The University of Malta has a long history of collaboration with the Public Service in the delivery of academic training to public officers. These links between the Public Service and the University have been strengthened over the past two years, through further collaboration with the Department of Public Policy, and the designation of the Centre for Development, Research and Training (CDRT) within the Office of the Prime Minister as a University campus. Moreover, two years ago, the University’s Department of Library, Information, and Archive Sciences (DLIAS) and the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) had established another agreement, which is still ongoing, to train civil servants, leading to the Diploma in Archives and Records Management (DipARM). This addresses the lack of qualified records/information managers in public administration. This agreement continues to be very successful.
The University is willing to continue contributing to Public Service renewal in the national interest. This requires a better qualified workforce through the provision of tertiary-level courses that are tailored to the needs of the Public Service.
The Government shall identify training needs at tertiary level in the Public Service and shall consider, jointly with the University, whether these needs can be met through existing University courses, adaptations of them, or the development of new courses. Moreover, each year the Government shall identify research topics of interest to ministries, departments and other Government entities. These topics are to be made available to the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy, or other faculties as may be appropriate, for consideration as possible student dissertation research topics. The Government shall, through its Centre for Development, Research and Training (CDRT), grant students who select such topics access to data for facilitating their research.
The Government may also organise summer or post-course work placements for students in selected University courses. These placements shall be separate from those provided by the Ministry for Education and Employment through the Student Maintenance Grants Board.