European Studies in Gozo

Abstract

The inauguration of the University Gozo Centre, now the University Gozo Campus, twenty years ago was greeted with a mixture of optimism and uncertainty. This is normal when new projects are launched. The vibrant activity at the Gozo Campus has been evident throughout these twenty years and this testifies to its success. I believe that it has led to three main achievements: it has spread tertiary education to the island of Gozo, thus making it easier for many Gozitans who missed their chance to attend University at a younger age to return to their studies and obtain a University diploma or degree; it has stimulated research on Gozo leading to an improvement of our knowledge of the island, of its strengths and weaknesses; it has permitted a stream of Maltese University academics to travel regularly to the island and to mix with Gozitan graduates teaching at the Campus and thus familiarise themselves with the special problems of insularity and with the way that Gozitans perceive these drawbacks.