First Draft of an Administrative Code Presented to the House of Representatives’
Select Committee on Re-codification and Consolidation of Laws

On Monday 7 May 2012, Professor Kevin Aquilina, Dean of the Faculty of Laws at the University of Malta, presented a first draft of an Administrative Code to the Select Committee on Re-codification and Consolidation of Laws of the House of Representatives. Professor Aquilina had been requested by the said Committee to assist it in its workings by providing expert advice on legal drafting in general and by drawing up various reports on the re-codification and consolidation of laws. The Select Committee subsequently asked him to draw up an Administrative Code for Malta.

On 29 March 2010 the Select Committee began to discuss with Professor Aquilina the re-codification and consolidation of laws in general as well as which category of laws should be re-codified or consolidated. He was also requested to identify those laws which were spent with a view to revocation. In subsequent sittings of the Select Committee, the advantages and disadvantages of codification and developing a Code of Administrative Law were discussed with Professor Aquilina. The latter submitted a number of reports to the Committee identifying how the laws of Malta should be re-codified under various subject headings. On the basis of these reports Professor Aquilina was requested to identify which laws were to be re-codified into an Administrative Code. After this report was approved by the Select Committee, Professor Aquilina was requested to embark upon a project of drafting an Administrative Code for Malta. The Select Committee was providing feedback on each section of the Code submitted to the Select Committee as the Code was being drafted.

The short title of the Administrative Code reads that the Administrative Code is A law to codify the administrative laws of Malta into one single Code, to set out the principles which ought to govern the public administration in its relationship with the individual, to establish an Administrative Court and to make ancillary and consequential provisions thereto. The first draft of the Administrative Code is spread over 497 pages of legal text and consists of 1017 articles, twenty-two schedules together with a draft Bill to amend the Constitution of Malta to bring the latter in line with the proposals made in the Administrative Code.

When the first draft of the Administrative Code was submitted to the Select Committee it decided to carry out a consultation process on the first draft. A copy of the first draft is available on the Select Committee’s website.

International Recognition for a Maltese Academic


Perit Lino Bianco has been elected professor of the International Academy of Architecture at the World Triennial of Architecture held in Sofia under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria and UNESCO. He was appointed professor in recognition for his achievements in the development of contemporary architecture. A professorship at the Academy is a high honour and acknowledgment of a special contribution to the profession. Perit Bianco is one of the youngest architects ever to hold this prestigious post.

The Academy is made up of academicians and professors. Architects who contributed to contemporary architecture are elected professors, whilst the most prominent contributors to world architecture are elected academicians. These include leading architects such as Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano and the Maltese architect of international repute Richard England.

Perit Bianco is a lecturer in history and theory of architecture at the University of Malta and a visiting professor in urban planning at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy of Sofia, Bulgaria. He set up the architectural and environmental planning consultancy firm Lino Bianco and Associates, fifteen years ago.

The Dean’s Awards for excellence in the Sciences and Mathematics started in 1995 and is now an established tradition, also being followed by other faculties. The awarded students’ relatives were invited to the ceremony held on Friday 4 May at 1800hrs in the Francis Ebejer Hall at the Msida campus. The ceremony started with a welcome address by the Dean, Professor Charles V Sammut. There was a short musical performance by the Mediterranean Institute Student Quintet, consisting of David Ellul (Violin), Joseph Mallia (Viola), Anna Dubbinaya (Cello), Godfrey Mifsud (Clarinet), Michelle Scicluna (Bass).

Professor Sammut congratulated the students receiving the awards and others who had shown a marked improvement. He encouraged the students to have confidence in themselves and their capabilities.  The number of research students in the Faculty continues to grow but more are required to embark on the research now made possible through the Faculty’s successful bids for European Regional Development Funds that have resulted in upgraded and new research laboratories and facilities. He thanked the Pro-Rector for Research, Professor Richard Muscat, for his support and guidance in handling the considerable bureaucracy attached with utilising these funds.  

The Dean praised the Science Students Society, S-cubed, for their enthusiasm and mentioned that among other activities, they publish an excellent magazine called 'In Touch', which is available online, and organize seminars and educational visits abroad for students. He thanked S-cubed for their work and encouraged science students to help the Committee and to participate in their activities.

