1. Material testing: purchase of new equipment using cutting-edge technology to enable the DMME to perform more rigorous and exhaustive testing on materials.  These new facilities enhance the ability of the University and Maltese industry to assess the quality of the imported materials and more importantly to research and innovate.
2. The Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering will be equipped with state of the art rapid manufacturing of design prototypes, hence known as “Rapid Prototyping” equipment: realising a computer-based drawing in a matter of minutes gives the opportunity to the University and industry to speed up their product design processes, hence sharply reducing time to market and increasing competitiveness.

Volume 13(2) of Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies (MJES) – the free access biannual refereed international journal published by the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Educational Research (EMCER) of the University of Malta – is now available. MJES may be accessed by clicking here. The focus of this special edition, which is edited by Carmel Borg, Peter Mayo and Ronald Sultana, is Mediterranean Studies in Comparative Education. The papers in this issue include:  

• Looking back before moving forward: building on 15 years of comparative educational research in the Mediterranean / Ronald G. Sultana
• Knowledge and post-colonial pedagogy / JosAnn Cutajar
• Education and the teaching of history in the light of encouraging conflict resolution in Cyprus / Isabelle Calleja
• Dis/integrated orders and the politics of recognition: civil upheavals, militarism, and educators’ lives and work / André Elias Mazawi
• Global discourses and educational reform in Egypt: the case of active learning pedagogies / Mark B. Ginsburg & Nagwa M. Megahed
• The permanence of distinctiveness: performances and changing schooling governance in the Southern European welfare states / Paolo Landri

Click here for details.

From 5 till 8 March 2009 AEGEE-Valletta hosted in Malta AEGEE’s 1st ever Network Meeting. It was yet another successful milestone event which once again enhanced Malta’s and AEGEE-Valletta's reputation in AEGEE Europe’s wide pan European Network.

Entitled Network Meeting – Valletta 2009: Meet me where the Rainbow ends, the event proved to be a pot of golden experience for 45 students coming from all over Europe aimed at creating Active European Citizens. Based on interactive workshops, the seminar gave the participants an opportunity to meet up, receive basic training in youth work, exchange opinions and go through a non-formal learning process. Moreover active Maltese and European AEGEE leaders, including Mr Dragan Stojanovski and Ms Laure Onidi, President and ex-President of AEGEE-Europe respectively, shared their knowledge and experiences simultaneously in training others on issues of general youth interest. With the help of varied experienced multinational trainers the topics examined included Project Management, Public Relations, Human resources and Fund raising. All these were further backed up by continuous evaluation and feedback during and after the event. Resultantly, the meeting aspires to encourage participants to foster information gathered as well as act as multipliers.

The Network Meeting officially initiated by an opening ceremony on the 5 March with distinguished guests on the panel including Mr Francis Borg, the newly appointed Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Social Policy, Mr Dragan Stojanovski, President of AEGEE-Europe, Mr Manos Valasis, speaker for AEGEE-Europe Network Commission and Mr Alistair Zarb Coordinator of the Network Meeting. The ceremony, held at the Alexandra Hotel, was opened by the chairman, AEGEE-Valletta’s President Pierre Vassallo La Rosa, who thanked the panel as well as the participants for their contribution. "The Network Meeting would not be a success without the constant support of our sponsors and contributors coupled with the enthusiasm of my fellow Aegeans" exalted Mr Vassallo La Rosa. "The amount of time spent and the enormous work done by AEGEE-Valletta keeps me open-mouthed each single event especially since all this is voluntary” claimed Mr Francis Borg. Following brief introductory speeches by the panel, Ms. Alexia Maggi, a representative from the Malta Tourism Authority presented a short footage on Malta and the Maltese.
 
Indeed AEGEE-Valetta was also in charge of the social agenda. Amongst other things the social programme included a Maltese Night allowing participants to taste local cuisine whilst enjoying Maltese entertainment. Also a European Night and a tour around Malta to savour our beautiful archipelago were organised. Such event would not have been possible without the indispensable help from the European Union Programmes Agency (EUPA) through its Youth in Action Program.  AEGEE-Valletta would also like to thank the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, the Permanent Secretariat for Tourism, The Malta Tourism Authority, EF Malta, Burger King, Cisk Export and Zeppi's Maltese Liqueurs.

