Adriana Vella, Professor, PhD (Cambridge, UK) is a senior academic and researcher at the University of Malta’s Department of Biology where she leads, since 1996, the Conservation Biology Research Group, pioneering various marine and maritime related research projects and advancements in marine biodiversity and environmental knowledge for sustainable resource management and protection. She has collaborated with various maritime related entities involving them in awareness and research efforts that aid the faster absorption of national and European action plans, directives, conventions and expectations for sustainable development leading to effective targets set for 2030 and 2050. Prof Vella remains extensively involved in European-wide networks of scientists and policymakers to increase the effectiveness of research strategies to improve knowledge and innovative measures toward urgent biodiversity and ecosystem conservation which affect the goods and services these provide.  Prof Vella chairs the University of Malta Maritime Platform which aims at strengthening all previous efforts to line-up diverse measures useful for progress in marine conservation and maritime industry sustainability.

Matthew Montebello, Professor, Head of Department of Artificial Intelligence at the Faculty of ICT, University of Malta. Before joining the University in 1999 with a PhD in Computer Science he was already heavily involved in Education in secondary schools after graduating in 1990 at the University of Malta B.Ed.(Hons) degree. Having obtained extensive teaching experience and having been involved with the introduction of computer labs through the Ministry of Education, he proceeded to follow the Computer Science domain when he pursued his post-graduate studies obtaining a Masters and a Doctorate at the Cardiff University in Wales in 1996 and 1998 respectively. Furthermore in 2009 and 2016 he also completed an M.A. and an Ed.D. (Higher Education) specialising in the application of artificial intelligence to e-learning. In 2017 he was offered a visiting academic status at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where he collaborated with the Computer Science department and College of Education on numerous projects and research initiatives. In May 2018 he was appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and developed a next generation VLE that employed social media concepts. At the University of Malta he forms part of the Web Editorial Board, the Digital Education Committee, and numerous other University of Malta committees. Since November 2022 Professor Montebello has been assisting the University of Malta with the disruption Generative AI and Large-Language models have brought about on higher education. Apart from co-authoring the guidelines for academics and students on the use of Generative AI Tools, he has co-facilitated numerous workshops, in collaboration with the Office for Professional Academic Development, on the adoption of Generative AI within the educational process for academics and local educators.

Ritienne Gauci, Dr, Vice-Chair of the University of Malta Maritime Platform and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography at the University of Malta. Her teaching and research focus primarily on physical geography, with particular emphasis on coastal geography, geomorphic processes and landforms, meaningful landscapes, geoheritage, and traditional cartography. She holds a B.A. (Hons) and an M.A. in Geography from the University of Malta, as well as a PhD in Geography from the University of Portsmouth, UK.

Dr. Gauci serves as the national representative for the International Association of Geomorphology (IAG) and is the co-editor of the 2019 volume Landscapes and Landforms of the Maltese Islands (Springer Nature). She regularly delivers lectures in other departments, including the Department of Geosciences and the Department of History. She also serves on MATSEC Board of Examiners for Geography.

In addition to her academic responsibilities, Dr. Gauci is a member of the executive committee of the Malta Map Society and acts as a consultant editor for the Malta Map Society Journal. She has contributed to over 90 academic works, including peer-reviewed publications, full conference proceedings, and presentations. Her research collaborations span several international universities, such as the University of Portsmouth, the University of Trieste, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany, and Liverpool Hope University.

Simon G. Fabri, Inġ, Professor of Control Systems Engineering with the Department of Systems and Control Engineering at the University of Malta. He is currently also the University Pro-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer.

Simon's research interests focus on adaptive and intelligent control systems, artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Systems Science, principal author of the Springer book "Functional Adaptive Control: An intelligent systems approach" and author of numerous papers published in peer-reviewed international journals and conference proceedings. Simon is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and holder of the Maltese Engineering Warrant.

Over the years, Simon has held several administrative roles at the University of Malta, including headship of the Department of Electrical Power and Control Engineering, the Department of Systems and Control Engineering, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and member on several University boards and committees.

Patricia Vella de Fremeaux (Mallia), Professor, Head of Department of International Law at the University of Malta.  She graduated in Law (LLD) from the University of Malta and Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) from Oxford University.  She obtained her PhD from the IMO International Law Institute, focussing on contemporary threats to maritime security and notably, the smuggling of migrants.  Her research interests focus on issues related to the law of the sea, primarily, on the analysis of contemporary maritime threats, the human element of maritime security and maritime migration. She has made significant contributions to the legal discourse on maritime migration, human rights at sea, and international maritime governance.

Her research on migrant smuggling, human rights at sea, and ocean governance has led to numerous publications, including Migrant Smuggling by Sea (2010) which remains a key reference in the field, and contributions to the Research Handbook on Ocean Governance Law (2023). Professor Vella de Fremeaux has also contributed to The Maltese Legal System (2012, 2015, 2021) and is preparing two forthcoming works on International Law and on Maritime Migration. Her articles have appeared in journals such as, Opinio Juris, Benedict’s Maritime Bulletin, and International Legal Materials where she has explored topics such as human rights implications in maritime law, the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, and maritime migrant smuggling. She is a recognized expert and consultant in European Union maritime and human rights law and continues to shape legal scholarship and policy through her teaching, peer-reviewed work, and active participation in international conferences.

