new students started university while more than 1000 enteredthe Junior College.

The Institute of Linguistics under the auspices of the Faculty of Education,launched a two-year part-time postgraduate diploma course for teachersof hearing-impaired students from both special as well as mainstream schools.

The Maltese Paediatric Association and the University's PostgraduateMedical Education Committee organised Paediatric Update '98 atthe Suncrest Hotel, Qawra.
 

November

On the occasion of Graduation 1998 a Mass of Thanksgiving was held atSt. John's Co-Cathedral celebrated by H.G. The Metropolitan Archbishopof Malta. Some 1,700 students graduated in various disciplines in the courseof a number of ceremonies.

The University Library mounted an exhibition in commemoration of thebicentenary of French rule in Malta 1798 - 1800. Based on source materialfrom the Library's Department of Special Collections, the exhibition covereda select range of publications, some of them rare items, which includedjournals, articles and manuscript sources from the Library's archival depository.

Professor Dr Hubertus Drobner from the Faculty of Theology, Paderborngave the IV Annual St. Augustine Lecture.

Professor François Moureau, Director of the École DoctoraleLittératures Françaises Comparée, University ofthe Sorbonne (Paris IV), was in Malta to lecture on Beaumarchais's LeBarbier de Seville and Le Mariage de Figaro. His visit was madepossible through collaboration with the French Embassy

On the 15Oth anniversary of the publication of The Communist Manifestoby Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the Mediterranean Institute organizeda one-day seminar to examine the impact which Marxism has had on the variousdisciplines and research areas within the University of Malta.

On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, the Malta Development Corporation,in association with the Department of History, organised an interdisciplinaryconference on Maltese Elites and Economic Development in HistoricalPerspective. Various native elites and their links with Malta's economicand social development were explored thereby focussing on a crucial themein current historical studies and in the sociology of development.
 

December

Psychology Honours students presented their research findings at the1998Psychology Seminar. The newly introduced Cutty Sark prize sponsoredby NAPA for outstanding performance was awarded to Sharon Arpa for herdissertation entitled: Stress, job satisfaction and coping strategiesamong University Academic Staff and to Liliana Gambin whose dissertationwas ... and a father is born: a study on the factors affecting firsttime fathers' involvement with their one year old infant.

The University Vocal Ensemble and the Collegium Aureumunder the baton of Mro. Dion Buhagiar held its annual Christmas Concertat St. John's Co-Cathedral. The evening's programme featured various Maltese,Italian and French Christmas melodies.
 

InternationalLinks

1997 witnessed considerable strengthening of the University's internationalnetworking. The conclusion of a large number of bilateral agreements andthe University's admission to the Santander and Compostela networks, (inaddition to its membership of the Utrecht network) were major steps forwardin this direction. Fifteen bilateral agreements were signed with universitiesas far apart as Slovenia, Canada, Australia, the UK, the USA and Italy.These link agreements facilitate the exchange of students and lecturersand joint participation in research projects. The university also participatesactively in the negotiation of cultural agreements with foreign countriesand the formulation of programmes under this agreement. Several of thesewere negotiated in 1997 including with Cyprus, Slovenia, Italy, Franceand Germany.

In line with its policy of internationalization and with a view to ensuringthat the standard of courses offered is at par with the best universities,the University welcomed some one hundred lecturers and examiners from overseasuniversities during 1997 and again in 1998.

A medium-term objective of the University of Malta is to have overseasstudents represent five per cent of the total student population. During1997, 400 overseas students originating from 70 different countries, wereregistered as full-time students rising to 500 in 1998 from 78 countries.A good number of these were pursuing postgraduate studies. The number ofoverseas students on campus was substantially augmented by others comingon short exchange and transfer programmes with other universities.

As a result of a change in course regulations, overseas students nowhave a much greater opportunity to read Medicine in Malta than previously.Up to thirty places each year are being reserved for overseas students;this change enabled the Norwegian government to register nine studentsto follow the medical course in Malta in 1997 and a similar number wasregistered in 1998.

One of the briefs of the International Office is to develop the shortcourses programme. A major success was recorded in 1997 with the launchingof a 13-day programme for Elderhostel (USA) highlighting Malta's role askeystone of the Mediterranean. This programme was repeated ten times during1997 and increased to seventeen in 1998.

In addition, the International Office organised several short summercourses in a variety of areas ranging from Archaeology to the MediterraneanEnvironment and to European Contract and Banking Law. These courses areproving to be very popular with overseas students.

The University of Malta also works closely with a number of AmericanUniversities which run summer programmes in Malta, very often with thehelp of Maltese lecturers. Exchanges with American universities both ona bilateral level and under the ISEP programme are steadily increasingand through them students from all over the United States are coming tospend anything from one semester to a year in Malta. This widespread geographicprovenance in turn offers Maltese students going to the USA a much widerselection of universities at which to study.

Through its links with the Council on International Educational Exchange,the University offers students the possibility of spending some time workingand touring in the United States and in Australia. Last year's participantswere enthusiastic about this programme which is expected to increase rapidlyin popularity over the next few years.

The international office maintains close links both with the MalteseMinistry of Foreign Affairs as well as with foreign embassies in Maltathrough which the award of scholarships is made. Many activities includingconcerts, art exhibitions and public lectures have been held as a resultof joint collaboration.
 

FACULTIES

Faculty of Arts

Art Unit
Classics & Archaeology
English
History
Italian
Maltese
Philosophy
 

The Faculty of Arts is one of the largest Faculties with a student populationtotalling some 800. Nine traditional departments - Arabic, Classics andArchaeology, English, French, History, Italian, Maltese, Philosophy andSociology - and thirty-five different areas of study, each administeredby a Board of Studies and a Coordinator make up the Faculty of Arts. Thecreation of a new department of International Relations has recently beenapproved by the University Council. While striving to maintain the bestof its traditions, it continues to experiment in new fields of study andnew methods of teaching and assessment.

The Faculty of Arts offers full-time and part-time courses leading toBA, BA (Hons.), MA (Qualifying), MA, MPhil and PhD. The final examinationfor the first three courses has been restructured this year and will takethe form of a synoptic examination. As from June 1998, this consisted offour three-hour synoptic examination papers for the BA (two in each principalarea of study); four for the BA (Hons.) and two for the MA (Qualifying).

As part of the University Open Day activities, the Department of Arabicheld an Arab Culture Exhibition based mainly on folkloristic trades, food,marriage ceremonies and horse racing. Old and Modern Arab architecturewas also exhibited.
 

Art Unit

The Art Unit functions under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts. Inthe course of 1997, it organized two exhibitions of paintings, both byestablished artists, which were held on campus in February and May. Thefirst brought together a retrospective collection of works by Mr Lino Borg,a lecturer on artistic techniques in the B.A. Art course and works by MsJessica Debattista, a mature B.A. (Hons) Art student. The second was dedicatedto Malta in a series of water colours by Douglas Eckheart, Professor ofPainting at Luther College, Decorah Iowa, USA, who was seconded to theArt Unit as a visiting professor, during the second semester of the academicyear.

Visitors included Dr Stig Miss, Director of the Thorvaldson Museum,Copenhagen, who spoke on Mattia Preti's Maltese Paintings for Tavernawhile Madame le Professeur Anne Prache, from the University of the Sorbonne(Paris IV) gave a monographic course on the French medieval stained glasstradition.

A study tour focussing on the art and architecture of Norman Sicilywas organized during the Easter recess. As a result of an agreement betweenthe Art Unit and the Friends of the Cathedral Museum which encourages studentsto share their research findings, several students gave talks at the CathedralMuseum, Mdina. Mattia Preti's St John's Ceiling, Bernardo de Dominici'sBiographyof Mattia Preti and Vincenzo Bonello as a Pioneer in Maltese Art Historyand Criticism were among the subjects discussed.

Another significant initiative was the work carried out during the summermonths on the setting up of an art historical museum at the Attard ParishCentre.
 

Classics & Archaeology

Professor Antonio Sagona and Mrs Claudia Sagona from the Universityof Melbourne who were on a research visit in Malta, gave a one-credit courseon Punic Malta to Archaeology students.

On the occasion of Open Day an exhibition was mounted at theArchaeology Centre. This was entitled The Multidisciplinary Field ofArchaeology. Students explained to children from various SecondarySchools the basics of some Archaeological instruments.

1998's visitors included Dr Chris Hunt from the University of Huddersfieldwho gave a one-credit course on Environmental Archaeology and ProfessorMaria Giulia  Amadasi Guzzo from the Università di Roma,'La Sapienza', who gave a series of lectures entitled Origine esviluppo della scrittura alfabetica.  Her visit fell within theItalo-Maltese Cultural Agreement and was an exchange visit to that madeby Dr Anthony J. Frendo, Head of Department.  He had previously givena series of lectures at 'La Sapienza' entitled Le lingue semitiche:origine, classificazione ed interdipendenza con particolare attenzioneal semitico di nord-ovest.

At the Malta Expo held in Sarasota, Florida during early April, ProfessorAnthony Bonanno and Dr Anthony J. Frendo lectured on Prehistoric Maltaand Phoenician-Punic Malta respectively.  Ms Linda Eneix, Presidentof the OTS Foundation in Florida, gave a generous grant to the Departmenttowards the setting up of an archaeological laboratory.

The main training and research activity for 1997 and 1998, were thesecond and third season respectively of excavation at the Tas-Silg siteat Marsaxlokk which provided students with an opportunity to gain 'hands-on'experience and conduct research into some of the most important phasesof the history of the Maltese Islands in antiquity. The excavation waslinked with the Summer School in Archaeology organised by the InternationalOffice.
 

English

The teaching commitment of members of the department included the ContemporaryBritish and American Novel and the Commonwealth Novel (Africa). Other coursesincluded Film and Literature and an Advanced Course in Contemporary LiteraryTheory for students in the M.A. Programme with the participation of guestspeakers from the Department of Philosophy.

Professor Peter Vassallo, Head of the Department was visiting professorin the Department of English Studies at the University of Rome, La Sapienza,where he lectured on the novels of D.H. Lawrence.  He was visitingresearch scholar at Lincoln College, Oxford where he carried out researchat the Bodleian Library.  He was also guest specialist lecturer atthe British Institute in Florence where he lectured on D.H. Lawrence andthe Myth of Persephone.

Professor Daniel Massa delivered a paper on Ideological Dimensionsin Commonwealth Literature at the University of Toronto and also delivereda paper on Knot and Gender: Othello and Shakespeare's Problem Playsat the University of Sousse, Tunisia. Dr Lydia Sciriha was visiting academicat Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia where she taughttwo courses on sociolinguistics and conducted research among the Maltesecommunity.

In the field of Linguistics, research into issues relating to the intonationof Maltese continued.  Dr. Sandra Vella presented a paper on Intonationalvariation across dialects: the effect of the timing implementation of pitchaccents on the overall perception of accent difference at the 3rd AIDAInternational Conference (Association Internationale pour la DialectologieArabe) held in Malta in April 1998.  She also attended the 6thinternational meeting on Laboratory Phonology, LabPhon6, held in York inJuly 1998.

Ms Stella Borg Barthet obtained her Ph.D with a thesis on Myth andHistory in the West African Novel. She also presented a paper on theGhanaian writer, Ayi Kwei Armah entitled: Sharing Histories in Armah'sThe Healers at the triennial meeting of the Association of CommonwealthLiterature.

In the B.A.(Hons.) final examination in English, six students were awardeda First Class Degree, this excellent result being confirmed by ProfessorNicholas Roe, the Visiting External Examiner from the University of St.Andrew's, Scotland.
 

History

The Department of History offers a wide range of study-units in mostof the standard areas of European, Mediterranean and Maltese history frommedieval to contemporary times at undergraduate level as well as supervisionin these areas at postgraduate level. Through inviting distinguished scholarsfrom overseas to lecture on specific topics, it also endeavours to offerdiversity of approach - political, social, economic and cultural.

The principal objectives of the undergraduate History programme, leadingto BA or BA (Hons.) are :
ïto explain the principles and method of historical inquiry;
ïto provide a conceptual framework that will enable students to makemeaningful judgments about the past;
ïto develop intellectual, analytical, critical and organizational skillsthat will be of value to students in any future career.
 