Professor Sammut concluded by encouraging students to spend at least the first few years after graduating doing research. In this way, they would attain higher levels of performance and would be able to contribute to society at the highest level, where their input is most likely to pay the highest dividends.

The Pro-Rectors, Professor Alfred Vella and Professor Richard Muscat, participated in the award of the certificates. Following the ceremony, a plaque was unveiled by Professor Vella in the Faculty’s main building, the Physics and Mathematics building. The plaque, which is located in a prominent place in the foyer, records the names of students who were awarded the BoV Special Prize for Science.

At the end of the ceremony, Professor Sammut thanked the Faculty administrative staff, especially Ms Claire Saliba, who coordinated the event, and the sponsors, BoV, Technoline Ltd., Malta Communications Authority, Methode Electronics Ltd. and Agenda Ltd.

This year’s award winners were:

Year I
Buhagiar Michael (Chemistry with Materials)
Cutajar Stefan (Mathematics & Statistics & Operations Research)
Fenech Kurt (Mathematics & Physics)

Year II
Bajada Mark (Chemistry & Physics)
Lia Keith (Mathematics & Statistics & Operations Research)
Pace Daniel (Mathematics & Statistics & Operations Research)

Year III
Brincat Bernard Charles (Computer Science & AI & Physics)
Cutajar Denis (Computer Science & AI & Physics)    
Mifsud Gabriella Andrina (Biology & Chemistry)
            
Year IV
Bartolo Francois (Informatics & Mathematics)
Borg Yanika (Mathematics & Statistics & Operations Research)
Darmanin Roberta (Banking & Finance & Statistics & Operations Research)

The BOV Prize for Science was awarded to Ms Nadya Galea, who thanked the Faculty for a highly profitable experience during the four years of the B.Sc. (Hons) course. 

 

The symposium on 'Texte et Image' took place on Friday 11 May at the University of Malta Valletta campus

Recently, Dr Terence Portelli, lecturer at the Faculty of Education, University of Malta, presented a cheque to Ms Paulette Fenech, Director General of Malta Red Cross Society with proceeds from the anthology Bil-Ħajku Nsellimlek: Mill-Ġappun għal Malta u Lura.

This collection of Maltese haiku penned by twenty different authors was compiled in aid of Japanese earthquake and tsunami victims, on 11 March 2011.

For their encouragement and generosity, the editor would like to thank: all haiku authors, Bestprint, Miller Distributors, PoeżijaPlus, Ms Masami Hasegawi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the readers who bought the book.

The Faculty of Arts Dean’s List Award Ceremony was recently held at the new Faculty of Arts Library. The Dean of the Faculty, Professor Dominic Fenech, presented the awards in the presence of Professor Juanito Camilleri, University Rector, and representatives of the Bank of Valletta, sponsors of the award.  The students who received the award this year were: Gino Bezzina (B.A. Philosophy and Psychology); Darren Chetcuti (International Relations Hons with History subsidiary); Elsa Fiott (English Hons with French subsidiary and Denise Mizzi (Geography Hons with Social Studies subsidiary).

Professor Fenech warmly congratulated the four students and explained how the very stringent conditions of the Dean's List allowed only the very best to feature in it. In fact, only students who achieve A grades in at least 80 credits during the first two years of their course, without any fails or re-sits, can be included in the List. He also thanked the Bank of Valletta for their continuing sponsorship.

The branch manager of Bank of Valletta on Campus, Mr Gilbert Zahra, expressed his pride and satisfaction that his bank had been sponsoring the award for the past 20 years, and wished the students every success.    

The Rector added his congratulations to the students for their outstanding performance, observing that students with such level of achievement were the pride of the University and the country.  He assured the students of his full personal and institutional support and expressed a wish that the Dean’s List award would be adopted by other faculties in the University.

At the end of the ceremony the artist Madeleine Gera, who is currently pursuing postgraduate studies in the Faculty of Arts, presented the Dean with an oil painting for the Faculty’s new library.

Click here to view more photos.

Fire Engineering Conference and Ph.D. Training School at the Faculty for the Built Environment

The Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Malta has recently hosted an International Conference on Fire Engineering, followed by a Ph.D. Training School. The week long activities were organised by IFER (International Fire Engineering and Response COST Action) a European research group supported by the European Science Foundation made up of experts from 23 countries, including the main academics, and representatives of fire brigades in different European countries.