In addition to her scholarly work, she serves on numerous academic and advisory boards and has played a key role in the establishment of several international academic programs. She continues to contribute to global policy discussions through her role as an expert consultant and member of international advisory boards.

She has been an invited guest lecturer at institutions such as the University of Maine and the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies where she has delivered lectures on maritime migration, human rights, and international dispute settlement. She is also a Visiting Fellow at the IMO International Maritime Law Institute and a Fellow at the Centre for European Legal Studies on Macro-Crime at the University of Ferrara.

Prof. Vella de Fremeaux’s contributions have been recognized through various awards and fellowships, including the Elisabeth Mann-Borgese Fellowship on the Common Heritage of Mankind, and the British Chevening Scholarship.

Robert N. Farrugia, Professor Inġ, graduated from the University of Malta as a Mechanical Engineer in 1992 and holds an Engineering Warrant. He was awarded an M. Phil. Degree in 1998 and a Ph.D. in 2016 by the same university for research on wind resources and wind flow behaviour in the Maltese islands.

He is a Resident Academic with the University of Malta’s Institute for Sustainable Energy in Marsaxlokk, Malta, where he holds the post of Associate Professor. Research interests include wind energy, solar water heating, energy utilisation, energy storage and energy education.

He has participated in a number of nationally- and internationally-funded research projects.Robert has contributed to technical reports, book chapters and has published a number of papers in national and international journals and conferences dealing with energy-related topics.

Felicity G. Attard, senior lecturer, has for a number of years specialised in international law including the law of the sea, maritime security law, migration law and human rights law.

At the University of Malta, she read law and ended her studies by successfully submitting her doctorate thesis which dealt with the contribution of the International Maritime Organization to international law regulating maritime security. She has obtained a Master of Laws with distinction from the IMO International Maritime Law Institute. Her research dissertation was entitled ‘Maritime Security under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’. She also studied at Queen Mary University of London, where she was awarded a first-class Master’s degree for her research on smuggling of persons at sea. In 2019, she obtained a PhD for her research on the duty to render assistance at sea under international law. Dr. Attard has participated in a number of international academies including the International Foundation of the Law of the Sea Academy, Hamburg and the Hague Academy of International Law.

Dr. Attard is a member of the Faculty of Laws at the University of Malta, where she teaches and coordinates courses in international law, the law of the sea and maritime security law. She has lectured at a number of universities and institutes including the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at the University of London, the International Ocean Institute, Harvard Law School and the IMO International Maritime Law Institute. Dr. Attard has presented papers on international law subjects at conferences held throughout the world (Brazil, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Italy, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States).

Dr. Attard is the author of the monograph ‘The Duty of the Shipmaster to Render Assistance at Sea under International Law’ published by Brill in its Queen Mary Studies in International Law series. She is continuously publishing research in journals and collected works.

She is often invited by the international media, including the BBC, Agence France-Press, and the National to comment on various issues, in particular, maritime security and territory disputes.

Miriam Camilleri has been involved in the transport industry for over 35 years. Her first brush with the maritime industry was as a young child at the shipyard run by her father. It was an inquisitiveness and experience that was eventually to develop into a deep commitment and involvement. This notwithstanding, her early years were with the national airline to become the first female load control officer. After more than ten years the sea claimed her back.

Miriam represented Malta at IMO meetings and at a number of marketing initiatives, including the one that launched the concept of Maritime Malta. Today she participates at meetings of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and also participated at the Social Affairs Committee and the Taxation Working group within the European Community Shipowners’ Association. In 2001 Miriam set up MCConsult providing services in the main to the ever-increasing number of shipowners and financiers attracted to the Malta flag. She is a licensed company service provider while the core mission of MCConsult is to provide to an international clientele legal and administrative representation related, in the main, to corporate affairs (as Miriam Camilleri), ship registration and, crew certification under Maltese law.

Several years later down the line, Miriam is still actively involved in what had long been the focus of her professional life. Today, Miriam remains an active member of several organisations such as the Malta Maritime Law Association, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, the Chamber of SME’s and, is a board member of the Malta Maritime Forum and sits on the University Maritime Platform.

Miriam has been a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, C.I.L.T. International, for over thirty years and since 2016 she chairs the Malta Branch of the Institute. Until recently she was also the Vice President of the Malta Maritime Law Association. Ms Camilleri is the local Malta representative of the Korean Register of Shipping, an internationally recognised classification society. Proudly she is also the Honorary Consul for Georgia.

Thérèse Bajada, Dr., is a geographer with a specialisation in transport studies from University College London. She is a senior lecturer with the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Her research interests revolve around transport policy and planning. Dr Bajada is a member of the COST Action - Port City Territories in Action: A collaborative Laboratory for Inclusive Energy Transition (PACT). Prior to joining academia in 2010, Thérèse was an assistant manager with the Integrated Transport Strategy Directorate at Transport Malta, where she worked on several national (e.g. Valletta Transport Strategy and Public Transport Reform) and regional projects (e.g. CIT-UM URBACT Project). Dr Bajada is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers and currently holds the role of Prize Awards Officer of the Transport Geography Research Group. She is also a committee member of the University Maritime Platform.