Italian

A paper on The Teaching and Learning of Italian in Malta waspresented by the Head of Department at Expoeducation 1997, a conferenceon multimedial approaches to the teaching of Italian which was held inBari. He also gave a series of lectures at the University of Macerata.These included: L'italiano della televisione; Su alcune proposte perl'insegnamento dell'italiano come L2 and La letteratura italo-maltese.During a return visit, Professor Alfredo Luzi and Professor Antonio D'Isidoroconducted a one week seminar on Modern and Contemporary Italian Literature.In July, the External Examiner, Professor Franco Musarra, from Leuven Universitygave a lecture on Ungaretti to B.A. and B.Ed. students of Italian.

In the course of 1998, Dr. J. Eynaud was elected Vice-President of theAssociazioneInternazionale dei Professori d'Italiano (AIPI) while Professor J.Brincat was elected Vice-President of Società Linguistica Italiana(SLI).
 

Maltese

Professor Oliver Friggieri addressed an International Congress on Aspectsof Twentieth Century Exile Literature organized by the Association Internationaledes Critiques Littéraires which was held in Rome. He was oneof the poets invited from various European countries to recite their ownpoetry at the Avlaia Theatre, Thessaloniki, Greece. The recital was conductedin the native tongue with subsequent English and Greek translations.

A talk by Dr Arnold Cassola entitled La Maltea ta' Hipolito Sans- Epika minsija tas-seklu sittax dwar l-Assedju ta' Malta, dealt witha forgotten epic poem on Malta that had been published in 1582 in Valencia.Apart from giving a very detailed poetic account of the happenings duringthe Great Siege, it also throws new light on the life of La Valette indicatingthat he was sixty seven years old at the time and therefore born in 1498rather than in 1495 as previously imagined.

A number of research projects in the field of Linguistics produced severalpublications which were the result of cooperation between the departmentand the Institute of Linguistics. This cooperation also led to the strengtheningof the teaching of both the Maltese Linguistics stream within the departmentand the General Linguistics course offered by the Institute of Linguistics.Specialized courses in Phonetics and Phonology of Maltese, Maltese Psycholinguistics,Maltese Morphology and Syntax and courses in Grammatical Categories andParts of Speech were offered.
 

Philosophy

A collection of essays entitled Interfaces was published to mark ProfessorPeter Serracino Inglott's 60th birthday and his retirement as Head of theDepartment of Philosophy. This Festschrift was edited by ProfessorJoe Friggieri and Professor Salvino Busuttil and contained papers by membersof the department as well as distinguished scholars from universities overseas.Professor David Cooper from the University of Durham, gave a series ofpublic lectures to coincide with the event.

The Philosophy Society continued to be very active and the sixmeetings that were held were all very well attended.  In 1998, thesetook the form of video-interviews with Paul Ricoeur, Julia Kristeva, JacquesDerrida and Terry Eagleton which were then discussed.

Professor Joe Friggieri's paper on the Individuation and Descriptionof Actions presented at a conference on Donald Davidson in KarlovyVary, was published in Epistemologia (Tilgher, Genoa, xx, 1997, pp. 117- 146).

Two books, edited by Rev Dr Emanuel Agius were published: Germ-lineintervention and our responsibilities to future generations (KluwerAcademic Publishers, Dordrecht) and Future Generations and InternationalLaw (Earthscan, London).

At the end of the first B.A. course (1993-1998) to be organised underthe auspices of the University Gozo Centre, twenty students graduated withPhilosophy as a principal subject area.
 

For further information see http://www.arts.um.edu.mt
 

Faculty of Dental Surgery

The Faculty continues to expand its research interests which are currentlyfocussed on Osseointegration, Periodontology, Endodontics and Epidemiologyof Oral and Dental Diseases and Dental Abnormalities.

Continuing Education remains one of the Faculty's priorities. The AnnualDental Conference Smile for Health organised by the Department of Health'sDepartment of Dentistry in which members of the University Staff participate,remains the main forum for continuing education for general dental practitioners.The External Examiner, Professor David McGowan, Professor of Oral Surgery,University of Glasgow, gave a lecture to the Dental Association of Maltaas part of the Continuing Education Programme.  Other visitors tothe Faculty, came from the University of Umea, Sweden and from the Universityof Copenhagen.

Regretfully, the department's dental equipment which was used to providehumanitarian dental care to school children in Korce, Albania was lostin the January riots in that country. With the full participation of staffand students, the department has raised funds to re-equip a three-unitdental clinic at Preca College in Korce so as to continue with this humanitarianproject.
 

Faculty of Economics, Managementand Accountancy

The Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy provides coursesin these fields as well as in Banking & Finance, Marketing, PublicPolicy and Tourism in order to meet the rapid developments which are takingplace in Malta. It also aims to be a leader in research activities relatedto these specialised areas. An interdisciplinary Business & Computingoption is also offered. The Social Work/Social Administration Programmenow falls under the umbrella of the Department of Public Policy. Over 290undergraduates, postgraduates and diploma students graduated from the Facultyin 1997 with a further 400 graduating in 1998.

In conjunction with the University Gozo Centre, part-time courses leadingto the Diploma in Commerce and a Certificate in Social Care were conducted.A number of short certificate courses were run conjointly with Malta UniversityServices Ltd.

Business executives from various academic backgrounds including Engineering,Management, Pharmacy and Medicine are seeking to enhance their managementskills through the newly introduced Master of Business Administration course.The course curriculum of the new MBA Executive part-time programme is especiallydesigned to offer an insight into the possibilities and problems of economicdevelopment as well as of management issues.

The Faculty welcomed the following External Examiners for the 1997 and1998 Examination Sessions: Professor R. Kinsella (Economics), ProfessorP. McKiernan (Management), Professor S. Gray (Accountancy), Professor P.Bourke (Banking & Finance), Professor M. Mullard (Public Policy), ProfessorC. L. Jenkins (Tourism) and Professor N. Manning (Social Work/Social Administration).In the fields of Accountancy and Public Policy,  Professors C. Emmanueland E. Page respectively were External Examiners in 1998.

Under the auspices of the Bank of Valletta Chair of Banking & Finance,Professors E.P.M. Gardener, M. Bowe and R. Mcdonald visited the Facultyand lectured to students following courses in the Banking Major of theB.Com. and B.Com.(Hons).

Dott. V. Scotti and Dott V. Bernini lectured on Development Economicsand Transport Economics respectively to students specialising in Economics.In late 1997, Professor David Milne from the University of Prince EdwardIsland, Canada joined the Department of Public Policy for a year's sabbatical.Apart from teaching undergraduates, Professor Milne, who is an expert onthe administration of small island states, is carrying out research onMalta.

Professor Kostantin Theile from the University of Reutlingen, Germanylectured students following the MBA Executive and MBA full-time course,and also assessed MBA student projects submitted for the EntrepreneurshipModule. Professor Richard Kotas gave a half day seminar to B.Com.(Hons)students specialising in Tourism while a seminar on Tourism Strategyin Malta was organised together with students visiting Malta from LeedsMetropolitan University.

Members of the Department of Marketing delivered lectures on their areasof specialisation at Clarion University, Pennsylvania, U.S.A, on the doctoralprogrammes at Henley Management College, U.K. and at Curtin UniversityCampuses in Perth Western Australia and Singapore.

During 1998, Dr G. Pirotta Senior Lecturer in the Department of PublicPolicy - while on a year's sabbatical leave - was appointed Visiting Tutorand Lecturer in Politics at Plater College, Oxford.  In addition heacted as tutor to postgraduate students of St Cross College and HertfordCollege.

During 1998, Mr Edward Warrington, Lecturer in the Department of PublicPolicy graduated D.Phil from the University of Oxford.  In additionhe was appointed Co-Editor of the international journal Public Administrationand Development.

The Department of Public Policy was involved in the establishment ofa new University Institute of Public Administration and Management whichwas set up on the initiative of the Public Service and aims to providea closer, more formal link between it and the University. The new Institutewill provide opportunities for further training and retraining of civilservants in an endeavour to enhance their career prospects and strengthenthe government's infrastructure. Its aim is to conduct certificate, diplomaand degree courses in public administration; organise public lectures andconferences; carry out research including an ongoing evaluation of theeffects of public policy on society and publish reports, books, papersand journals.

As in previous years, certificates and prizes were awarded to studentsof the B.A. (Hons) Accountancy course by the leading international accountingfirms  and institutes.  These include the Chartered Instituteof Management Accountants, Deloitte & Touche, Price Waterhouse, K.P.M.G.,Coopers & Lybrand, Grant Thornton and the Malta Institute of Accountants.
 

Faculty of Education

Arts and Languages in Education
Foundations in Education
 - Youth Studies Programme
Maths, Science & Technical Education
Primary Education
Psychology
Library and Information Studies
 

In 1997 the Faculty of Education, while consolidating many of its differentactivities linked to formal and informal educational services, focussedrather more specifically on an overview of its teacher training programme.This was achieved primarily through the Tomorrow's Teachers research projectwhich established 12 working groups in order: 'To discover the strengthsand weaknesses of current pre-service teacher education and training programmes;to systematically compare current local practice with that obtaining inother countries, to identify trends, as well as to develop insights inaddressing perceived problems and to make recommendations regarding changesin structures and practices that will help improve our contribution tothe national educational enterprise.' The results of such deliberationwere presented at a two-day conference in June, at which insights generatedby each Working Group led to a policy document for teacher education andtraining in Malta. At the end of the conference, goals and agendas forthe second cycle of consultation and research were set out. The evaluationexercise has led to a strategy for teacher education reform, due to beimplemented by October 1999. It has also led to the publication of a seriesof handbooks for students and staff, in order to ensure quality and standardsin such areas as dissertations, teaching practice as well as assessment.

The Faculty of Education saw a number of changes in the course of theyear. The Youth Studies Programme and the Inclusive Education Programmebecame housed in the Faculty, the former, under the umbrella of the Departmentof Foundations in Education and the latter, under that of the Departmentof Psychology. Following the end of their terms of office, Dr Charles Calleja,Head of the Department of Arts and Languages in Education, Professor CharlesFarrugia Head of the Department of Primary Education and Professor FrankVentura, Head of the Department of Maths, Science and Technical Educationwere replaced by Dr Antoinette Camilleri, Dr Joseph Mifsud and Dr PaulPace respectively. Professor Charles Farrugia was reappointed Pro-Rectorof the University while Dr Ronald Sultana replaced Professor Kenneth Wainas Head of the Department of Foundations in Education and also as Deanof the Faculty.

A major achievement was the publication of the first two issues of Education2000. The journal is published in collaboration with the Education Divisionand sets out to help teachers reflect on a wide range of classroom andschool-related issues. The Faculty's Comparative Education Programme publishedthe second volume (two issues) of the Mediterranean Journal of EducationalStudies, an international journal with a regional focus.

The B.Ed.(Hons.), B.Psychology, B.Communications and P.G.C.E. coursescontinued to attract large numbers of students. Other courses which commencedin 1997 were: Diploma in Educational Administration and Management, Diplomain Library and Information Studies, Diploma in School Counselling, Diplomain Adult Training and Development, Diploma in Facilitating Inclusive Educationand Certificate in TEFL. The postgraduate M.Ed. courses in Primary Education,Assessment and Evaluation, Applied Linguistics (Maltese) and Teaching Englishas a Foreign Language also saw an increased intake.

In 1998 the Faculty of Education celebrated the 20th anniversary ofits establishment at the University of Malta. Several initiatives weretaken, including the publication of a Faculty Prospectus, the productionof a bibliography listing the Academic Publications by Members of Staff,and the launch of a totally refurbished Teachers' Resource Centre, aimedat providing support to student teachers during their field placement.

The Faculty also focussed much of its attention and energy on planningthe restructuring of the B.Ed.(Hons.) course, which is due to be launchedin October 1999. Several Faculty seminars and conferences were held inorder to develop a vision for the education of tomorrow's teachers, withcomparative research being carried out to increase awareness of Europeanand international trends in this area. An important shift in the Faculty'sprogramme was the emphasis on teaching in a context of diversity and anumber of research projects were launched in this field, most notably theLetMe Learn initiative in collaboration with Rowan University in the USA.A number of academics spent a period of attachment at that institutionfor training, and staff development was offered to all the Faculty, witha view to developing knowledge and skills in the area of education anddisability issues. The year also saw the publication of the first reporton Illiteracy in Malta, a project coordinated within the Department ofArts and Languages in Education.

