The global pandemic of COVID-19 has reshaped and influenced the modus operandi of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). In order to adapt to this new situation, the Office for Human Resources Management & Development had to re-evaluate certain processes to safeguard the health of the UM employees. Training and Development at UM underwent a significant change in how training is delivered and organised for UM staff.

As a result, the past couple of years have seen a shift from classroom-based learning to synchronous and asynchronous learning. The Office for Human Resources Management & Development has made full use of the online technologies available at the University of Malta, including Zoom, VLE, Google Workspace and the P-R system (P = physical presence + R = remote teaching using virtual platforms). This would not have been possible without the constant support of the IT Specialist Team within the IT Services.

WISEflow was one of the biggest projects that the Office for Human Resources Management & Development has collaborated with IT Services and the Office of the Registrar. Since its introduction in 2020 over 900 members of staff including academic and administrative staff have been trained on how to set and correct exams on WISEflow. The WISEflow team has worked tirelessly to develop and deliver around 70 training sessions on WISEflow and is constantly providing technical support to academic entities. Professor Victor Buttigieg was entrusted with the mammoth task of training the UM academic staff on this new system and the Office of the Registrar and IT Services spearheaded the training for administrative staff. The Marketing, Communications & Alumni Office was crucial in leading the marketing campaign online to promote the use of WISEflow with students and staff.

The Office for Human Resources Management & Development has also started offering training courses funded by the European Structural Funds Programme (ESF.04.083). A range of course topics are included in this funded training program including laboratory-related technical courses, health and safety courses as well as quality and managerial courses. The training program started in December 2019 and will extend to the end of 2022. To date, a total of 136 members of staff have been trained. More university employees are expected to be trained with many more courses due to start in the coming months.