During the month of May, an intensive course in advanced life drawing and painting was held at the Junior College 'New Art Room', in Msida. The course, the first of its kind, was aimed at giving artists and students a structured approach to drawing the human figure, which would serve as a foundation for his or her personal interpretive approach. 

The participants had the opportunity to study and work from the human figure and explore different media, materials and techniques and were encouraged to establish an analytical context for contemporary life drawing needs and practice. In fact, during the short span of four weeks, the participants worked from four different models. In most of the sessions the importance of the historical element and the reflection and definition of the self was stressed. The programme also involved a series of experiences where the student was called upon to give an active contribution in a process of continuous exploration of his/her own artistic individuality. The course tutors were Dr Louis Laganà and Mr Lawrence Buttigieg.

The Junior College administration intends to hold similar courses next academic year. Those interested are kindly asked to contact Dr Louis Laganà via email.

      

For a number of years the University of Malta and Heritage Malta have collaborated by offering courses leading to a Bachelor degree in Conservation in four areas of study as well as two Masters’ courses. 

Following discussions, and in order to further consolidate and develop courses in the areas of conservation and restoration, as well as to rationalise the use of resources, the University of Malta and Heritage Malta have agreed that the Institute of Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage (ICMCH) within Heritage Malta will henceforth concentrate on offering vocational programmes as well as outreach programmes for school children and the general public. Courses leading to tertiary level qualifications will be restructured and offered under the auspices of the University of Malta.

In the next two years the University of Malta, through the Faculty for the Built Environment, will work on developing Masters’ courses in Conservation. Admission to such courses will be open to graduates in possession of Bachelor degrees in relevant areas of study, such as Archaeology, History of Art, Science, Architecture, Engineering and Conservation. It is planned for these new courses to be offered with effect from October 2012.

Both the University of Malta and Heritage Malta will continue to fully support those students currently following courses at ICMCH until completion of their course. In an effort to provide an enhanced learning environment, such students have already been attending lectures for certain study-units together with students in other courses at the University’s Msida campus.

As from October 2010 students following the Bachelor in Conservation and Restoration Studies (Honours) course will be registered with the Faculty for the Built Environment. The University will provide the resources necessary to support these courses, with the collaboration of Heritage Malta, whose laboratory facilities and library will continue to be made available to the students.

A group of student interpreters from the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies of the Faculty of Arts participated in a three-day study visit in Brussels. The study tour was organised by European Commission and European Parliament officials, Ms Helen Campell (SCIC) and Ms Alison Graves (EP).

Students followed talks on the interpreting profession with EU Institutions and were given the opportunity to attend official meetings in a parliamentary committee session and in a delegates' meeting in Borschette Building on Air Tickets and Transparency in Air Travel regulations and a training session in dummy booths. They were supervised by professional interpreters from the English, Dutch and Maltese booths. The group of students was accompanied by Professor Joseph Eynaud, Head of the Department. Eight students will sit for inter-institutional tests in Brussels later on this month to become accredited interpreters with EU Institutions.

On 24 June a careers day for future translators and interpreters will be held at the Faculty of Arts to make final year students aware of new exciting opportunities for employment in these sectors, relatively new for Maltese graduates.

Click here for details.

Youth for Social Action (Junior College) have recently organised the screening of the Academy Award winning documentary The Cove in collaboration with Nature Trust (Malta).

Held in the Junior College Auditorium, the screening was deemed a success for multiple reasons. The Cove makes the audience aware of an intense investigation in which a team of experts come together with a common aim: that of exposing the deadly secret around the infamous cove in Taiji, Japan, where 23,000 dolphins are brutally massacred every year. Some dolphins are captured and then sold to the multi-million dolphin entertainment industry worldwide; while the others are killed in their thousands, and their meat sold in Japan, quite often under the guise of 'whalemeat'. Heavily laced with mercury, this dolphin meat is an ultimate killer for whoever eats it, as investigations have shown that the mercury levels in human blood increased to dangerously high levels after consumption. The two college-based student groups, Youth for Social Action and Studenti Demokristjani Maltin (Junior College) have pledged their support and have asked to become members of the Animal Rights’ Coalition, which strives to spread the message that animals are not and should not be used for entertainment purposes.