The Faculty's research profile was strengthened by several key publicationsin international journals, with each member of staff aiming to have one,and more often two and more articles accepted in academic reviews. Thetwo Faculty publications, namely the professional journal Education2000, with its goal of dissemination of good practice and sound pedagogicalmodels to teachers in classrooms and the Mediterranean Journal of EducationalStudies, which is the responsibility of the Comparative Education Programmeand which is the only refereed publication of its kind for the region,kept to their production schedules and continue reflecting the Faculty'sleadership in educational development both nationally and regionally.

Over and above all this, several members of staff contributed substantiallyto the educational community in Malta in several ways. Many were appointedPresidents of School Councils and others acted as consultants to the stateor the non-state education sector. Most importantly, Faculty members wereinvolved in the drawing up of draft National Curriculum for schools andin giving feedback relating to the different aspects that were highlightedfor discussion.

Other Faculty Programmes not necessarily linked to teacher educationor schooling enriched the Faculty's contribution to national projects.The Programme of Youth Studies organised the Youth Work - 2000 seminar,and has representation of staff on the Council of Europe Research Consultantsand Citizenship Education Project. The Programme for Education in CorrectionalFacilities organised the European Prison Education Association annual conferencewhile the Programme for Education in Inclusive Settings participated activelyon the Ministerial Committee on Inclusive Education.
 

Arts and Languages in Education

Art, English, French, German, History, Italian, Maltese, Music, Religion,and Spanish have continued to be offered in the B.Ed. (Hons.) programme.At M.Ed. level two courses are running: English Language Teaching and AppliedLinguistics (Maltese).

The Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Programme was establishedto provide the relevant training for the teaching of English as a ForeignLanguage and also to contribute to research in the field within the localcontext.

The Early Literacy Programme seeks to support research projects regardingthe teaching of early literacy and the early identification of literacydifficulties amongst Maltese children.
 

Foundations in Education

Members of the department were variously appointed on the National Commissionfor Education; contributed to the development of an educational programmeat the correctional facilities at Corradino or advised on women's issuesin Malta. Responsibility for coordinating the Faculty's Postgraduate Certificatein Education course also lay with the department.

A Gender Study Group has been set up and meets regularly to discussvarious issues related to the politics of gender relations in Malta. Historians,sociologists, educators and anthropologists have presented research papersand plans are in hand for their eventual publication.

Youth StudiesProgramme

The number of students enrolled in the Youth Studies Programme has continuedto increase. The third group of Diploma students has graduated and thefirst BA Youth and Community Studies students graduated in 1998.

Following the completion of the first Youth Studies Curriculum Developmentproject and that concerning Juvenile Delinquency and the Pursuit of a CriminalCareer, the full five-year course is being re-evaluated.

Another major breakthrough, has been registered in the Fieldwork Placementproject. Following the success of the pilot project with Dudley MetropolitanBorough, UK for students to do their Fieldwork Placement abroad, during1997 more students were successfully placed at Bradford Metropolitan DistrictCouncil, Southwell House Youth Project, London and the Lothian and BordersPolice, Edinburgh, during the summer period. Contacts with foreign institutionshave been further enhanced with the appointment of Dr. A. Azzopardi, coursecoordinator, as National Correspondent at the Youth Directorate of theCouncil of Europe.

The major event for the Programme of Youth Studies, during 1998, wasthe graduation of the first group of  undergraduates.  Fifteenstudents obtained their BA in Youth and Community Studies during the graduationceremony in November while another twelve students were awarded the Diplomain Youth Studies. The course of youth studies has continued to gain in popularity among students with the number of applications for optionalcredits from students registered with other Faculties doubling over theprevious year.
 

Maths, Science & TechnicalEducation

The following subjects have continued to be offered in the B.Ed. (Hons.)programme: Biology, Chemistry, Computing, Geography, Home Economics, Maths,Physical Education, Physics and Technical Education. The IT Committee hasinitiated a Certificate in IT Education.

Members of the department sit on the committee responsible for the coordinationof the National Environmental Education Strategy and are involved in twoprojects run by the Science and Technology Education Network of the MaltaCouncil for Science and Technology, namely, the State of Science Educationin Malta Research Programme and the INNOVA Science and Technology Awardsproject.

Four B.Ed.(Hons.) students attended the 1997 European EnvironmentalEducation Fair held in Luneburg, Germany. Besides giving a joint presentationof a case study about The Use of Electronic Media in Environmental Educationin Malta, the Maltese delegation led by Dr Paul Pace, also exhibited threemultimedia packages and an Internet website that were part of the students'dissertation research. The visit was made possible through the SOCRATESexchange programme.
 

Primary Education

The Department of Primary Education has expanded its professional andacademic interest in the areas of early childhood education, junior schoolingand school development research.

Members of the department conducted in-service training in mentorshipand professional development for schools.

It was also involved in a number of Ministry of Education projects,such as the Creative Arts Mid-Week Project, the Primary Curriculum Reviewin Mathematics, IT and Science, Maltese, English and Social Studies.

A Masters Programme in the Primary Curriculum has also been introduced.The department also runs its own live radio programme: PRIMED, which discussesprimary education issues. Use is also made of Radju ta' l-Universitàto support primary education courses, courtesy of the BBC.

The department maintains its links with the University of Bristol, Universityof Exeter, Christchurch College, Canterbury, Rowan University, USA (theLetMeLearn project), European Distance Education Network, ABO Akademi,Finland, Institute of Education, London and with the Open University.
 

Psychology

In October 1997, the Department of Psychology launched the new formatof its full-time day courses leading to the degree of Bachelor of Psychologyand Bachelor of Psychology (Honours). It was also responsible for coursesleading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Psychology as one of theareas of study. The number of students enrolled in these programmes hoversaround the 250 mark.

The Department was also responsible for the Educational Psychology Programmeof the B.Ed.(Hons.) and P.G.C.E. courses. Four part-time evening coursesare also conducted under the auspices of the department. These lead tothe Diploma in Counselling, Diploma in Education: Children with SpecialNeeds, Diploma in Facilitating Inclusive Education and Certificate Coursein Supporting Learning in Inclusive Settings.

In July, the Inclusive Education Programme organised a well attendedInternational Conference on Inclusive Schooling and Communities.

In November 1997 and December 1998, the department organised the annualPsychology Seminar which was attended by psychology students, psychologistsand other professionals as well as the general public. The half-day seminarserved as a forum where some of the best B.Psych.(Hons.) dissertationscould be presented. The theme of the presentations ranged from occupationalstress among Maltese nurses, to the experience of retirement.
 

Libraryand Information Studies

February saw the conclusion of the 1996-1998 Diploma course in Library& Information Studies with 22 students graduating in November, threewith distinction.

In May, the Coordinator hosted Donato Tamble', Professor of ArchivalStudies at the Archivio di Stato di Roma, and professor at the Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza. He gave a credit entitled Introductionto Archival Science. His visit was made possible through collaborationwith the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.

Contacts were intensified with overseas universities offering Library& Information Studies programmes. Close links have been forged withthe School of Library, Archive & Information Studies at UniversityCollege London and with the Department of Library Science at Clarion Universityof Pennsylvania, both schools having provided visiting professors to ourprogramme of studies.

Ongoing research concerns the study of Melitensia or Maltese informationaland knowledge materials as a national information resource and their storage,preservation and dissemination as national memory.
 

Further information about the activities of the Faculty can be obtainedfrom the following Website: http://www.educ.um.edu.mt/Educ/Default.htm
 

Faculty of Engineering

Communications & Computer Engineering
Electrical Power & Control Engineering
Microelectronics
Manufacturing Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgy and Materials Engineering
 

Communications & ComputerEngineering

The Department of Communications and Computer Engineering is responsiblefor course modules in the B.Eng.(Hons.) and B.Sc.(Hons.) I.T degrees. Studentsfrom various faculties including Science, FEMA, Education and Engineeringfollow some of the modules, notably those offered in the area of ComputerLogic and Architecture.

Dr. Paul Micallef successfully obtained his Ph.D. from the Universityof Surrey after presenting a thesis entitled: A Text to Speech SynthesisSystem for Maltese. Mr. Adrian Muscat obtained an M.Sc. degree. in RF &Microwave Engineering from the University of Bradford.

Research in collaboration with the University of Lecce on MultimediaCommunications was started with funds obtained through the Italo-MalteseFinancial Protocol. Research in the fields of speech processing and communicationcoding is also conducted.
 

Electrical Power & ControlEngineering

The department continued to develop the Energy Quality Research Laboratory.One of the main research activities focussed on the Digital Simulationof Hybrid Power Filters and the development of an AC/DC converter withsuppressed current harmonics. Other areas of interest include the vectorcontrol of 3-phase induction motors and energy saving in connection withthe design and operation of electrical building services.

The Electrical Power and Energy Quality Research Group continued workingon the research project Power Factor Correction and Current Harmonics Suppressionof Non-Linear Loads.

Dr. Joe Cilia and Dr. Cyril Spiteri Staines were awarded their Ph.D.from Nottingham University with which an exchange programme was initiatedthis year.
 

Microelectronics

In June1997 two research projects were officially accepted for fundingunder the Fourth Italo-Maltese Financial Protocol. The first involved theDesign of Integrated Circuits and Microsystems and is being carried outin collaboration with the Integrated Microsystems Research Group of theUniversity of Pavia. The second project, in conjunction with the Departmentof Communications and Computer Engineering, is titled Integrated DigitalSignal Processing and Telecommunication Systems and is being carried outin collaboration with the University of Lecce. A number of research engineershave been appointed to work on both projects.

An IC implementing analogue neural network with on-chip backpropagationlearning for phoneme recognition was designed as part of the postgraduateresearch work and fabricated through EUROPRACTICE services. The IC wassuccessfully tested and the results were presented at the 1997 IEEE Conferenceon Electronics, Circuits and Systems.

In collaboration with the University of Hong Kong, research work inoptoelectronics continued while the department is also active in the areasof image processing, computer vision and machine intelligence.

Development work for industry has been expanded and the design and manufactureof product test equipment which includes both hardware and software fora number of firms is underway. In addition, the department will be redesigningproducts for a local company in order to enhance the functional and economiccompetitiveness of these products. A Calibration Laboratory for electronicequipment has also been set up with the goal of providing a CalibrationService traceable to NAMAS standards. Considerable interest has been shownby industry in this service and a number of firms have already sent theirelectronic equipment to the laboratory for calibration.

Mr.I.Grech obtained his M.Sc. in November 1997.
 

Manufacturing Engineering

The department carried out linear dimensional calibration for a numberof companies. Various industrial projects were also undertaken. These includeddesign of jigs for Methode-Electronic (Malta), automatic profile cuttingmachine for Seifert and others for Baxter, Playmobil 1+2+3 and Toly Products.

The department was responsible for the running of two diploma courses:the Diploma in Total Quality Engineering and the Diploma in IndustrialEngineering. It was also involved in assisting the local manufacturingengineering sector.

Dr. M.A. Saliba obtained his Ph.D. degree in Experimental Nuclear Physicsfrom the University of British Columbia, Vancouver after having previouslycompleted a M.A.Sc. degree in Robotics, Control & Industrial Automation.Mr Conrad Pace was awarded an M.Sc. in Mechatronics from the Universityof Lancaster.

The Journal of Applied Statistics published a paper by Mr. VladimirBrajkovic entitled Mechanics of microelectronics examined by design ofexperiment techniques.  This paper was a condensed version of a finalyear project conducted by Mr. Brajkovic in collaboration with ST MicroelectronicsLtd.

Research focussed on the development of a solar geyser, mobile robotsafety and robust navigational control, including sensory data interpretationand evaluation for improved system reliability and safety.
 

Mechanical Engineering

The Department of Mechanical Engineering was involved in the setting-upof the Environmental Engineering Innovation Award sponsored by Panta LescoLtd. In conjunction with the Malta Development corporation, a seminar onBiotechnology and Engineering was organised.

Mr. Martin Muscat was awarded an M.Sc. in Pressure Vessels from StrathcyldeUniversity. Two third year students were the first from the Faculty tospend a semester at the University of Memphis and Virginia State University,USA.
 