Fire Engineering refers to the fire safety strategy for buildings in the case of fire. The control of fire spread and structural stability of buildings are of fundamental importance towards structural safety. Fire Engineering requires a multi-disciplinary approach addressing fire dynamics, structural fire engineering, active and passive fire protection, environmental protection and human response. These different fields of research require further integration and integration between experts in different areas. The research group in particular focuses on Fire Behaviour and Life Safety; Structural Safety and the Response of buildings; and Integrated Design.

The latest advances in fire engineering research were presented in the international conference which was followed by the training school for Ph.D. students and researchers. The foremost experts, academics, researchers and professionals in Fire Engineering participated in the events. The lectures were addressed at doctoral students and young Ph.D. researchers from various European Universities and research institutions.

The conference and the Ph.D. Training School were coordinated by Perit Ruben Paul Borg of the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering of the Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta. The conference was opened by the Chairman of the Research Group Prof. Frantisek Wald of the University of Prague, the Vice Chairman of the Group Prof. Ian Burgess of the University of Sheffield, together with Perit Ruben Paul Borg of the University of Malta and Management Committee member of the Research Group. At the opening of the conference, Dr Janet Mifsud COST Coordinator in Malta delivered an opening address on behalf of the Malta College of Science and Technology (MCST) and Mr. Patrick Murgo, the Director of Civil Protection presented fire safety concerns in Malta.

The fire engineering research group is active within COST - European Science Foundation, which is coordinated in Malta by the Malta College of Science and Technology (MCST). The event was supported by the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering of the Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta.

For more information on this conference and Ph.D. Training School, please contact Ruben Paul Borg, Department of Civil & Structural Engineering, University of Malta.

Members of the academic staff of the Faculty for the Built Environment were recently invited for the Final Conference of the European Science Foundation COST Action TU0701 held in Ferrara Italy and hosted by the Department of Architecture of the University of Ferrara. Perit Ruben Paul Borg, Dr Vince Buhagiar and Dr Paul Gauci, of the Faculty for the Built Environment have been participating in the research group within the European Science Foundation - COST Action: Improving the Quality of Suburban Building Stock, for the past 4 years. The group addressed in particular building refurbishment strategies, quality assessment methodologies and quality standards in suburban housing.

Suburban building estates make up a large part of the European Urban heritage. Most of the buildings generally consist of multi-family housing blocks consisting of small apartments, which were completed after 1950 using low-cost technologies. Consequently they are characterised by poor quality and building defects. The aim of the research group was to investigate methods and technologies used in the rehabilitation and renovation of suburban housing settlements, intended to increase their value, and to improve safety and the quality of life of the inhabitants.

Perit Ruben Paul Borg is the Vice Chairman of the research group’s Work Group 2 and is in charge of coordinating the scientific activities concerning strategies for the assessment of quality and refurbishment and quality standards in the building stock and the built environment.

A number of reviewed scientific reports and books concerning the Quality of Building Stock and the Built Environment were published and edited by the research group and presented at the conference. The main research publications include the book 'Suburbanscapes' (Published by Alinea Italy, 2012) and the second volume in a two volume series 'Improving the Quality of Suburban Building Stock' (Published by UnifePress Italy, 2012), of which Perit Borg and Dr Gauci were responsible for the scientific coordination, and were co-editors. The first volume in the series had been coordinated and published in Malta by the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering of the University of Malta, on the occasion of the international conference in Valletta in 2010. Both volumes include a comprehensive collection of the most recent developments in research on quality assessment methods and refurbishment strategies covering the suburban building stock and housing, with contributions from the foremost European experts.

Perit Joseph Galea, of the Faculty for the Built Environment was appointed by COST European Science Foundation, in Brussels as an Evaluator of the COST Action and the research work conducted during the past 4 years of activity. COST in Malta is coordinated by the Malta College for Science and Technology.

For more information on this conference please contact Ruben Paul Borg, Department of Civil & Structural Engineering, University of Malta.

in collaboration with
The Factory Media Group

Take Your Story to the International Market

The Project
Evenings on Campus is organising a Transmedia Storytelling Competition. Participants are invited to write a story which will then develop into multiple storylines according to the various media platforms used. The idea is not to present the same story in as many different forms of media as possible, but to allow it to develop in the way each medium does best and carve out narrative structures that allow for different stories to be woven within the same world.

