The University of Malta has gone a long way in filling the void in science education programming for children on local television by producing X-Lab – a children's science programme currently on air on Education 22 and TVM.

X-Lab introduces children to the fun side of science through kitchen experiments which can easily be replicated at home. It also provides them with role models in various scientific fields through interviews with in Malta and abroad. Areas covered in the series range from aerodynamics to understanding DNA and from nanotechnology to astronomy.

This 26-episode series is the result of a collaborative effort between the University of Malta, Education 22, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and e-ISOTIS (a pan-European e-learning NGO focussing on e-learning for the disadvantaged) and is funded by the EU Sixth Framework Programme. Although only 13 of the episodes were produced in Maltese and the rest produced in Greek, all 26 episodes will be broadcast in Malta in Maltese and in Greek in Cyprus. The series will also be translated into English and distributed to secondary schools in both countries.

X-Lab is currently being aired on E22 on Tuesdays (1800hrs), Thursdays (1730hrs) and Sundays (0930hrs) and on TVM on Sundays (1000hrs) as part of iz-Zona. Episodes can also be viewed on the X-Lab website which includes details of the experiments shown and provides an opportunity for viewers to send their feedback and questions which will be answered by scientists involved in the programme.

The topics featured in the next few episodes of the series include stem cells, engineering for tomorrow, IT and artificial intelligence and biomedics.

This year's Junior College Soiree ran like a well oiled machine, transporting all participants – on and offstage – into the fantasy world of a Malta that for a few delicious moments seemed to have solved all the troubles of the global economic downturn!

Held at the newly refurbished College theatre on the 13, 14 and 15 February, A Greasy Business was a delightful romp into the never never land of a Malta that had discovered black gold aplenty in its territorial waters – or so it seemed! Alas the dream turned out to be short-lived, but while it lasted on stage it was an undiluted pleasure for the eyes, ears and souls of all those present. Packed to almost full capacity on all three evenings, the theatre resonated to the charged and electrifying music of band and orchestra, the ringing notes of soloist singers and choir, and to satiric bites of actors' repartee that alternated with the audience's encouraging hoots and belly-laughs. One must not forget the dance troupe that regaled us with a rich and varied spectacle amidst the haze of a sometimes over-active smoke machine!

All in all it was a diaphragm-shaking and heart-warming show that lived up to the now established high standards of past Junior College Soirees, proving once again that the talents of our students, if recognised and given the proper opportunities, can go far beyond the merely academic. Well done to all those who made it all possible.

 

 

Mrs Josephine Pollacco, wife of the former Malta Government Tourist Board Chairman Mr John Pollacco (1921-2005) has recently passed on her late husband's papers to the University of Malta Library. The John Pollacco papers cover correspondence, reports, statistical compilations, publications, promotional literature, and a wealth of photographic prints, bearing on the pioneering work of Mr Pollacco in the running of the Government Tourist Board which had been set up in the late 1950s. Mr Pollacco’s career in the Civil Service started during the war years with his appointment in the Education and the Lotto Departments. He joined the newly established Malta Government Tourist Board in 1958, initially as secretary and then, in 1960, as chairman, at a momentous time for Malta's economic and infrastructural development. His book 'In the National Interest: Towards a Sustainable Tourism in Malta' was published by Progress Press in 2003. 

The presentation of the John Pollacco papers to the University of Malta Library took place on the 26 February 2009, in the presence of University Pro-Rector Professor Alfred Vella, the Director Library Services Mr A. Mangion, and Mr John Pollacco’s family including his son-in-law Professor Kenneth Wain.

Professor Laura Kaspari Hohmann was recently a guest speaker at the Centre for Literacy of the University of Malta. Her visit was made possible through the US Embassy. She spoke about: Video Games and English Language Teaching, and conducted sessions with different student groups.

Professor Charles L. Mifsud, Director of the Centre for Literacy of the University of Malta, said that the visit of Professor Hohmann was very significant in view of the research activities of the Centre for Literacy which deal with the impact of Video Games on Student Learning. A number of students are also conducting research in this field. Professor Mifsud expressed his thanks to the US Embassy for making possible this visit.