Metallurgy and MaterialsEngineering

In collaboration with the Institute of Machinery at the University ofCatania, the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering carriedout research work in the field of thermal infrared imaging technique todetermine the fatigue limit of austempered ductile iron. Close links forjoint research and collaboration were maintained with Birmingham University,UK and the Technical University of Clausthal, Germany on the Kinetics ofthe austempering reactions in a ductile iron alloyed with copper and nickeland quantitative metallurgical analysis of cast iron using x-ray diffractiontechniques as well as with Pittsburg State University, USA.

The department had three project proposals approved for funding underthe Italo-Maltese Protocol, namely: the setting up of an Advanced HeatTreatment Workshop; the setting up of a Surface Engineering Workshop andWelding Services of Weld Quality Assurance. These projects entailed thepurchase of state of the art equipment, training of staff and collaborativeresearch work with the Universities of Bologna, Catania and Palermo.

In September 1997, the department jointly with the Istituto di Ricercae Tecnologia delle Materie Plastiche, Napoli, forwarded an INCO DC proposalentitled New Polymer based materials and Related Technologies for Electro- optical Devices.

Together with its counterpart at the University of Massachusetts, aproposal titled Modification of Polymers using Ion Implantation has beenpresented.  The project seeks funding from the United States.

Dr. Juliana Mallia was awarded a Ph.D. in Metallurgy and Materials,thereby becoming the Faculty's first doctoral graduate.
 

Faculty of Laws

European and Comparative Law

The department collaborates closely with the European Documentationand Research Centre in joint initiatives and projects such as the EDRCNewsletter and the organisation of the annual EDRC State of the EuropeanUnion Conference. This cooperation has also led to a number of local andoverseas publications as well as to the organisation of student study visitsto the E.C. Institutions.

The external examiner for 1997 was Professor John A. Usher, who is theDirector of the Europa Institute at the University of Edinburgh. Anothervisitor was Professor David Williams from the University of London. ProfessorFrancis Snyder was visiting external examiner for 1998.  While inMalta, he delivered a paper on E.M.U. revisited: Are we Making a Constitution?at a talk sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Bankers and another paperon Trading with China at the Malta External Trade Corporation.

Two new courses, one on E.C. Financial Services Law and one on SME Lawand Policy were introduced on the Magister Juris in European and ComparativeLaw. Six students graduated M. Juris (European and Comparative Law) in1998.
 

Faculty of Medicine &Surgery

Medicine
Surgery
Anatomy
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Physiology and Biochemistry
Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Paediatrics
Pathology
Pharmacy
Psychiatry
Public Health
 

The start of the academic year 1997/'98, saw the implementation of anannual intake of medical students. Forty new students joined the courseof Medicine & Surgery. An agreement reached with the Norwegian Governmentprovided for ten places on the course to be reserved for Norwegian students.Professor Mark Brincat was reconfirmed as Dean of the Faculty. Preparationscontinued for the IV Maltese Medical School Conference to be held in March1999.
 

Medicine

The use of multimedia in clinical teaching was introduced this yearand has been received enthusiastically by most teaching staff and students.There has been an increase in the number of clinical tutorials held. TheJune and September sessions of the MD Finals saw a change in format, thetraditional essay question being replaced by short descriptions of a numberof clinical situations to which candidates have to react using their clinicalacumen and problem solving skills.

In February, the department organised a three-day postgraduate coursein Diabetes in conjunction with the Maltese Diabetes Association and theEuropean Association for the study of Diabetes. Some eight thousand MalteseLiri were obtained by Dr J Azzopardi from the latter as well as from NovoNordish, Eli Lily, Servier, Bayer AG and Sandoz Pharma.. An evening postgraduatecourse in Diabetes was organised over a number of weeks for family practitioners.

The department continues to form part of the WHO/IDF DiabCare QNet whichis developing and promoting information technology for the improvementof diabetes care in Europe. To this end, a grant of 5000 ECU has been obtainedfrom the European community. Malta is responsible for the organisationof the DiabCare activities of the Mediterranean Group.

Current research activities include studies on Diabetes, cancer therapy,asthma, Hepatitis C, the establishment of databases on kidney and inflammatorybowel diseases, the History of Medicine, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus,smoking, trends in ward admissions, basal metabolic rates as well as commitmentto and involvement in the further development of the undergraduate medicalcurriculum.
 

Surgery

Postgraduate surgical training is based on the United Kingdom modelof Basic and Higher Surgical training. This has been a success story sofar. In 1997, nine basic surgical trainees took their FRCS II and all weresuccessful. This achievement was repeated in 1998. Discussions were enteredinto with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh with a view to establishingcollaboration in various fields.

The department is seeking to involve a number of these young newly qualifiedsurgeons in its academic activities. Every Tuesday afternoon, GrandRound Surgical Meetings were organised at the Medical School and weresponsored by various pharmaceutical companies. The department has linkswith the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancerwhich in 1997 held its Spring Meeting in Malta. Some 140 top cancer specialistsattended this meeting. It is also represented on the European Board ofUrology. In December 1998, a group of surgeons participated in the secondmeeting of the European Society of Surgery in London.
 

Anatomy

The Department of Anatomy continued to perform research on the effectsof Tetraclinis Articulata and is expanding its research to include cancerof the bladder and ovary, cancer genetics and other genetic diseases. It has also continued looking into familial subnormality and Fragile Xsyndrome.
 

Clinical Pharmacology& Therapeutics

The department coordinates all the pharmacology modules and relatedpractical sessions for undergraduate B.Pharm., M.D. and B.Ch.D. students.Research activities focus on the pharmacology of drugs used in bronchialasthma and epilepsy. In collaboration with the Queen's Medical Centre,University of Nottingham, research into the genetics of asthma is beingcarried out. Dr Ian Hall visited Malta in June, to lecture on the subject.An Epilepsy Society of Malta was set up and is affiliated to the InternationalLeague against Epilepsy. The effect of protein supplementation on athletesis another area of interest.

A link agreement in pharmacological sciences was signed with the Universityof Pisa in order to conduct research in areas of mutual interest. In collaboration with the University of Minnesota, a successful InternationalPharmacokinetics School was organised in September 1998. This was attendedby participants from several countries including Finland, Italy, Hungary,Holland, Ukraine and Libya.

Dr. Mark Micallef from Fujisaki Institute in Japan joined the Department'sresearch programme as a visiting member of staff. His areas of specialisationinclude tumour immunology and immunopharmacology.
 

Physiology and Biochemistry

In the field of molecular biology, research continued into the structureand function of the enzyme super oxide dismutase. The objectives of thiswork are the study of the super oxide dismutase genes of the nematode Caenorhabditiselegans; the study of the amino acid residues responsible for the metalion specificity and enzymatic activity of Escherichia coli iron super oxidedismutase and the study of the oxidative stress response of eukaryoticcells. In behavioural neuroscience, studies into the significance of brainreward mechanisms in relation to depression and drug abuse are underway.In biosensors, work proceeded on the development of sensors for on-sitedetection of heavy metal pollution of water resources.
 

Obstetrics & Gynaecology

The Malta Representative Committee of the Royal College of Obstetricians& Gynaecologists attended two overseas meetings and programmes in postgraduateeducation continue to proceed. In 1998, three members of staff obtainedthe Membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

New links with the University of Nottingham's School of Human Developmenthave been established with the appointment of Professor M. Brincat as Professorin Reproductive Medicine in this unit. A number of joint programmes areexpected to be undertaken both at postgraduate level as well as in theFellowship training programme.

Research continues primarily in the field of Connective Tissue Changesand Sex Hormones as well as in Infertility, recurrent Miscarriages, Colposcopyand Diabetes in Obstetrics.

A successful interdepartmental joint Paediatrics/Obstetrics Meetingwas organised.
 

Paediatrics

The links established with visiting subspeciality staff from Great OrmondStreet, London (Cardiology, Nephrology and Neurology), Birmingham Children'sHospital (Cardiology), The Royal Marsden Hospital, London and Surrey (Oncology)and University College Hospital (Endocrinology) have been further strengthenedwith the establishment of several joint research projects. The first phaseof the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC)has been concluded and published.  A well attended Paediatric Updatewas held at the end of October, 1998.
 

Pathology

The Department of Pathology continued to be extensively involved inthe teaching of pathology to students in various courses run by the Instituteof Health Care.

The haematology/genetic study group meetings organised by ProfessorA E Felice have continued as a regular feature as did the Journal Clubmeetings. Satisfying advances in research have been made in molecular biologyof haemoglobinopathies, the endocrine control of osteoporosis, the investigationof fungal disease as well as the pathological and social impact of roadtrauma.
 

Pharmacy

Research includes the validation of pharmacy services, bioequivalenceand bioavailability studies, chronopharma-cology and pharmacoeconomics.Ms Lilian Azzopardi was awarded an International Scholarship by the InternationalPharmaceutical Federation Foundation for Educational Research.

A group of 25 undergraduate students visited Servier Laboratories inParis and were shown round the research facilities.

In conjunction with the Institute of Health Care, a two day Graduatesymposium on the Tradition of Excellence in Health Care was organised.Papers on the various research projects being carried out by the departmentand the Institute were presented.

The Malta Pharmaceutical Students Association was successfulin its bid to host the 1999 Congress of the European PharmaceuticalStudents' Association (EPSA).

Publication of the Journal of Euromed Pharmacy with contributionson various subjects including analgesia and anaesthesia in Malta and theuse of psychotropic medications in a corrective facility continued.

The Department hosted Professor Patrick D'Arcy, Emeritus Professor,Queen's University of Belfast and Dr. Sam Salek from the Welsh School ofPharmacy, University of Cardiff.  Three members of staff, Dr. LilianAzzopardi, Dr. Maria Cordina and Dr. Claude Farrugia successfully completedtheir studies leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
 

Psychiatry

A Basic Sciences and Clinical Psychiatry Foundation Coursewasorganised jointly with the Health Division. This course aimed at providinga foundation in Psychiatry for those doctors not proceeding to become Psychiatrists,but who could have a useful career as non-specialist members of the Departmentof Psychiatry or who require this experience for other fields of medicine,such as neurology or general practice. A multidisciplinary weekly casepresentation and topic presentation programme was also organised jointly.
 

Public Health

1997 saw the first graduation of 12 doctors who had followed the recentlyintroduced M.Sc. course in Public Health - the first taught postgraduatedegree course to be organised within the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.Discussions were held with the Nottingham School of Public Health witha view to future cooperation in the organisation of this course.

A Festschrift in honour of Professor Herbert Gilles, former Deanof the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, was published in the Annalsof Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Vol 91 No 7, 1997.

Dr Gauden Galea consulted extensively for the World Health Organisationon Epidemiological Research advocacy as well as conceptual developmentof healthy islands. In 1998, he took up a two-year assignment with WHOin Fiji.

Research activities include involvement in a WHO study on Age associatedDementia Prevalence, screening for High Risk Elderly, Polio eradicationand Hospital Manpower Analysis.
 

Faculty of Science

Biology
Chemistry
Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence
Computer Information Systems
Mathematics
Physics
Statistics & Operations Research
Board of Studies for Information Technology
 

Professor Alfred J Vella took over as the new Dean of the Faculty fromProfessor Albert Leone Ganado while Professor Josef Lauri was reappointedPro-Rector. The creation of a Department of Statistics and Operations Researchwithin the Faculty adds new areas of teaching and research in applied mathematics.1998 saw the graduation of the Faculty's first two Ph.D.s, both in thefield of Biology.
 

Biology

In 1997, the department expanded its postgraduate teaching programmesthrough the introduction of a new M.Sc. programme in Biology, specializingin Marine Aquaculture. An Open Learning Programme leading to a Certificatein Biology was launched in collaboration with University Radio consistingof broadcasts, practical classes and field visits. The department remainedactive in various research fields including fish farming technology, Maltesefloristics, terrestrial and marine phytocoenoses and seagrass biology.Other research areas studied, involved work on shore and shallow watermarine benthos, faunistics of the Maltese Islands with particular referenceto the biogeography and human impact on small island ecosystems and conservationbiology. A field survey to study cetaceans around the Maltese Islands wasalso initiated.