The only rules of the competition are that the short story has to include work on at least two media platforms. Submissions are to be handed in by noon on 15 July to: Rm 133, Administration Bldg, University of Malta, Msida Campus. An information meeting is being held on 29 May 1900hrs at the M.A. Vassalli Conference Centre - Gateway Building (GW), Room 164. More about the Transmedia Project may be found on FB, Evenings on Campus page.

Audience – Target audience and numbers
This project would seem to be targeted towards the younger generation. However, people of all ages like to be told stories, and so it would appeal to a wide audience.

Prize
The winner, or winning team, will have the possibility to redevelop and strengthen their narrative with a seasoned professional and his team. This mentorship programme will last for a whole month. During this period, a clear roll out and financing strategy will be delineated and the story expanded. The winning team will be thoroughly prepared to take their narrative to the international market place.

The Transmedia Evening
Projects will be judged on the basis of creativity, style, language and innovation in the use of the different media selected. A documentary will be filmed in the run-up to the event which will include participation from the teams involved. During a dedicated event of Evenings on Campus, the documentary and snippets from various projects will be shown, and the winner or winning team announced.

Transmedia Storytelling – What is it?
Transmedia is a storytelling process created by using more than one type of medium. This does not mean simply presenting the story on different platforms, but using each medium to communicate different elements of the story in the most engaging way possible. It, thus, becomes an immersive experience that takes the audience into a fictional world which is made as real as possible through the different forms of media and through the different storylines.

It is not about using the latest technical channels or forms of media. In fact, traditional media, such as print, radio, film and TV, can be used as well. Other media that can be incorporated into the storyline include games (card games, board games or digital), social media networks, blogs, music, photographs, YouTube... as long as all the different storylines and all the different forms of media integrate to create one world.

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Evenings on Campus is an annual summer festival held at the University Campus in Msida. It always strives to provide top quality cultural and educational performances in the summer months and to involve the students, lecturers and staff of the University of Malta as well as local and overseas performers or artists. It offers a venue to talented individuals and groups whose participation can be artistic or organisational. Students’ ideas are always considered with particular enthusiasm and many successful projects have come to fruition through this collaboration. 

The seminar will take place at the University Residence, Robert Mifsud Bonnici Street, Lija on the evening of Thursday 21 and Monday 25 June 2012 from 1700hrs to 2000hrs.

The programme, spread over two days, will give participants a broad introduction to issues relating to climate change science and policy. This seminar is aimed at the general public, students and civil servants working directly or indirectly on climate change related issues.

For further details click here. The registration form is available online.

Further information can be obtained from:
Malta University Holding Co. Ltd
Robert Mifsud Bonnici Street
Lija

Tel: +356 21 240746
Email 

 

Master of Arts in Comparative Euro-Mediterranean Education Studies: Learning by Comparing
 
The Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Educational Research (EMCER) will again be offering its Master of Arts in Comparative Euro-Mediterranean Education Studies in October 2012. The Masters, which is offered on a part-time basis, consists of study units, which are taught once a week, and a dissertation. The latter is normally submitted after two years of study, and focuses on a topical education policy issue that is examined in the light of international practice. Graduates from this course have successfully carried out comparative studies of, among others: curricula, pedagogy, cultural policy, teacher education, assessment, language teaching, quality of higher education, and the experience of immigrants in schools. Over the next two years, students will be encouraged to focus on dissertation topics that are at the heart of local reforms and in response to local needs, examined in relation to best practice across Europe and beyond.

The course is taught by local and guest lecturers from overseas, with an emphasis being placed on critical analysis of educational trends, particularly from the perspective of equity, social justice, and excellence for all. Study units are based on intensive reading of set texts, study circles, interactive seminars, and small group tutorials. Past graduates from the previous three cohorts that followed the course have moved on to read for doctoral degrees locally or abroad, and have taken up positions of responsibility in research, and in leading educational and cultural institutions. The course is also ideal for those who wish to participate in EU and international projects, where knowledge of different education systems and of comparative research methods is often required.

Applicants are expected to have a good first degree in any area, to be proficient in English and preferably another foreign language, and to be committed to academic excellence. The number of students admitted to the course is limited, thus permitting more meaningful group interaction. However, given that this will be the only education-related Masters on offer at the University of Malta this year, a larger group than usual may be permitted to follow the course, subject to the availability of staff to supervise the dissertation topic chosen.