The Cove is the first of many more similar activities that shall be taking place at Junior College in the coming months.

The Dean’s Awards for excellence in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics started in 1995 and is now an established tradition which is also being followed by other faculties. Relatives of the recipients were invited to the ceremony held recently. This started with a welcome address by the Dean, Professor Charles V Sammut, who was followed by the Pro-Rector, Professor Richard Muscat. There was a short performance by Akustika.

Professor Sammut congratulated the students nominated this year and others who had shown a marked improvement.  He encouraged the students to have confidence in themselves and their capabilities.  He mentioned that University students should be thankful for having access to a first class tertiary education, made possible by outstanding academics, supported by administrative and technical staff.  It is their duty to consider starting their careers as scientists by doing research.  The Faculty now has significantly improved its research capabilities but these can only be fully exploited if a sufficient number of students decide to take up the research opportunities being made available.

The Dean concluded by thanking the administrative staff of the Faculty Office, especially Ms Claire Saliba and her co-workers, Ms Michelle Spiteri and Mr Justin P. Azzopardi, who were responsible for the organisation of the event. He also thanked Bank of Valletta who sponsored the BOV Prize for Science, awarded to the final year student who placed first overall at the last Degree Classification Board of the Faculty of Science.  The other sponsors contributing to the awards were Technoline Ltd, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, Methode Electronics Malta Ltd and Agenda Ltd.  

Professor Richard Muscat presented the certificates and the prizes to the following students: First Year Students: Matthew Grech, Nicholas Desira (Chemistry); Christine Farrugia (Mathematics & Physics); Second Year Students: Caroline Borg, Tereza Bugeja (Biology & Chemistry); Nadya Galea (Mathematics & Statistics & Operations Research); Third Year Students: Andrew Mifsud (Mathematics & Physics); Marika Sciriha, Mark Debono (Mathematics & Statistics & Operations Research); Fourth Year Students: Alan Tua, Chantelle Said (Mathematics & Physics); Giulia Vassallo Eminyan (Biology & Chemistry).

The BOV Prize for Science was awarded to Mr Alan Tua, who thanked the Faculty for a profitable experience during the four years of his B.Sc. (Hons.) course.  He encouraged students to avail themselves of opportunities for student exchange and to attend summer schools relevant to their subject areas.

The University of Malta together with the High Commission of Malta in India are currently finalising preparations for a high profile education delegation that will be visiting Malta during the month of June. A group of high school principals from the New Delhi area, led by Ms Megha Srivastav, University of Malta Officer based at the High Commission of Malta in New Delhi will be travelling to Malta shortly.  This event materialised following contacts established and developed by the High Commissioner, on behalf of the University of Malta, with a number of private high schools, colleges and universities in the New Delhi area and beyond.

Speaking to the delegates during a recent gathering, the High Commission spoke about the advantages that Malta can offer to the Indian student, such as the high standard of education at relatively economical rates, a safe environment and the fact that there is no language barrier. He augured that this delegation will be the beginning of a long-term relationship between the University of Malta and the Indian colleges and that this visit will develop into a regular occurrence in the coming years.

The programme that has been designed for the visit aims at showcasing Malta and its educational, cultural and social setting.  Support for the organisation of this visit has also been received from the Honorary Consul of India in Malta.

Over the last three years the University of Malta has been actively promoting itself through the High Commission in India and thanks to this concerted effort interest in collaboration has increased at various levels. Promoting mutual academic exchanges, organisation of seminars, sharing of knowledge and expertise with Indian Higher Education institutions has become a prominent item on the internationalisation agenda of the University.