The Marine Ecotoxicology Laboratory directed by Professor Victor Axiakwon another European Union research contract through  the INCO Programmesupport for MEDA.  This programme, which is being undertaken by aconsortium of five European research centres and  headed by Thomson-CSF(France) aims at developing airborne remote sensing techniques simulationfor the assessment of  monitoring and surveillance of south Mediterraneanmaritime ecosystems. The Department of Biology hosted the first managementteam meeting for this project, in 1998.

The Marine Ecology Research Group, directed by Professor Patrick J.Schembri, currently forms part of a consortium of research laboratorieswhich have been awarded a contract by the European Commission under MASTIII programme of the EU's 4th Framework Programme. The research project,titled BIOMAERL: Maerl biodiversity, functional structure and anthropogenicimpacts, is concerned with the ecology and assessment of human impact onmaerl grounds in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The eighth meetingof partners for this programme was held in Malta in 1998 and was organisedand hosted by the Marine Ecology Research Group.
 

Chemistry

November saw the graduation of the first group of M.Sc. students. Thedepartment also provided taught courses to education, agriculture and pharmacystudents. Research work continued in the areas of environmental geochemistry,organic photochemistry, the colloidal state as well as in the inorganicchemistry of transition metal complexes and analytical chemistry. Two universityresearch grants were won by the department in support of its work.

Research work on the environmental chemistry of tributyltin compoundsinvolved the investigation of the interaction of these pollutants withorganic matter in compost and the development of a protocol for the analyticaldetermination of tetrasubstituted alkyltins in air.  Another projectinvolved the study of benzene and toluene in local urban air and resultsfrom this work were published during 1998. Another paper on work performedduring the previous years on the occurrence of tributyltin and its environmentalmetabolites in the local marine environment was also published.

Research also involved projects dealing with physical chemistry themes,particularly, the production of nanoparticles in surfactant media, gelatinsurfactant interactions and solubilisation of organotins in surfactantmedia as well as in other areas, namely, analytical and organic chemistry.
 

Computer Science &Artificial Intelligence

Following the launch of the new undergraduate degree programme in InformationTechnology in 1995, the Department of Computer Science and A.I. continuedto install the infrastructure and laboratories to cope with over 150 students.Moreover, the department took a leading role in the launch of a new eveningdiploma course in I.T. which has so far attracted 30 students. The departmentwas actively involved in the setting up of an independent ComputingServices Centre in order to ensure a professionally installed and maintainedstate-of-the-art I.T. infrastructure for the University.

Two three-year research projects were launched, namely: STORY: the designand development of web-based multimedia authoring tools for children andHOOPLA: the design and development of a higher-order object based programminglanguage. Two other projects: are underway, namely, MALTILEX: The developmentof a computer-based lexicon of Maltese and MEDWATER: An EU-funded projectinvolving European and Mediterranean partners whose aim is the developmentof a Decision Support System for Water Resources Management in semi-aridregions.

External collaboration included the appointment of members of staffas expert proposal evaluators for the EU 4th Framework Programme and participationin an initiative for the development of a web based resource centre forthe United Nations International Institute on Aging (INIA).

The department was also involved in the setting up of the National DomainName Service for the Internet, the National Commission for InformationTechnology and the Malta Internet Foundation. This was established to servethe local Internet community providing inexpensive, fast and reliable accessfor the greatest possible number of users and providers. Research linkswith the universities of Cambridge and Kent have been maintained.
 

Computer Information Systems

The number of students reading for informatics-related topics continuedto increase and science students are joined by others who come from banking& finance, education, engineering and communications. The main researchinterests of the department are in the areas of distributed computing,interoperability of objects, databases, software quality assurance andsoftware methodologies and Malta Heritage Virtual Models.

The department has set up a modern intranet service and also maintainsan Internet Malta Network Resources www. registry which keeps improvingthe range of services it provides. The department has deployed a full rangeof DBMS software based on Oracle and a complementary fourth GL tool set.In collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture, the Museums Departmentand the University of Tubingen, a project dealing in virtual reality oflocal interest has been launched. Links with Tubingen were further strengthenedby Professor Wolfgang Strasser's third visit to the department.

Internationally, the department has maintained its contacts with Med-Campusand Leonardo project partners in Izmir, Lyons, Pisa, Cyprus and Sunderland.Close collaboration has also been established with REMPEC (Marine PollutionEmergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean) and the department wasawarded a contract by UNIDO to design and program a TROCS software systemfor emergency first response information software. The department is alsoendeavouring to initiate collaboration  and establish research programmeswith Italian Universities in the field of Health and Environmental InformationSystems. Other contacts were maintained with Sheffield, City Universityand the Universities of Kent and Nottingham.

Mr Rodney Naudi obtained his M.Sc. with distinction.
 

Mathematics

In 1997, Professor J. P. Gauci retired from the department after longyears of sterling service. The M.Sc. programme in Mathematics continuedto be popular and saw an increase in enrolment.

The department focusses on two main research areas:  AlgebraicGraph Theory and Combinatorics:  the emphasis being on spectral graphtheory, the spectral reconstruction conjecture, singular graphs, reconstructionnumber, vertex and edge-deleted subgraphs; and Mathematical Physics: withemphasis  on quantum mechanics, functional analysis, differentialgeometry and differential equations; the quantum Hall effect, the Andersonmodel, general relativity.

In September 1998, a mini-conference on Graph Theory was held in Malta,with invited speakers Professor Scapellato (University of Milan), Dr. W.Hilton (University of Reading), Professor Voloshin (Moldovia) and ProfessorJ. Friddo, Professor Milacco, Professor Lizzio from Catania who attendedtogether with many of their students.

The year 1998 also saw the setting up of the Mathematical Societyin November, with the aim of delivering popular lectures and graduate seminarson a regular basis.

The Department of Mathematics also provides instruction to studentsfrom the Faculties of Architecture, Engineering, Education and Economics,Management and Accountancy and the Department of Pharmacy.
 

Physics

This year, third year practicals were designed as mini-projects spanningover 4-6 weeks, in which the students were required to design their ownexperiments and produce results. Collaboration in the medical applicationsof microwaves was forged with Bath University and Microsulis Ltd. and ledto the installation of the first Microwave Endometrial Ablation systemin a local private hospital.

The seismograph station at Wied Dalam continued to operate recordingover 50 local and regional earthquakes and several teleseismic ones therebyproviding rapid information to the media on shocks and tremors felt inMalta. Undergraduate and postgraduate research projects in seismology wereinitiated. The atmospheric pollution research project concluded its firsttwo years of measurements of ozone levels at three sites and several featuresparticular to the central Mediterranean were identified. The findings werepresented in Karlsruhe, Germany.

The conversion of an internal combustion engine car to electric drivewas completed with in-house technical support. A ìroad' version of a solarvehicle was also constructed. This vehicle employs a 600Wp photovoltaicassembly to power a permanent magnet motor.  Surplus energy is storedin a battery pack. This vehicle achieved a top speed on a flat surfaceof 30 kph and had the ability to climb a 1 in 8 gradient with battery assistance.Trials were held on the University running track with the vehicle runningcontinuously for up to 3 hours at average speeds of 15-20kph and top speedsof 25-28 kph. Road tests on the vehicle resulted in journeys of a maximumdistance of 12km.

Dr A. Micallef obtained his PhD from Nottingham University on completionof research into air pollution modelling and monitoring. He will be contributingto the Department's atmospheric research and monitoring effort.  Plannedprojects involve short-range atmospheric emission-dispersion modellingof vehicle-derived pollutants, indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring,air quality data analysis, air pollution metrology, development of ambientaerosol and gas sampling technology.
 

Statistics & OperationsResearch

The first B.Sc. (Hons.) Statistics & Operations Research coursetook off very satisfactorily with fourteen students taking the option alongwith another main subject. The study units for this new course were wellreceived and a unit delivered by the Director of the Central Office ofStatistics served to forge an important link with a prospective futureemployer of our students.  Furthermore, this exposed students directlyto suppliers of official government statistics.

Mr. L. Camilleri obtained his M.Sc. degree with a thesis on heteroscedasticityin regression.
 

Board of Studies for InformationTechnology

Collaboration between the Department of Computer Science and A.I. andthe Department of Computer Information Systems within the Faculty of Scienceand the Department of Communications and Computer Engineering, Facultyof Engineering has led to the successful establishment of a new B.Sc.(Hons.)degree in Information Technology. Some 170 students are specialising inone of three I.T. streams, namely: Computer Science, Computer Systems Engineeringand Informatics. The first students are due to graduate in 1999. An eveningdiploma course in I.T. is also run.

The Board has been instrumental in the launch of a Work in IndustryScheme which exposes I.T. students to the local industry. Conversely,through the activities of the newly formed students' association (ITSA),the activities of the Board are publicised both on campus as well as withindustry at large.
 

Faculty of Theology

The large number of students now opting for Theology as a main or subsidiarysubject necessitated a reappraisal of teaching methods.

The increasing number of students registering for the M.A. has helpedto further Faculty research interests in areas such as inter-religiousdialogue, family studies and religious education.

Significant initiatives were taken to consolidate the Mediterraneanreligions programme and promote it on the international level thereby givingstudents the opportunity to situate Christian theology in a wider religiouscontext. The annual Aquinas Lecture, given by the French theologianRenè Coste, explored the possible religious resources for the reconciliationof peoples living around the Mediterranean.

The Faculty hosted the biannual Conference of Catholic Theological Institutionsfor the European region. This provided an opportunity to present the MediterraneanReligions Project to a wider international theological audience. The themewas the challenge of the trialogue between the Jewish, Christian and Muslimreligions in the teaching of theology.

In collaboration with the Department of Maltese, a seminar was heldon the relationship of the literary author to God. This proved to be anextremely fruitful interdisciplinary discussion and provided a challengingopportunity to engage in an enriching, if somewhat complex dialogue betweentheology and literature - a priority interest area within the Faculty'sprogramme of theology and human studies.

The Augustine Lecture, which was delivered by Dr. Carol Harrisonfrom Durham University, again involved the participation of the AugustinianOrder and enabled staff and students to keep in touch with this ancienttheological and cultural tradition.

The Departments of Biblical and Pastoral Studies sought to develop a'popular' theology. This is an important genre because it seeks to makereligion comprehensible to the ordinary individual. The Department of SacredScripture, in collaboration with the Ghaqda Biblika Maltija heldseveral courses for adult groups both at diocesan and parish levels.

Major publications were The Image of the Good Shepherd As a Sourcefor the Spirituality of the Ministerial Priesthood, written by NicholasCachia and published by the Gregorian University; Stages of Faith-SharingGroups, written by Alfred Micallef and published in the U.K. and DeSermone Domini in Monte, written by Salvino Caruana and published inthe series Opera Omnia of St. Augustine.
 

INSTITUTES

Agriculture

In July 1997, the Director of the Institute of Agriculture was appointedExecutive Secretary of the National Commission for Agriculture and Fisheriesby the Maltese Government. Since one of the constitutional aims of theInstitute is to assist in the drawing up of national plans for agriculture,the Institute acted as the secretariat for the National Commission andpresented a final report to Government at the end of the year.

The number of students enrolling continued to show an upward trend whilethe number of research students is also on the increase. Students may nowapply for the following: Diploma in Agriculture, M.Sc. in AgriculturalSciences, M.Sc. in Agricultural and Veterinary Pharmacy, M.Phil. in Agricultureand Ph.D. in Agriculture. In response to various requests, plans were initiatedwith a view to introducing a course leading to a B.Sc. in Agriculture.

The academic staff complement of the Institute was strengthened duringthe year by the services of an Animal Nutritionist and a Plant Pathologist.Dr. Alexander Baker and Dr. Ernest Kirkby from Leeds University and ProfessorGianpaolo Vanozzi from the University of Udine visited the Institute andlectured to students.

In December, the Institute became a member of AARINENA, the Associationof Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africaand participated in its sixth biannual conference in 1998. The conferencewas held in Teheran and the Institute was represented by Professor A. Scicluna-Spiteri. A theme paper delivered by Dr M. Zehni, formerly of FAO, acknowledged theassistance given by the Institute of Agriculture in Malta.