Further details about the Master of Arts in Comparative Euro-Mediterranean Education Studies, including study unit outlines, recommended readings, and course regulations, are available online. Inquiries may be addressed to the course leader by email and prospective students will be invited to attend an information meeting in June.
 

Milena Dobreva

The Change in Library, Information and Archives

Library, information and archive studies are quite often seen as relics from the past, outdated in current society dominated by digital technologies and necessary only to provide further care for the books, manuscripts and archival documents of the past. For many, the idea of library and information professionals is still aligned to the famous 16-century painting 'The Librarian' by Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

However, library, information and archive studies are not only about books and old documents and how to handle them. Since their very beginning, library and archive sciences focused on the organisation and discovery of information, as well as on the aspects of serving the users. Currently, in the age of the knowledge society and innovation economy, this profession is actually not on the edge as some sort of a gatekeeper to historical knowledge, but right in the knowledge economy’s centre; all aspects related to generation of knowledge, its presentation, discovery and use, long-term preservation as well as the economic models behind all these activities are pivotal in the current information society. These activities are not only implemented in libraries and archives, but are essential within the education sector, and all industries – including those which are bound to innovation as well as those aiming to deliver better services, e.g. the touristic one.

This means that, instead of shrinking the understanding about old books and documents, current library, information and archive studies are actually expanding and developing to address handling analogue and digital information in the knowledge economy.

The change in the information sector can be followed when one looks at how the five laws of library science suggested by S.R. Ranganathan in 1931, had been expanded later. The five original laws are: Books are for use; Every reader has his (her) book; Every book has its reader; Save the time of the reader and The library is a growing organism.

Michael Gorman who served as a president of the American Library Association in 2005–2006, and Walt Crawford suggested five further laws in 1995: Libraries serve humanity; Respect all forms by which knowledge is communicated; Use technology intelligently to enhance service; Protect free access to knowledge and Honour the past and create the future.

Fifteen years after these additional laws were formulated, they are still valid. Understanding how to deal with all forms in which knowledge is published and communicated in analogue or digital format, is a key requirement for the modern information professional. Technologies develop and change over time, and a particular challenge for those who are offering professional training is not only to present an up-to-date picture of library, information and archive studies, but also to help the new generation of professionals manage future change.

What is the demand in Malta?

The obvious professional choices for those who have a library, information and archive studies qualification is to work in the library and archive sector. The current situation in Malta is alarming: there is a need for specialists with Master qualifications, but those pursuing such studies currently have to enrol in programmes overseas. Even looking at jobs only in the library and archival sectors, provides evidence that such specialists are needed (statistical data is hard to obtain since there are no statistics on job openings and qualifications of applicants). There were a number of job openings at the National Archives during the last two years.  In most cases the requirements included a Diploma in Archive and Records Management. There is also a long-standing debate on the role and qualification of school and college librarians which also shows that there are currently essential needs which are not met (see, for example, the recently published article in The Times of 15 January 2012 by Claudio Laferla, What vision for school libraries?)

And as it seems other industries in Malta which could benefit from the specialised knowledge of this type of specialist, still have to go some way to realise their importance.

Who prepares library, information and archive professionals in Malta?

The Universities preparing information professionals (globally, not only in Malta) these days, endeavour to equip the current generation not only with skills for the current information environment, but also to prepare graduates for the challenge of working in a dynamic domain under constant change. This topic was debated in the most prestigious library and information schools and a recent issue of CLIPUpdate, the journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in the UK, discussed the challenges and opportunities for Library and Information Science education.

One of the major issues for such programmes is how to balance the digital aspects with the traditional disciplines about organisation and use of knowledge sources.

The University of Malta has offered a B.A. qualification in library, information and archival studies since 2005 and this year will mark the 20th anniversary from the launch of the first diploma programme in the library domain. The programme of studies has currently been expanded with new digital oriented modules such as the one on Digital Libraries, endorsed by the UNESCO Memory of the World Studies Committee.

To cater for Malta’s needs, it will also offer for the first time as from October 2012, a Masters course in Library, Information and Archive studies (by research).

