In order to apply for a Scholarship, the following criteria must be satisfied:

a. Course Scholarships are available with regards courses at the University:
i. For all 1st year students (applicants) (considering both Masters and Ph.D. students) the scholarship is granted from the commencement of the course i.e. for the whole 1st year, irrelevant of the date of application. In case of 2nd year, 3rd year students (applicants) (considering both Masters and Ph.D. students), the scholarship is granted from the scholarship awarded year onwards i.e. 2nd year, 3rd year. Provided that any Scholarships awarded will be offered up to a total amount of €10,000 and will only cover 80% of tuition/enrolment fees, bench fees in full and a study allowance of €3,600 per annum, which allowance will be applicable for Full-time students and will be allotted from the date of award onwards and not from date of commencement of the relevant course;
ii. For Master’s degree programme or a PhD degree programme;
iii. For studies on a full-time or part-time basis;
iv. For taught Master’s degrees directly related to Artificial Intelligence; or 
v. In the case of a research-based Master’s degree programme or Ph.D. degree programme, the focus of such a programme should be directly related to Artificial Intelligence.

b. Other Criteria
In addition to the above criteria, the applicants must:
i. Be Maltese nationals or nationals of other State who are entitled to equal access to education under the same conditions as Maltese nationals in accordance with EU law; or
ii. Be a national of an EU/EEA state who is in Malta exercising his/her Treaty rights as a worker, self-employed person or person retaining such status    in accordance with SL460.17; or
iii. Be a third country national that has been granted long-term residence status under SL217.04
iv. Have submitted an online application for a postgraduate degree programme (as per (a) above) and be in possession of an unconditional letter of acceptance for this programme issued by the University of Malta or be currently enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (as per (a) above); &
v. NOT be in receipt of a full scholarship from another sponsoring institution or organization. However, an applicant who holds a partial scholarship, from another institution may also be considered. Such a grant should be disclosed to the Selection Board when applying for the Scholarship.

Students in their final year of undergraduate or other postgraduate studies who receive their final classification results after the closing date shall be allowed to submit a provisional application for the Scholarships.

Complete applications are to be sent by email to ict@um.edu.mt by not later than 31 July 2023 at 12:00 (Central European Summer Time) and need to be accompanied by the following documents:

i. Detailed transcript of degree/s and any other tertiary level qualifications;
ii. A motivational letter highlighting the applicant’s interest in Artificial Intelligence, and how the course and work involved is relevant to Artificial Intelligence;
iii. Copy of passport/ID card;
iv. Two reference letters from former/current employers or academic tutors;
v. Curriculum Vitae;
vi. Acceptance letter from the University of Malta indicating unconditional acceptance for the respective course or, in the case of current students, the unconditional letter of acceptance as well as an official transcript of the results already obtained.

Copy of Terms & Conditions duly signed by the applicant.

Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

All valid Scholarship applications shall be reviewed by the Selection Board which will be composed of representatives of the University of Malta.

Short-listed applicants shall be called for an interview, which may be undertaken via the internet. It is the responsibility of the applicants to be available on the date and time communicated to them for the interview. No alternative arrangements shall be made to change the date and time of the interview unless there is some circumstance deemed to be exceptional, at the discretion of the Selection Board, and which, in such a case, may require supporting documentation.

The University of Malta shall not assume any responsibility if an interview undertaken via the internet fails to materialise properly due to any technical reason that is beyond the control of the University.

The Selection Board will be guided by diversity across disciplines and academic excellence. To this end, the following criteria will be used to evaluate valid Scholarship applications:
a. Degree/s classifications and grades
b. Motivational letter;
c. Reference letters;
d. In the case of postgraduate degree programmes by Research, the quality of the research proposal;
e. In the case of taught postgraduate degree programmes, the quantity of Artificial Intelligence related ECTS credits;
f. Performance during the interview;
g. Explicit acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Scholarship are listed below.

In view of maximizing diversity across disciplines, applicants are to clearly identify the main area of study which best aligns to the Faculty, Centre or Institute under the auspices of which the degree is being offered. If the prospective student is applying for a multi-disciplinary degree that focuses on multiple academic areas, he or she should select the one closest to the area of specialisation. The number of scholarships given to any single Faculty/Institute/Centre/School may not exceed 40% unless the evaluation board can make a strong case to the contrary.