The year 1998 marked the birth of a programme of academic collaborationand cooperation between the Institute of Agriculture and the Facultiesof Agriculture and Veterinary Science at the University of Udine in Italy. This joint agricultural programme fell within the bilateral agreement betweenthe two Universities of Udine and Malta.  Professor Gian Paolo Vannozzi(Delegato della Ricerca at Udine) who was the original signatory of theagreement between the two Universities and is a well known agronomist visitedthe Institute four times in the course of 1998 and plans were made fora joint project involving the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries aswell.  This project will include an international M.Sc.(awarded bythe two Universities) in Mediterranean Agriculture, furbishing of the laboratoriesat the Institute and a land-use survey of Malta using GIS technology.

Dr William C. Evans, the author of the well known textbook Treaseand Evans, visited the Institute in May 1998, as he put it, ìto learnof the pharmacognosy achievements of the University'.  He donateda copy of the latest edition of his book which has been translated into30 different languages including Chinese ìto commemorate a delightful instructivevisit'.

Courses in Micropropagation for the Department of Biology, in Phamacognosyfor the Department of Pharmacy and a credit in Fruit and Protected Croppingfor the Faculty of Education were conducted.

Main ongoing fields of research include: Investigations on local andaromatic medicinal plants; Rabbit nutrition; Nitrogen plant nutrition onlocal soils; Nutritive value of the local prickly pear stem leaves andthe use of micropropagation in local agriculture.
 

Anglo-Italian Studies

The Institute organized The Third International Conference on Englandand Italy: Literary and Cultural Relations which was held at the Universityof Malta from 21st-24th September. The Conference, which was convened byProfessor Peter Vassallo, Director of the institute, was addressed by morethan twenty scholars from some of the leading British and Italian Universities.The keynote speakers were Professors Denis Mack Smith and John Woodhousefrom Oxford and Professors Agostino Lombardo and Piero Boitani from LaSapienza, Rome. The Conference was held under the patronage of H.E. Dr.Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, President of Malta.

Professor Alfonso Sammut's Bibliography of Anglo-Italian ComparativeLiterary Criticism was published posthumously by the Institute, editedby Professors Peter Vassallo and Franco Lanza. A tribute to Alfonso Sammutwas held at the University at which the significance of this Bibliographyto the academic world was stressed.

In 1998, the Institute published Volume 5 of the Journal of Anglo-ItalianStudies, this special double issue being dedicated to the memory ofProfessor Gregory Lucente, formerly Professor of Comparative Literatureat the University of Michigan and a member of the Advisory Editorial Boardof the Journal. This volume contains articles by some of the leading scholarsin this field of study.

Professor Peter Vassallo's article on "Shelley and the mask of falsehoodin Julian and Maddalo" was published by Lilla Crisafulli, Professor ofEnglish at the University of Bologna, in a special volume devoted to researchon Shelley and Italy. He was also guest speaker at a Conference on Anglo-ItalianLiterary Relations which was held at the University of Messina in honourof Professor Lino Falzon who formerly headed the Dipartimento di Anglisticathere.
 

European Documentation &Research Centre

The European Documentation and Research Centre (EDRC) has the aims ofestablishing and running courses and engaging in research on policies anddevelopments in the EU and beyond, applying in this effort, a multidisciplinaryapproach which also focusses on issues connected with Euro-Mediterraneanrelations as well as Malta's place in the process of European Integration.

An increase in the number of students enrolling for the B.A. and M.A.(European Studies) was registered while students from other faculties havestarted to show considerable interest in its courses as a secondary areaof study. Several M.Phil students were also admitted. November 1997, sawthe graduation of the first students with an M.A. in European Studies fromthe University of Malta. In collaboration with the Department of Europeanand Comparative Law, the EDRC organised the annual student visit to theEU Institutions.

The individual in the EU and Malta: Some Central Issues and Malta,The European Union and the Mediterranean: Closer Relations in the WiderContext  - the proceedings of the annual EDRC conferences heldin April 1997 and March 1998 respectively, were published (Professor PeterG Xuereb ed.). The EDRC Newsletter, published quarterly, continues to providereaders with information on recent acquisitions as well as containing articleson the E.U. and E.U. - Malta studies. Fifteen Information Papers have alsobeen produced to date.

Professor David Williams gave a public lecture on The role of theEuropean Court of Justice in relation to EC Tax Law while ProfessorJohn Usher, Director of the Europa Institute of the University of Edinburgh,gave two public lectures in July '97. The first on The IGC and the EU- Union in Diversity? was sponsored by Corinthia Group of Companieswhile the second entitled Tax Discrimination, Capital Movements andthe Single Market was organised in conjunction with the Chartered Instituteof Bankers who also sponsored Professor Francis Snyder's lecture entitledEMURevisited: Are we making a Constitution? What Constitution are we making?Professor Snyder, Professor of European Community Law at the EuropeanUniversity Institute in Florence was visiting external examiner in 1998. He also gave a second lecture on Trading with China which was organisedin association with METCO.

With the support of the European Commission DGX, the EDRC played hostto a project meeting on EU-Mediterranean acquis approximation in April1998.  The proceedings of this Malta Meeting were published in bookform entitled The Mediterranean's European Challenge edited by ProfessorPeter  G Xuereb who is coordinator of a project involving over 50researchers on Approximation To the Acquis Communautaire in theMediterranean region.
 

Energy Technology

A database of the energy imports and energy utilisation in Malta hasbeen set up and is being evaluated in the light of socioeconomic and environmentalimpact factors. The Institute is participating in discussions on the establishmentof an energy policy for Malta. Advice about the application of energy conservationand renewable energy was given to various companies and industries. A laboratoryto monitor the performance of solar water heaters and to evaluate the thermalperformance of large-scale elements has been set up with the help of MaltaDrydocks personnel.

The first grid-connected PV system has completed one year of successfuloperation. The monitoring of solar radiation and other weather parametersat Marsaxlokk and the wind monitoring programme at three sites have allbeen functional for more than a year and the results from data gatheredhave been published. Wind monitoring has been extended to another sitein Kercem, Gozo. A database of wind parameters taken at Luqa since 1945is being set up. Other weather data from Luqa, Qrendi and the data fromthe IET weather station are being analysed so as to establish wind mapsfor Malta. As part of an AVICENNE project, an experimental setup for investigationsinto the solar detoxification and disinfection of water was designed andbuilt. Experiments were carried out in May and September.

The institute took part in Open Day, some 150 visitors attendedits presentations. Similarly, on the occasion of Science Week about150 students visited the IET at Marsaxlokk. Building on this positive experience,the Institute has embarked on a programme whereby 3rd to 6th Form studentsfrom all schools are invited for half-day teaching and demonstration sessions.Following the successful completion of a six week working experience atthe IET by an American student, some 20 students from James Madison Universitycame to the Institute for 4 weeks to carry out project work on renewableenergy.

The Institute participated in a seminar on bioclimatic architectureand energy conservation in collaboration with the Institute for Masonryand Construction Research, Malta University Services and the Italian CulturalInstitute.
 

Forensic Studies

The Institute is currently running a full-time one-year postqualificationcourse leading to the Diploma in Probation Services and a five year part-timecourse leading to a B.A. in Criminology. Furthermore, the Ministry of HomeAffairs has entrusted it with the organisation of a course specificallyfor prospective police inspectors. Many students from other courses havealso shown keen interest in criminology credits.

The Institute provides qualified and trained correctional/police personnelas well as equips students from other non-law enforcement professions withcriminological knowledge, thereby broadening their career opportunities.

During 1997, the Centre for Criminology undertook the United NationsCrime (Victims) Survey. This research project was sponsored by the Governmentof Malta and the United Nations Inter-Regional Crime Research Institute(UNICRI). In July, the Institute organised and hosted the UNICRI Internationalworkshop on Probation which had worldwide participation and led to thecompilation of a comprehensive report. This occasion also proved instrumentalin establishing new links with foreign institutions while old ones wereconsolidated.

A course leading to the Certificate in Policing commenced in 1998 incollaboration with Portsmouth University. Professor Stephen Savage designedthe course, while in the period April/May '98, the Institute hosted severalBritish lecturers.
 

Gozo Centre

In 1997, the course leading to the BA entered its fourth year with twenty-eightstudents following the course. Two courses leading to the Diploma in Commerceand the Diploma in Educational Administration and Management were alsobeing run.

Other courses offered included: a course for Instructors in collaborationwith the Government Department of Education; a refresher course in Obstetricsorganised in collaboration with the Institute of Health Care; a short coursein Financial Markets organised in collaboration with the Department ofBanking and Finance; a course in collaboration with the University of theThird Age; a course in Systems of Knowledge and another in EnvironmentalStudies both organised in collaboration with the Grupp UniversitarjuGhawdxin and a three year course leading to the Advanced Level certificatein Lace Making of the London City and Guilds. In 1998, various other shortcourses were organised.

The sociocultural activities organised by the Centre included: an Eveningof Music which attracted a very large audience and was given good reviewsin the press and a Social Evening organised during the Christmas vacationfor lecturers and Gozo Centre staff members. A Lace Day was heldin May '98.

The annual Löwenbräu Seminar which has become an importantevent on the Gozitan cultural calendar was held. 1997's theme was TheGozitan Woman while in 1998, discussion focussed on Education inGozo: Issues and Prospects.

The Centre also hosted an international workshop on Water ResourcesManagement in Small Islands Developing States in collaboration withthe Islands and Small States Institute and UNEP.

The single most important achievement for 1998, was the graduation ofstudents from the first B.A. course organised in Gozo as well as from thefirst two-year Diploma in Commerce. A Thanksgiving Mass and reception wereheld to mark the occasion.
 

Health Care

The Institute of Health Care student recruitment campaign was intensifiedthis year and bore positive results. An information stand was put up onthe occasion of Open Day and school groups showed considerable interestin presentations regarding courses available. The IHC also participatedin the Careers Convention held in Gozo and a seminar entitled Sahha, Sbuhijau Sport was well attended by a number of prospective students.

Graduation 1997 scored a number of firsts for the Institute with thefirst groups of students graduating in various branches of Health Carehaving followed Bachelors or Diploma courses. The first Masters studentsin Health Services Management also graduated.

Negotiations with Queen's Medical Centre, University of Nottingham.are underway with a view to establishing links in the field of Nursing/Midwifery.Several students did their elective placement in Liverpool whilst a numberof foreign students were offered clinical placements in various healthcare facilities. This is becoming very popular, especially among Scandinavianstudents.

In the field of Health Services Management, post qualification Diplomastudents began their research-based final projects by considering healthcare reform within public and private health care systems as well as inlocal industry.

A joint project with Bocconi University was initiated under the ItalianProtocol. Three workshops were conducted in 1997. The first was a needsassessment workshop; the second, a staff development course conducted inMalta and the third, a Train-the-Trainers programme which was heldin Italy. In November 1998, lecturers from the Bocconi came to Malta aspart of the ongoing staff development programme. In April, the Health ServicesManagement Division participated in a Symposium, Tradition of Excellencein Health Care held in conjunction with the Department of Pharmacy.

The achievement of a high standard in the local training of speech therapists,is illustrated by the acceptance of the Irish Association of Speech andLanguage Therapists of an IHC graduate who applied for full registration.Another local graduate in Communication Therapy won a full time scholarshipfor postgraduate training in the UK. Overseas links continued to be strengthenedthrough involvement in the SOCRATES/ERASMUS Thematic Network Speech CommunicationScience. In 1998, Dr. Helen Grech obtained her Ph.D. from the Universityof Manchester.  Her research dealt with the phonological developmentof Maltese speaking children.

The Communication Therapy Teaching and Research Clinic, located at theMedical School, started functioning. The clinic serves as a base for demonstrationsby local and foreign specialist and generic speech therapists and audiologists.It complements the already existing local service. A clinical databaseis being accumulated in order to carry out research directly related tothe local communication disordered population.

Three Maltese Radiography students participated in an ERASMUS programmewhile the division hosted several ERASMUS students who came from the Netherlands,Finland and the UK. While in Malta, they followed a programme of studiesand participated in clinical placements at various institutions. Socialand cultural events were organised by the division so as to provide thestudents with an insight into Maltese history. An ERASMUS network meetingwas hosted by the Division in September 1998.  All the participantsfrom the member countries attended the meeting.

Mr. S. Green and Mr. N. Thomson from the University College, Suffolk,lectured on Digital Imaging and Ultrasound. Links were established withSt James Hospital where students may gain clinical experience in MagneticResonance Imaging.

