For the period of 2026-2029, the University of Malta has once again been officially awarded a UNESCO Chair in Global Adult Education, building on its earlier appointment as the first ever UNESCO Chair at the University of Malta. The UNESCO Chair works in collaboration with the University of Kalyani in West Bengal, India, in the area of Adult Education.

In the context of the UNESCO Chair, the University of Malta is continuing to expand its academic and research profile in the field of adult education. It is offering an internationally accessible, fully online M.A. in Adult Education, with participants coming from all over the globe.

The University offers M.A. in Adult Education internationally and online. [PDF]

The UNESCO Chair also supports a number of important publications. These include this journal, produced by the Faculty of Education, as well as the revival of the journal Convergence. An International Adult Education Journal the flagship journal of the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), originally founded by the late J. R. Kidd and is now being relaunched as an open-access electronic publication. In addition, the book series International Issues in Adult Education, edited by Professor Mayo and published by Brill Sense,  is continuing to grow, with Volume 34 being part of the UNESCO Chair’s work.

The engagement and knowledge sharing in Adult Education also take place through a Bi-annual Critical Adult Learning and Education Research Conference, organized by the UNESCO Co-Chair in Global Adult Education. The last conference was successfully completed in November 2025 -
Second International UNESCO Global Adult Education Chair Malta Conference on Critical Adult Learning and Education

The UNESCO Chair team:

Co-Chair
Prof. Peter Mayo

Co-Chair
Dr Maria Brown

Research Support Officer 1
Ms Mariosa Caruana