Professor Laura Kaspari Hohmann is originally from Colorado and received her degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Denver. She currently lives in Rome and travels throughout Southern Europe for work. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, she worked in academic libraries, most recently as the library director at Northern Marianas College in Saipan in the Western Pacific. She also spent some years teaching English in China.

Dr Sandra Buttigieg, Director of the Institute of Health Care, has been invited to participate in an Expert Workshop organised by the European Commission on new jobs and future skills in the Health and Social Work Services. This Workshop will be held on 5 – 6 March, 2009 in Brussels.

This workshop is being set up to discuss and comment the findings of a study conducted by the consortium consisting in TNO, SEOR and ZSI, on Health and Social Work (NACE 85) on behalf of the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal opportunities of the European Commission. The study is about the elaboration of scenarios of future evolution of Health and Social Services sector until 2020 and the implication on employment in existing occupation and on new skills needed for jobs in the sector.

The University's Institute of Anglo-Italian Studies has recently published Volume 9 of the Journal of Anglo-Italian Studies edited by Professor Peter Vassallo, Chairman of the Institute. The interdisciplinary Journal is devoted to current research dealing with the literary and cultural rapport between Britain and Italy over the centuries and is listed in the Modern Languages Association Directory of Learned Journals. Its advisory committee is composed of scholars of international repute in this field of study.

The Contents of Volume 9 include: 'Shakespeare's visit to Italy' – Roger Prior; 'Fielding and the Castrati' – Charles Trainer; 'Alcune pagine dal giornale della vita di S.M. la Regina Vittoria nell'Alta Scozia (1862-1882) — Storia di una traduzione' – Simonetta Berbeglia; 'The 1848-1849 Revolutions and the Italian Body Politic: Barrett Browning, Clough, Garibaldi and Mazzini' – Arnold A. Schmidt; 'Imagining Italy and the Italians in the 'Age of Machinery': Spectres of Industrial Modernity in the Italianate Visions of John Ruskin and D. H. Lawrence' – Christopher Thorpe; 'Providence in the Marketplace: Vico's Philology and the Immanence of Language in Joyce's Later Narrative' – Ruben Borg and 'Refractions of the Poetic Text: Translating W.H. Auden into Italian' – Saverio Tomaiuolo.

Further information about previous issues as well as the Contents of the forthcoming Volume 10 may be seen on the Journal's website. Copies including back issues are available from Malta University Publishing Ltd, Old University Building, St Paul's Street, Valletta. Email

Conferment of the Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) on Mr Bernard Kouchner, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of France, on the 27 February 2009 at 1200hrs at the Church of the University, Valletta.

The Academic Procession shall leave the Old University Building in St Paul’s Street at 1150hrs and proceed to the Church entrance in Merchants’ Street.

Click here to download the programme.
Click here to download the Orationby Professor Godfrey Laferla
Click here to download the Citation.

 

The Moviment Kattoliku Studenti Universitarji (Catholic University Students Movement) is calling young artists aged between 16 and 30 to present their works in an upcoming art exhibition that is being organised as part of the celebrations commemorating the eightieth year since its foundation in 1929. Works shall be exhibited for the general public in the Melita Room, Students House between 20 and 24 April. The works will also be displayed during a reunion that MKSU is planning to hold the week after for its many ex-members and distinguished guests.

More information is available on the MKSU website.

MKSU is a Catholic Movement at University with the aim of promoting 'Christian Values through Social Commitment'. It is a movement that brings together University students, especially those coming from different Catholic groups within the local church, in order to give a united testimony of Catholic faith and create a more just society.