Dr. John Robinson from the University of Hull was External Examinerfor the final comprehensive Medical Laboratory Science examinations. Discussionswere held regarding the exchange of students in Medical Laboratory Sciencewith the University of Hull. As from 1997, it has become possible for MLSDiploma holders to upgrade their diploma to a degree and several diplomatesopted to enter the degree course which will take three years to complete.

In the field of Occupational Therapy, plans are in hand for the introductionof a B.Sc. Honours degree course which should be offered as from October1998. This was made possible through the invaluable assistance of Dr. AnneMac Rae, a visiting Fullbright lecturer from the University of San Josè(California). Her collaboration resulted in the formulation of a coursedocument which was drawn up according to international standards. Thisoutlines the principles underlying the practice as well as the educationalparameters in a modern occupational therapy milieu.

The Physiotherapy intake for both years was encouraging. A PostgraduateClinical Supervisors course for staff employed within the health servicewas organised. Recognition by the Council for Professions supplementaryto Medicine in the United Kingdom has been obtained for future Physiotherapygraduates.

1998 was another successful year for the Division of Environmental Healthand all Diplomates who graduated in November have since been absorbed intothe Health service as Health Inspectors.

The International Commonwealth conference Moving Nursing forward- Affirming our  Right to Care was held in Malta in March 1998. On the occasion of International Nurses' Day, the first NationalNursing Conference was organised in conjunction with the Nursing Directorateand the Nursing Association.

Professor V. James, Head, Nursing Department together with the Coordinator of the Professional Development Courses, University of Nottingham, visitedMalta in June, as a follow up to the visit by a Maltese delegation to Nottinghamthe previous year. The various Divisions of IHC welcomed Visiting stafffrom Britain and Italy in the course of the year.
 

Linguistics

A number of new publications by members of the Institute were launchedin the course of the year. The first of these, was Maltese. Lingua DescriptiveGrammar (London: Routledge, 1997), a description of the syntax, morphologyand phonology of Maltese by Albert Borg and Marie Azzopardi-Alexander.TheMaltese Noun Phrase Meets Typology (Pisa: Pacini Editore. 1996), editedby Frans Plank (University of Konstanz) and Albert Borg is a collectionof 14 studies on various aspects of the Maltese Noun Phrase within a typologicaldescription, arising out of the collaboration between the Institute ofLinguistics and the Eurotyp Project of the European Science Foundation.The third publication Fuq l-Ghatba tal-Malti (Strasbourg: Councilof Europe, 1997), is a comprehensive communicative grammar of Maltese withinthe Threshold Level mould by Manwel Mifsud and Albert Borg. This publicationis the fruit of close cooperation between the Modern Languages Sectionof the Council of Europe's Directorate of Education, Culture and Sport,the Education Division within the Ministry of Education and the University'sInstitute of Linguistics. Finally, Merhba Bik. Welcome to a Course inMaltese for Foreigners (Mgarr, Malta: Colour Image, 1997), a communicationoriented course supplemented with CD, by Antoinette Camilleri, was launchedin December and received extremely well.

Cooperation with the British Council resulted in the financing of avisit by Dr. John L. Trim, University of Cambridge, formerly Project Directorof the Council of Europe's sponsored volume in Maltese. Specialized equipmentwas also donated to the Institute's Sign Language Research Project.

In collaboration with the Centre for Communication Technology, a shortvideo feature on Linguistics was produced for Open Day. A workinggroup on Maltese Dialects was formed with a view to conducting researchin this area. The Mid-Med Bank Computer and Science Foundation is fundingan interdepartmental research project that should lead to an ElectronicLexicon of Maltese. The Institute is also actively involved in the TEFLfield.

A significant accomplishment for the Institute in the field of LanguageDisability/Hearing-Impaired was the organization of the first course inMaltese Sign Language using a Communicative Approach. This was held throughclose cooperation with the Kummissjoni Nazzjonali Persuni b'Dizabilità(National Commission Persons with Disability) and the Ghaqda Tfal uZghazagh Neqsin mis-Smigh (National Association for the Young Deaf).The Institute also organises a Postgraduate Diploma Course in the Educationof the Hearing-Impaired.

The highlight of 1998 was the holding in Malta of the highly successfulThird International Conference of AIDA: Association Internationale deDialectologie Arabe.  Dr. Manwel Mifsud was Conference Convenor.

The Linguistics Circle Meetings continued on a regular basis and a half-dayseminar Mini-Projects in Linguistics was organised to serve as aforum where B.A. (Honours) Language students could present their dissertationresearch.

Collaboration with the Department of Computer Science and ArtificialIntelligence has led to a joint research project Maltilex: a computationallexicon of Maltese and a fairly extensive database has been compiled. Aone-day well attended workshop on Computational Approaches to SemiticLanguages coordinated by members of the Institute, was organised atthe close of the prestigious Computational Linguistics/Association of ComputationalLinguists (COLING-ACC) Conference held in Montreal in August.
 

Mediterranean Institute

Anthropology
History of Mediterranean Civilisation
Geography
Hispanic Studies
Music Studies
Theatre Studies
 

In collaboration with University Radio, the Music Studies, HispanicStudies and Near Eastern Studies Programmes of the Mediterranean Instituteparticipate in formal education programmes in the open learning mode.

Together with Evenings on Campus, a concert of Byzantine chantby the Byzantine Patriarchal Choir of Mro. Pavlos Fortomas from Athenswas held in July in the Atriju Vassalli. This was the first concert ofits kind in Malta and it enabled the audience to experience the rich mysticalqualities of Christian oriental chant.

Anthropology

The 1997/98 intake saw a record number of students choosing Anthropologyas one of their two principal subjects. Compulsory courses include: FieldworkTechniques; Kinship, Marriage and the Family; Economic Anthropology; PoliticalAnthropology; Religion, Ritual and Belief; and Classical Social Theory.1997/98 has seen the introduction of two new courses - Introductionto Ethnographic Film; and Work and Culture in Malta - Learning EthnographicResearch. It has seen the continuation of two courses started the previousyear - Physical/Biological Anthropology and Semiology of MalteseFolklore Narrative.

In addition to its core students, the Anthropology Programme reachesout to teach in the Diploma Course on Women and Development (organizedby the WPDC) and the Department of Economics. In total, it is offeringcourses to over 400 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Through collaboration between the Anthropology Programme and the Facultyof Laws, interdepartmental Work-in-Progress Seminars were organisedover the two-year period which had both local and foreign input. In April,1997, the third annual Anthropology conference was held. Entitled MediterraneanWomen: Concepts, Processes and Images, it focussed on the changingroles and position of women in Mediterranean societies. Foreign participantsincluded: Professor Judith Okely, University of Hull; Dr. Jon MitchellUniversity of Sussex and Professor Helga Reimann, University of Augsburg.Visiting Lecturers included Dr. Rolf Hussman, University of Gottingen,who conducted the first full course in Ethnographic Film-makingwhich was well attended by students from both the Anthropology Programmeand the Centre for Communication Technology. Dr. Kathryn Rountree, fromMassey University, New Zealand, lectured on Religion, Ritual and Belief.Dr. Cris Shore, Goldsmiths College, University of London, gave The CulturalPolitics of European Integration while Dr. Gary Armstrong, Universityof Reading, lectured on the Anthropology of Football.

Principal areas of research include: the anthropology of tourism andwomen's pilgrimages with special emphasis on Gozo; anthropology of Malteselegal practice; rural economy in West Africa and causes of marital separationsin Malta.
 

History of MediterraneanCivilisation

This compulsory programme of studies discusses the cultural developmentin the Mediterranean region, from the dawn of civilisation to contemporarytimes. It is a course which aims at a general, yet comprehensive, understandingof this region, its peoples and their cultures.

As from the academic year 1997-1998, a revamped programme was implemented.Divided into four main historical periods, pre-classical, classical, medievaland modern times, each period is analysed from the historical and culturalpoints of view, covering aspects of Mediterranean philosophy, religion,art, theatre and literature. Students may also choose from three streamsof optional study-units: textual options which cover the Hebrew Bible,Greek classical texts, the Koran and La Divina Commedia,as well as literary works by Garcia Lorca, Camus and Kazantzakis; languagestudy-units (Mediterranean languages such as Hebrew, Arabic, Greek andLatin) which seek to situate languages within their cultural setting, whilegeneral options cover aspects of Mediterranean human geography, anthropologyof the Mediterranean, contemporary political thought and contemporary Mediterraneancountries.

Foreign lecturers included: Mr Francis Cheetham, a former Presidentof the Museums Association in the UK, who delivered a lecture entitledConflictof Cultures - Spanish Medieval Art. Dr Dan Bahat, Bar Ilan University,gave a lecture about Crusader Jerusalem whilst Professor Abdel AzizSalem, Director of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies in Alexandria,lectured on Arab Cordoba.
 

Geography

Courses in physical geography, human geography, coastal management andgeomorphology were all supplemented by field studies. Students are showingkeen interest in field work, the importance of which is being emphasised.This is being reflected in the field content of dissertations presentedin part-fulfilment of the B.A.(Hons.) and B.Ed.(Hons.) courses. Field studieswere complemented with the extensive use of the Geographic InformationSystems Laboratory and the Laboratory at the Institute for Masonry andConstruction Research.

Contacts with foreign universities such as Durham, Reading and Cardiffin the U.K. as well as with the University of Limoges and the Universityof Salzburg were maintained through joint field sessions in Malta and collaborationin research activities. Professor Gerald H. Blake, Director of the InternationalBoundaries Research Unit at the University of Durham lectured on PoliticalGeography while Dr. Peter Atkins also from Durham visited the Divisionand lectured on the Geography of Food and Food Systems..

Research into the coastal environment, tourism, walled towns, populationgeography and coastal geomorphology progressed. A seminar organised bythe University of Malta Geographical Society was held in February.
 

Hispanic Studies

Hispanic Studies continued to register an increasing number of students.A report was prepared on the teaching of Spanish in Malta and assistancewas given to the Ministry of Education with curriculum development.

Efforts continued to promote interest in Spanish in secondary schoolsand as a consequence of a cultural agreement signed between Malta and Spain,Spanish is now being given the same importance as other foreign languagesand is available as an option from Form One. The agreement also makes provisionfor the continued presence of three Spanish lecturers on campus until 1999as well as the setting up of a Spanish Resource Centre. Stephen Florianlectured on Contemporary Spanish Theatre.

The Spanish Film Club offered films by both older established directorssuch as Barden, Patino & Berlanga as well as by more recent directorssuch as Uribe, Martinez Lazaro, Colomo and Saura.

1998 saw the launching of Corsairing to Commerce. Maltese Merchantsin XVIII Century Spain which was of significance in the field of Spanish-Malteseacademic cooperation. The book was also well received by specialists locallyand abroad.

The second publication, The Malta Chamber of Commerce: 1848 - 1979Anoutline history of Maltese trade, was launched later in the year. In recognition of his contributions to the study of economic history withboth publications, the Malta Chamber of Commerce honoured the Coordinator,Dr. Carmel Vassallo, with its 150th Anniversary medal. On his initiative,the Malta Chamber of Commerce, also established an annual Lm1OO prize tobe awarded to the best dissertation relating to the history of commerce.In 1998, it was awarded to Mr. Sebastian Vella, a final year History Honoursstudent, whose work had been supervised by Dr. Vassallo.

The year also saw the organisation of a conference and a seminar. Thefirst one, in May 1998, on Consolati del Mare and Chambers of Commerce,to mark the 300th and 150th anniversary respectively of the two institutions,attracted papers from academics in France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Morocco,Spain, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom.

The November seminar entitled The Communist Manifesto. Its Impacton the Humanities, marking the 150th anniversary of its publication,included 15 short discussion papers and was extremely well attended stimulatinglively discussion.
 

Music Studies

The University Vocal Ensemble under the direction of Mro. DionBuhagiar, participates at official functions such as the opening of theacademic year and at the Thanksgiving Mass held on the occasion of Graduationin St. John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta.

In April, the Ensemble gave a performance of Antonin Tucapsky's StabatMater in seven Movements for choir and Alto and Baritone soli at theChurch of St. Paul's Shipwreck, Valletta. The programme also included Renaissancepolyphonic motets.