It is exciting to be part of a programme which is so vibrant and has potential for development. And if Jorge Luis Borges said 'have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library,' the modern paradise is definitely a different kind of a library, and the modern digital information professional is definitely not all about books.

Dr Milena Dobreva is a senior lecturer in the Department of Library, Information & Archive Studies, Faculty of Media & Knowledge Sciences, University of Malta.

The Institute for Physical Education & Sport at the University of Malta is offering two Pre-tertiary Certificate courses in Exercise and Fitness and another course in Basic Water Rescue. The Foundation Course in Exercise and Fitness will be held between 2 and 7 July 2012 from 0830hrs to 1600hrs. This course is aimed at those working or planning on working in the field of exercise and fitness and at anyone who wants to increase their knowledge about exercise and fitness. The Advanced Course in Exercise and Fitness will be held between 1 and 7 September 2012 from 0830hrs to 1600hrs. This course mainly targets all students who have attended the Foundation Course or any other equivalent course.

The Basic Water Rescue course targets personnel already working or who plan to work in and around water recreational facilities. It will be conducted between 18 and 22 June, between 1300hrs and 1600hrs. More details and application forms may be collected from the Institute for PE & Sport, University Sports Complex, Msida, or by sending an email or by calling +356 2340 3117.  Further details regarding the Institute's courses are available on the website.

On Friday 4 May 2012, the Judicial Studies Committee with the collaboration of the Faculty of Laws of the University of Malta organised a seminar for members of the judiciary on 'Improving Justice: Expediting Civil and Criminal Proceedings and Achieving More Consistency in Sentencing.'

The seminar was opened by Judge Joseph D. Camilleri, Chairman of the Judicial Studies Committee. Judge Camilleri chaired the first session on 'Case Management: Expediting Civil and Criminal Proceedings.' Mr Michael Selfe, a part-time judge in England, a lecturer at the Judicial College of England and Wales and an external examiner at the Department of Criminal Law at the Faculty of Laws presented a paper on the English position in so far as case management is concerned. Professor Kevin Aquilina, Dean of the Faculty of Laws, presented a paper on case management in Maltese Law.

The second session was chaired by His Honour the Chief Justice, Dr Silvio Camilleri, who introduced the second session which dealt with 'Sentencing Guidelines: Achieving More Consistency in Sentencing.' Mr Selfe explained how English courts apply sentencing guidelines and the law which dealt with this topic. Professor Aquilina went through the provisions of Maltese Law that the courts apply when sentencing offenders as well as how these provisions can be further developed to make it easier for the judiciary to apply these sentencing provisions in an expeditious way as possible.

His Honour the Chief Justice concluded the seminar which was held in the Training Room of the Courts of Justice in Valletta.

The Confucius Institute at the University of Malta has scheduled the following lectures for University students during 2012

Semester 2

1.    Chinese tea and tea ceremony
Time: 1800hrs - 2000hrs
Date: 20 April 2012
Venue: Confucius Institute Activity Room (Room 2, Ġużé Cassar Pullicino Building)

Description:
An open lecture about Chinese tea and tea ceremony is scheduled to be held on April, 20, at the Confucius Institute activity room. The Chinese teachers from the town of oolong tea in China will introduce the history and varieties of Chinese tea, along with a demonstration of the unique Tieguanyin tea ceremony – the art of appreciating oolong tea. Attendants will also have the chance to taste the authentic Tieguanyin tea during the lecture.

2.    The art of traditional Chinese painting
Time: 1800hrs - 2000hrs
Date: 8 May 2012
Venue: Confucius Institute Activity Room (Room 2, Ġużé Cassar Pullicino Building)

Description:
Confucius Institute at the University of Malta has scheduled an open lecture on how to appreciate traditional Chinese painting in May. The Chinese teacher from the institute will introduce basic knowledge of traditional Chinese painting. In addition, a guest Chinese painting artist will be invited to do a live demonstration on different types of Chinese painting.

3.    Chinese characters and Chinese calligraphy
Time: 1830hrs
Date: 23 May 2012
Venue: Lecture Room, Archaeology Centre

Description:
This lecture will be given by Prof. Wang Ying, Director of Confucius Institute at the University of Malta on invitation by the Maltese Oriental Society. The basic knowledge of Chinese characters, such as the variation through the 5,000-year history, and theory of Chinese calligraphy will be introduced during this lecture. If you are a fan of Chinese language and history, this is the lecture you should not miss.