For more information about AEGEE-Valletta’s 1st ever Network Meeting click here. If you would like to know more about AEGEE-Valletta kindly visit us at Students House on the University Campus or visit the AEGEE website.

Disclaimer: The content of this press release is the sole responsibility of AEGEE-Valletta and that the European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information. Any communication or publication made by AEGEE-Valletta, in any form and medium, is the sole responsibility of AEGEE-Valletta; the National Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

AEGEE (Association des États Généraux des Étudiants de l'Europe), the European Students' Forum, is the largest pan- European network of students, boasting 17,000 members and spanning more than 270 antennae in different European university cities.

Founded in 1985, we strive towards increasing mobility amongst students, along the ideal of European integration, thus, working towards removing mental and physical borders, while promoting mutual tolerance and understanding across borders and cultures.

For more information on AEGEE click here.

Click here for details.

Maria Brown's and Michael Briguglio's academic paper "Discouragement Amongst Ageing Workers in Malta within an EU Context" has been recently published in Brill's academic peer-reviewed journal Societies Without Borders (Volume 4, Number 1, 2009), the official publication of the scholarly association Sociologists without Borders (SSF, USA).

"Discouragement Amongst Ageing Workers in Malta within an EU Context" is based on empirical research carried out by Brown in her dissertation for her Masters’ Degree in Sociology. In the paper, Brown and Briguglio investigate perceptions of unemployed ageing workers in Malta, in relation to disadvantages in the labour market and to discouragement with regard to chances of finding stable employment. The principal results are that educational level and number of breadwinners in one's household significantly affect perceptions; and that there are cases manifesting the 'discouraged worker effect', even though they are still registering to find employment.

Brown and Briguglio conclude the paper with an insight on the recent case of the Malta shipyards, arguing that the struggle for productive employment requires mass representation of trade unions, which, in turn, require the construction of alliances to widen their appeal.

Dissemination of the results of the study on unemployed workers aged 40 years and over in Malta include Brown's and Briguglio's presentation of research results at the Postgraduate Workshop on Social policy in developing and transitional economies: challenges and possibilities - organised by the Social Policy Association (UK) and held at the University of Oxford during December 2007; an interview on the radio programme Research Matters - aired on Campus FM; and a review of the paper and the authors’ participation at the postgraduate workshop on the academic periodical Policy World (UK).

Maria Brown is a Research Assistant in the Department of Primary Education, Faculty of Education, University of Malta. She is currently pursuing her studies to obtain a doctorate in Education on empowerment and parental involvement in schools. She is also working on the EU FP6 Project Includ-ED.

Michael Briguglio is an Assistant Lecturer in Sociology at the Sociology Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta. He is currently reading for a doctorate in Sociology on EU accession and civil society empowerment: The case of Maltese Environmental NGOs. 

The First International Conference on Strategic Innovation and Future Creation
23 – 24 March 2009

The Edward de Bono Institute of the University of Malta is acknowledging and embracing the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 through its First International Conference on Strategic Innovation and Future Creation, at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, Floriana (23 and 24 March).

The conference has attracted over 100 participants from 25 different countries. Nine keynote speakers hail from diverse and exciting spaces in corporate industry, academia, and research and development. Together with the parallel sessions speakers, they are presenting discussion papers and hosting workshops along four main streams.

The Conference aims to bring together academics, practitioners and people from both private and public organizations (including NGOs) to discuss the topics of Creativity, Innovation Management, Foresight and Entrepreneurship. It forms part of the eInnForM project and it is the Final Conference for the project, which is funded by the European Commission under ERASMUS curriculum development. It is partly funded by the European Education, Audiovisual Culture Executive Agency, Erasmus Unit/Jean Monnet/Study Centres.

The conference is also the launching pad for an exciting new Joint M.Sc. in Strategic Innovation and Future Creation. This Joint Masters Program has been developed by four European Universities, with University of Malta as project coordinator. The M.Sc. will commence in October 2009 and will be delivered by blended learning. It is aimed at providing an opportunity for mid-career professionals to improve their theoretical and practical skills and knowledge in the four topics.

