The Confucius Institute at the University of Malta (CIUM) was established in 2009 through the collaboration between the University of Malta and Xiamen University. It forms part of an international network of educational, non-profit institutes established to teach Chinese language and culture, and to promote educational cooperation between China and other countries. As of April 2026, there are 548 CIs and more than 1,273 CI classrooms worldwide—covering 162 countries—all managed by the Chinese International Education Foundation (CIEF) in Beijing.
At its core, the CIUM is dedicated to serving the university community. We offer support to the Department of Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures by supplying qualified language teachers who collaborate with the department's resident academics on the certificate, diploma, and undergraduate programmes. Beyond the university campus, the CIUM has established educational partnerships across government, independent, and church schools. These initiatives introduce Chinese as a foreign language to younger students, offering it both as an enriching extracurricular activity and as a formal pathway to the MATSEC O-Level. Furthermore, the CIUM actively engages with the local community by organizing and participating in diverse cultural events, fostering a deeper appreciation of Chinese language and culture among the wider public.