Together with the Collegium Aureum, a concert of Christmas musicwas presented at St. John's Co-Cathedral to a capacity audience. For thethird consecutive year, the Vocal Ensemble also gave a ChristmasConcert in the Russian Chapel at San Anton Palace at the invitation ofthe President of the Republic, H.E. Dr. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici. In May 1998,the performing section of the Mediterranean Institute presented an instrumentalconcert in the Manoel Theatre Foyer.

In consultation with Professor Floyd Grave, a specialist in 18th centuryItalian theory from Rutgers University, research into Maltese ClassicalMusic is being conducted, notably that of Francesco Azopardi (1748-1809).Nicolo Isouard's Missa Leggiera of 1795 is another focus of study. Maltese Classical Music together with Schenkerean Analysis was the subjectof lectures given by the Coordinator of the Music Studies Programme tosenior students of performance and Music Education at the J.E. PurkyneUniversity, Czech Republic.
 

Theatre Studies

A sharp increase in the intake of students was registered in October.Theatre Studies is also a main area of study for the B.Communications degreeand as a result of the investigations of the cognitive science and theatreresearch programme (xHCA) it is now being offered as a secondary area ofstudies to B.Psychology students.

In March '97 a national conference was organised on the subject: Il-KitbaTeatrali f'Malta: hemm xi Krizi? Various speakers tackled differentproblems in playwriting and the possibilities of new forms of 'writing'for the theatre by using the body as an instrument were discussed. In March'98, a national conference on Political Theatre in Malta, It-Teatruta' Konfront was organised.

An international conference on Ancient Ritual and Theatre Spaceswas held in September, at which theatre specialists and archeologists fromaround the Mediterranean basin met to discuss what kind of performancesare being or should be shown in these sites and how the sites may bestbe protected. The outcome of this conference is expected to lead to theMalta Declaration on non-theatrical sites which follows the Segesta declarationon Ancient theatre sites. The proceedings have since been published inthe Journal of Mediterranean Studies.

The first Summer University in Theatre Research was organised by thexHCA Programme on the theme Theatre and Neuroscience, investigatingthe concept of presence in the performer. Lecturers hailed from theUniversities of Paris VIII, Bordeaux II, Florence and Malta and theatrepractitioners from Poland, Sweden and Malta conducted the practical workshops.Participants from various countries, including France, Italy, Tunisia,Sweden, UK, Germany and Malta attended the sessions.

Sadly, this event witnessed the great loss of Ingemar Lindh, who passedaway suddenly during the 5th session. The world renowned theatre pedagogueand researcher had given his full support to the Theatre Studies Programmesince the launching of the xHCA of which he was the director.

The first writings emerging from the investigations in hand have nowstarted being published, while tests designed for use in connection withthe experiments conducted within the programme, are moving towards beingstreamlined, sophisticated and eventually packaged for being marketed commercially.

In December, the second phase of empirical tests looking into proceduralmemory and learning processes were carried out within the framework ofthe xHCA research programme in collaboration with the University of BordeauxII. Within the framework of the Franco-Maltese Cultural Agreement an agreementfor joint collaboration with this university has been signed. This coversjoint research and lecturer/student exchanges on the xHCA programme.

In February 1998, the programme organised its third international eventsince it was founded. This was a three-day Symposium on Memory at whichrecent research findings were announced.
 

Workers' Participation DevelopmentCentre

The Workers' Participation Development Centre (WPDC) organises workers'educational programmes, conducts research on labour related issues andprovides consultancy services. The main educational activities were thethree Diploma Courses in Social Studies, each specialising in a particularfield. Applicants for the Industrial Relations option were mainly workers'leaders and representatives, human resource managers, trade union activists,labour officers and middle ranking executives. The Women and Developmentoption is being run in collaboration with the Department for the EqualStatus of Women, while the Occupational Health and Safety option is intendedto meet the need for professional occupational health and safety officersand is being run in collaboration with the Department of Labour in conjunctionwith the Institute of Health Care.

In 1998, a number of short certificate courses were also run. Theseinclude in-service programmes for the public service, trade union personneland the staff of Air Malta. A long term educational programme for tradeunion trainers was also started in collaboration with the Friedrich EbertStiftung.

The tripartite residential seminars, launched in 1990 in conjunctionwith the FES, continued. Mr Helmut Klein-Schneider from the Hans-BocklerFoundation, Germany, an expert in the area of worker participation, wasthe guest speaker at a seminar on The Role of the Worker Directorwhich was held in February '97 and led to the publication, DiretturiEletti mill-Haddiema. A second seminar held in June was on New ParticipatoryRelations between Unions and Employers and had Mr John McAdam, an industrialrelations consultant in Ireland and a former trade unionist, as guest speaker.Discussions focussed on a mutually beneficial industrial relations systemwhich would enhance productivity and growth while safeguarding conditionsof work. The third seminar was held in November and dealt with Women'sParticipation in Trade Unions. The guest speaker was Dr Esther Quinn,Education Officer with the Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers(USDAW) in Glasgow.

The series continued in 1998. Professor Christopher Jecchinis an eminentacademic from Greece was invited as a guest speaker at a seminar on Privatisationand the Trade Unions : The European Experience.  In his presentation,he treated the issue of privatisation from an international perspectivefocussing on its effects and problems of implementation. European Unionand the Challenges of Membership was the concluding seminar for 1998. Thisin-house seminar focussed on EU labour policy and its implications forTrade Unions and was addressed by Dr Ivor Roberts, Senior AdministratorEuropean Commission (DG X).

The WPDC continued to coordinate educational visits to Brussels as partof a trade union information and dissemination programme sponsored andfinanced by the European Commission. The joint GWU/CMTU/WPDC delegationwas briefed on current industrial issues in the context of the political,social and economic challenges facing Europe by officials representingvarious institutions within the European Union.

Following discussions with a number of British trade union activistsinvolved in the running of EU information networks in Brussels, the WPDCsought to establish a real-time communications link via computer with InfobaseEurope, one of the foremost providers of information on European socialpolicy. This link will permit the Centre to keep abreast of all currentand relevant developments and changes in the area, in order to better coordinatelocal policies in line with EU directives.

A group of African specialists in Labour studies visited Malta in November'98 as guests of the WPDC. The group was led by Professor Gerard Kesterfrom the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. The study visit to theisland was sponsored by APADEP and by the Federation of Dutch Trade UnionsFNV. A number of informative sessions on the following topics were held:the setting up of a worker participation development centre for severalcountries of the African continent; the need for information networks andthe drawing up of a curriculum for a course in labour studies which wouldbe adopted in several African states.

The Graduating Workforce was published. This documents the resultsof Malta's first graduate tracer study undertaken by the WPDC on behalfof the Employment Training Corporation (ETC), the Foundation for HumanResource Development (FHRD) and the University of Malta. In collaborationwith the Education Division of the Ministry of Education, another tracerproject on B.Ed. graduates to assess the turnover of graduate teachersfrom state schools was conducted.

The Centre also participated in an international research project carriedout under the auspices of the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) inBrussels on the theme Trade Unions and Democratic Participation in Europe.
 

Mediterranean Academy ofDiplomatic Studies

In conformity with the Second Protocol to the Agreement between Maltaand Switzerland regarding the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies,the 1997/1998 academic year saw the departure of the second director ofthe Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, Professor Fred Tanner,after a stay of three years. He was succeeded by Dr. Felix Meier, a specialistin international economics, who came to Malta from the Federal Departmentof Foreign Affairs in Berne.

Dr. Stephen C. Calleya was appointed Deputy Director while Dott. AlbertoBin, holder of the Academy's Italian Chair, was succeeded by Dott.ssa StefaniaPanebianco. Mr. Jovan Kurbalija is Head of the Unit for IT in Diplomacywhile Ms. Lucienne Curmi was appointed Coordinator of the Human Dimensionprogramme.

The intake of students for the Master in Diplomacy and Master of Artsin Diplomatic Studies was considerably higher than in previous years withstudents coming from Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia- Herzegovina,Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Yugoslavia, Namibia, Palestine,Tunisia, France, Greece and the United Kingdom.

Highlights of the academic year included a one week student visit toBrussels to participate in an intensive course on Euro-Mediterranean Relationsat the invitation of the European Commission and a visit to Rome wherethey participated in a crash course on relations in the Mediterranean whichwas organised by the Società Italiana per l'Organizzazione Internazionale(SIOI).

The year featured a number of important international events. Theseincluded: two Euro-Mediterranean Information and Training Programmesorganised in collaboration with the European Commission and the MalteseMinistry of Foreign Affairs and the Environment; two workshops on the useof Information Technology in Diplomacy; a conference on Economic Diplomacyin the Mediterranean and a Search for Common Ground Roundtablemeeting.

A new academic programme for captains in the Armed Forces of Malta waslaunched in October. The one-year International Relations programme iscoordinated by Dr. Stephen C. Calleya and consists of a series of seminarswhich focus on contemporary security issues.

Guest lecturers included Dr. Vladimir Petrovsky, Director General ofthe United Nations Office, Geneva; Professor Carlo Chiarenza, Directorof the Italian Association for International Organisations, Rome;Professor Paul Sullivan of the School of Business, Economics and Communications,American University of Cairo; Professor Yves Ghebali, Graduate Instituteof International Studies, Geneva and Dr. Nassif Hitti, Political Adviserto the Secretary General of the League of Arab States.
 

The Library

A significant development this year, was the approval by Council ofa new staff structure which entailed radical changes in the Library's seniormanagerial bracket in line with foreign academic libraries. The approvedstaff structure is headed by a Director of Library Services and a DeputyDirector, followed by Heads for Resources and Reader Services with theirrespective deputies. Former University Librarian, Dr. Paul Xuereb attainedretirement age and was, late in the year, succeeded by the new Directorof Library Services, Mr. Anthony Mangion while Mr. Albert V. Mercieca wasappointed Deputy Director.

The Library continued to dedicate much of its energy and resources tosustaining and enhancing its reader services. The Reference Departmentprovided an excellent reader service in the form of a well-stocked andupdated collection of reference works, a student enquiry service, libraryinstruction and the publication of bibliographical guides. Subscriptionto CD-ROM indexes and bibliographical databases such as ANBAR (Managementliterature) CITIS (civil engineering) Sociofile (sociology), Psychlit(Psychology)and Biological and Chemical Abstracts enabled rapid electronic manipulationof millions of citations. This in turn created additional demands on theLibrary's Inter-Library Loan and Overseas Document Supply Service, relyingheavily on the services of the British Library.

The Library also continued to offer a subsidised on-line document andcitation retrieval service by subscribing to DIALOG, a major host-operatorcovering some 500 bibliographic databases with millions of citations andfull text articles at their disposal. In addition to DIALOG, the Librarymade use of other host operators such as the Corte Suprema di Cassazzione,Blaise-Lineand Uncover, as well as secondary hosts available on the Internet.

The Melitensia reading-room, with its extensive, precious and rare materialcontinued to render excellent service to students and researchers as wellas to foreign scholars researching aspects of Maltese life and culture.Highlight of the year was a bequest by Ms. M. I. Curmi to the Archivesand Rare Books Unit, of papers belonging to her father, the late Dr. GiovanniCurmi. Additions to the archives included papers belonging to ReginaldVella Tomlin, Dr. Henry Sacco, Ninu Cremona, Napoleone Tagliaferro andRev. Professor Paolo Tabone. Three exhibitions were mounted in the courseof the year by the Archives and Rare Books Unit to give prominence to materialcontained in this section. In 1998, work on the Bonavita papers was resumed by the Archives and Rare Books Section,  while in May, the Librarywas proud to accept the bequest by Ms. Louisette Briffa of the papers belongingto the renowned poet, Rosar Briffa which were put on display. Two otherexhibitions covered original documents on the Ghaqda tal-Malti (Universita')and the commemoration of the seizure of Malta by the French and the subsequentpeasant rebellion and blockade.

On the technical side, the need to upgrade the automation platform wasrecognised as being the Library's salient objective for 1998 while workis underway to reclassify and standardise classification of works accordingto Library of Congress. A database has been compiled of the current journaltitles subscribed to.

The Library's catalogue went on-line this year and is providing an essentialservice to readers while the Library home page can be accessed at http://www.lib.um.edu.mt