The First International Conference on Strategic Innovation and Future Creation is followed by the annual Edward de Bono Seminar 2009, from the 25 to 27 March 2009. The Seminar shall be conducted by Professor de Bono himself and is always a popular event both amongst Maltese and foreign delegates, many of whom come to Malta specifically to listen to the inventor of Lateral Thinking, who is also an EU Ambassador for Creativity and Innovation.

The two events are separate:
The Conference runs from 23 - 24 March 2009, 0900 - 1700 hrs, at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, Floriana, while the Edward de Bono Seminar runs from 25 to 27 March 2009, 0900 – 1230 hrs, at the Aula Magna, Old University Building, Valletta.

Further information on the two events, may be found at the einnform website or by clicking here.

For more information about the European Year of Creativity and Innovation click here.

For answers to questions send an email or phone +356 2132 3981 or +356 99842422

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The aim behind the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 is to stimulate education and research, to promote policy debate on related issues and to raise awareness of the importance of creativity and innovation for personal, social and economic development.

The Edward de Bono Seminar 2009
25 - 26 - 27 March 2009

The Edward de Bono Institute of the University of Malta is holding The Edward de Bono Seminar for the seventeenth consecutive year. The first seminar was held in July 1993. This year, around 100 people from 26 different countries are participating in the Seminar, which is being conducted by Professor Edward de Bono himself.

Professor de Bono is a Visiting Professor at the University of Malta and EU Ambassador of Creativity and Innovation and he will deliver his annual three day seminar to participants who are interesting in learning more about his world renowned idea-generating methods.

Creative Thinking is an important resource in today's fast-changing world. The seminar provides an opportunity to learn practical strategies useful in professional, social, academic and personal life.

Edward de Bono motivates his listeners to seriously consider moving from regular problem solving situations towards designing the future and unleashing their potential for creativity.  

Professor de Bono, who was born in Malta, is the world’s leading authority on conceptual thinking as the driver of organisational innovation, strategic leadership, individual creativity and problem solving.  For the past 35 years his exclusive tools and methods have brought astonishing results to organisations large and small worldwide and to individuals from a wide range of cultures, educational backgrounds, occupations and age groups.

Seminar participants are introduced to thinking techniques that are simple, practical and powerful. de Bono's methods are popular because of their simplicity and their power to change thinking behaviour, increase productivity, foster team-building and evoke profitable innovation. In Malta, his work is used by both management and workers in large organisations and SMEs, by government departments, lawyers, university students, teachers, children with behaviour problems, children with special needs and children in state, private and church schools.

Professor de Bono’s methods are based on a fundamental understanding of how the human brain handles information, and his 'powerfully simple' thinking techniques can help one to make good decisions, solve problems, challenge assumptions and produce practical improvement in one's personal, professional or social life. As de Bono himself says, 'If you do not design the future, someone else will design it for you.'

The Seminar is being held on 25, 26 and 27 March, from 0900 – 1230 hrs at the Aula Magna, Old University Building, St Paul's Street, Valletta. Following the Seminar, participants may wish to register for The Examination in General Thinking Skills. Successful candidates will receive a certificate signed by Edward de Bono.

For more information click here.

The Islands and Small States Institute of the Univerity of Malta, in collaboration with the Small States Network for Economic Development have organised a  funded workshop on Sustainable Development Strategies for Small States between 16 and 21 March 2009. The workshop was primarily intended for public sector officials, at senior or middle management levels of small states in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific regions and of Africa.

The Hon. Chris Said ingaurated the workshop. His main message was that small states have special sustainable development constraints and that a sustainable development strategy should take account of such constraints. These are mostly associated with small territory size, high population densities and a high proportion of economic activity on the coastal areas. He also said that Malta is updating its sustainable development strategy and that indicators and targets are being developed towards this end.

The resource persons of the workshop were mostly drawn from the Univeristy of Malta and MEPA. There were also resource persons from the United Nations, EUROSTAT and the Welsh Government.

The group of participants