Class starting in July 2010

A class dedicated to teaching the 'Chinese language for Children' is opening this Summer. This is the first class offered for children by the Confucius Institute in Malta and it is intended to equip children with the initial steps towards getting a feel of the Chinese language and to start discovering China.
 
The Confucius Institute in Malta is an educational entity forming part of a network of similar Confucius Institutes worldwide, with its headquarters established in Beijing, China. The Institute’s main mission is to teach the Chinese language and introduce Chinese culture in Malta.

Confucius Institutes are established to promote the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language, and to create different exchange programmes and co-operation in the educational and cultural fields, between China and different countries. In the period up to October 2009, there were 282 Confucius Institutes in 84 countries, 70 in 28 Asian countries, 94 in 29 European countries, 87 in 11 American countries, 21 in 15 African countries, and 10 in 2 Pacific Island countries.

The children class opening this summer will be teaching pupils the primary foundations of the Chinese language, and lessons will take place on campus at the University of Malta, Msida. The Summer Class will be running in July over a 4-week period with two one-hour sessions per week. No previous knowledge of Chinese is required.

Parents interested to register their child for this course 'Chinese Language Class for Children' may contact the Confucius Institute on 23403407 or by sending an email and all the necessary details will be provided.

Through its meeting of the 20th May, the University of Malta Council approved the establishment of the Institute of Earth Systems (IES). This new Institute effectively merges the former International Environment Institute (IEI) and the Institute of Agriculture (IoA) into a single entity.

The Earth Systems approach, around which the new Institute is structured, goes beyond traditional disciplinary investigation, adopting a wide and integrated perspective of Earth's dynamic systems, and of interactions between system components. In particular, Earth Systems addresses the need for considering people and their activities within planning and management frameworks. The new framework provided by the Institute of Earth Systems will enable more cooperative and synergistic teaching and research in this regard.

The Institute will include within it two divisions, namely (i) a Division of Environmental Management and Planning, and (ii) a Division of Rural Sciences and Food Systems. Professor Alfred J. Vella is Chairman of the Institute of Earth Systems, whilst Dr Louis F. Cassar is Director of the Institute and Coordinator of the Division of Environmental Management and Planning, and Dr. Everaldo Attard is Coordinator of the Division of Rural Sciences and Food Systems. The Institute also includes within it the Euro-Mediterranen Centre on Insular Coastal Dynamics, headed by Dr Anton Micallef.

Green and Sustainable Chemistry at the University Junior College

A group of first year students attending the University Junior College has just been involved in an educational project on Green Chemistry organised by the college Chemistry Department under the supervision of the Department of Educational Studies of the University of York (UK).

Green Chemistry, also referred to as 'Sustainable Chemistry' is a new revolutionary way of doing chemistry focussing on the conservation of energy and resources, as well as pollution prevention 'at the molecular level' (as prevention is better and often cheaper than cure). It may also be regarded as a new philosophy based on a set of principles that ensure that chemical processes and chemical products are cleaner, safer and more cost-effective than conventional methods / products.

The project consisted of a programme of extra-curricular activities spread over a whole year which saw students participating in a number of seminars, working assignments in teams, preparing and presenting posters on selected areas of green chemistry, taking part in small group discussions, as well as carrying out a number of green chemistry practical sessions. Some of the posters prepared by the participants were recently exhibited in the college chemistry wing along with other relevant material provided by the Green Chemistry Institute of the American Chemical Society and the Green Chemistry Network, UK.

The Green Chemistry project aims primarily to develop and evaluate a number of student-friendly resources which may later be integrated in the chemistry programme preparing future college students for the chemistry A-level examinations and further studies at the university.  

Last year's pilot study featured prominently in a two-page article (including photos) published last September in the Green Chemistry Newsletter [PDF] issued on a monthly basis by the Green Chemistry Network, UK, an associate of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The Green Chemistry educational project at the Junior College is being coordinated by senior lecturer Mario Fenech Caruana and enjoys the full support of the college chemistry department and administration.