4.    Appreciation of Beijing Opera
Time: 1900hrs - 2030hrs
Date: 24 May 2012
Venue: Sir Temi Zammit Hall

Description:
Co-operated with the Chinese Culture Centre in Malta, the Confucius Institute has invited a renowned Beijing Opera troupe from China to give a lecture in the University on how to appreciate Beijing opera. Information about different types of roles and their way of singing, costume and makeup will be introduced during the lecture. You will also see a small performance given by the professional Beijing opera actors and actresses.

5.    Basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine
Time: 1800hrs - 2000hrs
Date: To be announced later.
Venue: Confucius Institute Activity Room (Room 2, Ġużé Cassar Pullicino Building)

Description:
Serial lectures of basic traditional Chinese medicine theory will be given by the head of Chinese Medicine Centre of the Mediterranean Region through October and December. The lectures are aimed to help the local people to understand the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine, i.e. why does it work? And how does it work?

6.    The beauty of traditional Chinese music
Time: 1800hrs - 2000hrs
Date: To be announced later.
Venue: Confucius Institute Activity Room (Room 2, Ġużé Cassar Pullicino Building)

Description
This lecture will be given by the teacher from the Confucius Institute with the purpose to help the local students appreciate the unique traditional Chinese music and get to know the major traditional Chinese musical instruments. Representative music pieces of each major instrument will be introduced during the lecture. Music of Chinese minority ethnic groups will also be covered in the lecture.

Anyone who is interested in the above lectures, may contact the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta by email.

The 'Summer Chinese Programme' is sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters in cooperation with the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta and the Overseas Education College of Xiamen University. It is for students who have taken courses offered by the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta, to experience Chinese language and culture during the summer holidays.

The programme aims to promote exchange between the youth of China and Malta, and to enhance the understanding of the Chinese language and of Chinese culture amongst Maltese students.

During the programme, students will be visiting China for 2 weeks to study the Chinese language, and Chinese culture (such as paper-cutting, calligraphy, brush painting, tea ceremony, martial arts, and so on), and to participate in various cultural activities; as well as to visit interesting Chinese historical sites and scenic landscapes.

Students with non-Chinese Citizenship 15 to 30 years of age and who have taken Chinese language or culture courses offered by the Confucius Institute at University of Malta, including DegreePlus courses, for at least one semester or three months may apply.

The Confucius Institute at the University of Malta will accept applications for the programme which will be held in July, from March to May.

Students are responsible for the costs of their round-trip air tickets and international travel insurance. The Confucius Institute Headquarters will assume all the costs for accommodation, local transportation, and all group activities and sightseeing for students and group teachers during their stay in China.

Contact Information
Confucius Institute at the University of Malta
Tel: +356 2340 3411
Email

International Summer School on Geographic Information Systems, 22-28 June 2012

The Institute for Sustainable Development of the University of Malta in collaboration with the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering of University College London (UCL) and the Department of Geography of Portsmouth University is pleased to announce the fifth International Summer School on Geographic Information Systems between 22 and 28 June 2012. The objectives of the summer school are to provide mid-career professionals, undergraduate students and graduates with the skills necessary to handle Geographic Information in various formats and how they integrate into Geographic Information Systems. This year’ the summer school will focus on the creation and collection of geographic information, data management and handling on the web and within various GIS software. Hands-on sessions will complement the lecture based sessions, with participants using GPS, Open Street Map, ArcGIS and open source software (e.g. PostGIS, Quantum GIS).

The Summer School will run for a period of 5 days and participants will be engaged in lectures and practical sessions for 6 hours a day at the main University Campus in Msida. The Summer School will not require participants to have previous knowledge of GIS however participants are expected to have basic computer knowledge. The teaching faculty this year will consist of Dr Maria Attard (University of Malta), Dr Claire Ellul (University College London), Dr Kate Jones (Portsmouth University) and Ms Thérèse Bajada (University of Malta).

More information on the summer school can be obtained from here or directly  from the Institute for Sustainable Development  by email or telephone +356 2340 3403. Acceptance to the School is on a first come first serve basis. Registration deadline is 25 May 2012.

 

24 May 2012
http://www.um.edu.mt/news_on_campus/features