Malta University Consulting is organising a course on Inclusive Education: Transforming Schools into Communities
27 February – 8 May, 2009
Lectures: Fridays 1630hrs to 1930hrs
Venue: The University of Malta

This short 30-hour course covers basic concepts in inclusive education, as well as basic techniques and strategies that contribute towards an educational system that reaches out to all. The themes and dates of the sessions are:

• understanding inclusion
• principles of effective inclusion
• understanding diverse educational needs
• the impact of inclusion
• school communities
• techniques in improving inclusion
• dyslexia
• universal design
• creating an environment that fosters inclusion
• tutorials.

The tutor and coordinator of the course is Dr Andrew Azzopardi. Dr Azzopardi is a Lecturer within the Department of Youth and Community Studies (Faculty of Education) at the University of Malta. His lecturing focuses on inclusive education, sociology, critical pedagogy, disability politics, multi-cultural education, community management, emancipatory research, narrative enquiry, youth and community studies. Dr. Azzopardi is currently coordinating a Masters in Inclusive Education and Communities. He has had papers published in the applauded journals of disability studies; Disability and Society and The International Journal of Inclusive Education, had several pieces of work published in an electronic journal of the University of Leeds, reviewed books for the British Educational Research Association (BERA) and co-authored two texts, Developmental Programme for PSD Teachers (2000) and Creating Inclusive Schools (2002). He recently published a text, Career Guidance for Persons with Disability and contributed a chapter in Disability and the Politics of Education: An International Reader. Other course lecturers include Dr Elena Tanti Burlò, Ms Ruth Falzon and Ms Charmaine Agius Ferrante all carrying loads of experience in the area of inclusive education.

Click here to download the registration forms.
For further information kindly contact:
Malta University Consulting Ltd
St Paul Street
Valletta
Malta.
Tel. +356 21234121/2
Fax. +356 21230551
or send an email Dr A. Azzopardi (University of Malta).

The applications for students interested in participating in the Erasmus Programme for academic year 2009/10 were issued on the 2 February 2009. The deadline to submit the application is 27 February 2009.

Each year the University of Malta receives highly positive feedback from participants. It is now offering its students the possibility of choosing from amongst 300 available placements for the next academic year. The University constantly strives to make Erasmus accessible to all students and to create wide awareness about the opportunities available.

Specific contracts are signed between universities enabling students to proceed on Erasmus placements. These contracts (called Erasmus Bilateral Agreements) specify the area of study, the number of students and the duration of the placement. Such Erasmus Bilateral Agreements bind the two universities involved in accepting students under Erasmus conditions (non fee paying, equal academic rights to local students, etc..) and to cooperate within the Lifelong Learning Programme. All over Europe, the Erasmus label is regarded as a prestigious award signaling an individual's openness to cultural diversity and interest in developing a European dimension on a personal and an academic level. A semester abroad provides a student with a wealth of knowledge and experience, providing new tools and proficiency that are certainly useful in today's highly competitive job market.

Prospective Erasmus students receive help to coordinate all necessary preparations from the International and EU Office and their Faculty/Institute. The university that will be hosting the student abroad provides academic and other logistical information.

An Erasmus Information session was held on Wednesday 11 February 2009 at 0930hrs in the Common Room, Student House, University of Malta. The Information session was addressed by Dr. Omar Grech, Director International & EU Office, Dr Mary Anne Lauri, Pro-Rector for Student and Institutional Affairs and Ms. Annhelica Agius, Erasmus Coordinator. They provided information about Malta’s participation in the Erasmus Programme.  Past beneficiaries were invited to share their experience with the students present for this information session.

Further information can be obtained from the International & EU Office, Room 106, Administration Building, University of Malta, Msida, tel: 2340 2804 or send an email.

Programme

0930hrs    Opening Address Dr Omar Grech, Director, International & EU Office
0945hrs    Daniela Cassar, International Officer, KSU
1000hrs    Contributions from Erasmus Beneficiaries
1030hrs    Presentation on Application Procedures        
1100hrs    Dr Mary Anne Lauri, Pro-Rector for Student and Institutional Affairs

 

23 May 2013
http://www.um.edu.mt/newsoncampus/features/2009