A Scholarship shall not be awarded unless and until the relative Student Scholarship Agreement between the University of Malta and the prospective awardee is signed. If a prospective awardee fails or refuses to sign the Scholarship Agreement, the Scholarship may be awarded to another student according to the respective rankings following the selection.

The decision of the Selection Board is final.

Each applicant is eligible to a maximum of €10,000 including, 80% of tuition fees and all bench fees. Full time students are also eligible for up to €3,600 per year in study allowance.

1. Awardees may be asked to: Deliver up to two (2) sessions/presentations on the research conducted by the awardees themselves up to two (2) years from the completion of the intended award;
2. Focus their dissertation/project on areas of interest to MDIA;
3. The University of Malta reserves the right to review and revoke the award at any time if any information disclosed is later found to be misleading or untrue;
4. Awardees who do not complete their studies or who fail the Course, apart from duly-justified cases such as serious illness or demise of the awardee, shall reimburse the Scholarship funds awarded in full;
5. In the event that an awardee changes his/her registered study-units and no longer undertakes the required number of ECTS directly related to Artificial Intelligence, the awardee shall reimburse the Scholarship funds awarded in full;
6. Awardees shall be bound to acknowledge MDIA and the UM in their respective dissertation.
7. The University of Malta reserves the right to review and revoke the Scholarship at any time if any information disclosed to it during the application process is later found to be misleading or untrue
8. At the end of each Semester, the University shall provide MDIA with visibility of the progress of Scholarship awardees (“Awardees”) and of the dissertations performed by them.
9. The University shall inform MDIA immediately if any Awardee withdraws/resigns from a Course covered by a Scholarship.  
10. The information provided in this section applies to the processing of personal data submitted by applicants (“Applicants”) in furtherance of their application for a Scholarship for Students specializing in Artificial Intelligence (the 'Scholarship').
11. For more information on the processing of personal data of applicants to the University, please visit um.edu.mt/registrar/students/dataprivacystatement.
12. The University shall process all personal information submitted voluntarily by Applicants throughout the application process in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act (Chapter 586, Laws of Malta) and the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), to consider, review and possibly award a Scholarship.
13. The University shall retain this information in accordance with the provisions of the Processing of Personal Data (Education Sector) Regulations (Subsidiary Legislation 586.07) and in order to comply with its obligation under the Education Act (Chapter 327, Laws of Malta) of keeping a record of the academic activities of its students.
14. Personal data referred to above is accessible to the following persons (including their respective administrative staff where necessary): (1) Rector of University; (2) the Pro-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer as well as (the Pro-Rector for International Development and Quality Assurance. It will be shared with all members of the Selection Board which shall include the Dean or Director (or their representative) of the UM Faculty/Centre/Institute/School associated with the relative postgraduate degree programme and representative/s from MDIA (including any administrative staff where necessary). Information regarding successful candidates, including regarding the subject matter of their study, the study progress and status, and details on their dissertations, shall also be shared with MDIA for the purpose of maintaining visibility on progress and take-up of the Scholarship Fund. MDIA shall additionally be informed about any candidate who stops following a Course covered by the Scholarship. For more information regarding MDIA’s processing of personal data, students are encouraged to visit mdia.gov.mt
15. The sharing of information referred to above as well as the sharing of information following award of the Scholarships shall be regulated by the written agreement entered into between successful candidates and UM, and shall thus be effected for the performance of the said contract.
16. Applicants have the right to request access to their personal data held and processed by the University, to request its correction if it is inaccurate and where applicable, to object to the processing of their personal data, to request  restriction of processing, to request erasure of their personal data and to request that their personal data is forwarded to a third party.
17. For queries or concerns regarding the University’s processing of personal data, interested students/Applicants are invited to contact the University or the University’s Data Protection Officer on dpo@um.edu.mt.
18. For queries or concerns regarding MDIA’s processing of personal data, interested students/Applicants may contact MDIA directly on info@mdia.gov.mt.
19. To lodge an official complaint, interested students/Applicants may contact the Office for the Information and Data Protection Commissioner, Malta - idpc.org.mt.