This year, THINK prioritised strategic collaboration by strengthening ties with various FICS and key cultural and funding bodies. Our partners included organisations that champion UM’s research and creative output, such as Xjenza Malta, Arts Council Malta, Spazju Kreattiv, and Horizon Europe, among others.
Beyond institutional networking, we focused on nurturing new talent through direct academic integration and professional development:
Academic Integration: Partnered with the Department of English to turn the final assignment for their BA Creative Writing credit into a professional opportunity. Students wrote articles for THINK, with the top three pieces published on our website.
Creative Competitions: Launched a creative writing contest for English students, featuring the finalist's work in Issue 47.
Institutional Standards: Standardised our editorial quality by developing the THINK Rubric, Writing Tips, and a formal Policy on AI.
Mentorship: Established a co-writing framework that pairs emerging voices with veteran THINK writers to ensure knowledge transfer and high-caliber storytelling.
Printed Publications of THINK
The following number of copies were printed:
Physical and Digital Distribution
THINK Soapbox
THINK Soapbox is an informal gathering where current research is featured when an edition is published. The event is open to the public
THINK Website
With the aim to enhance user flow, the website saw an improvement through the streamlining of the webpages and reorganising tabs. Key functional upgrades include the launch of "The Editor’s Notebook," a secure newsletter subscription system with integrated CAPTCHA, and a comprehensive SEO strategy for all editorial content. These improvements, alongside a commitment to device-agnostic accessibility, have supported a robust content library of 1,068 total articles (including 54 new pieces this period).
Engagement Metrics at a Glance:
Traffic: 192,000 total events, resulting in 60,000 unique page views.
Retention: Average engagement time sits at 51 seconds.
Top Content: High performance was seen across the Homepage, the "Flat Earth" April Fools feature, and the Publication Archives.
Monthly Newsletter
Since the addition of a subscription pop-up (with a captcha function), the subscriber count has increased more consistently.
Social Media
THINK actively engages with the general public through multiple channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X).
Facebook followers: 7026 (Sept)
Instagram followers: 891 (Sept)
LinkedIn followers: 1022 (Sept)
No statistics available for X, as this requires a premium account. Limited interaction is observed, but since academics frequent this space, we still post.
THINK only boosted content for the Malta Book Festival and THINK Soapbox Campaigns (Issues 45 and 46).
For both Instagram and Facebook, the biggest increase in interactions and views came from: collaborative posts with UM socials and other collaborators.
Other Events and Appearances
October 2024: Rebekah Zammit (THINK Editor) collaborated with Krista Bonnici (MUP Editor) and Ryan Scicluna (Outreach Librarian) to write, edit, and publish the first two chapbooks in a children’s series called Kekko the Kitteen’s Great Campus Adventure with the aim of introducing young readers to Campus life. The first chapbook, A Visit to the UM Library, was launched at the Malta Book Festival. By September 2025, 344 copies were sold and distributed through various channels including: Malta Book Festival (November 2024), Library Plant and Bake Sale (November 2024), Unconventional Science Convention (November 2024), Christmas on Campus (December 2024), Malta Libraries (65 copies across all school and regional libraries), Serving Kotba on Campus (April 2025), BDL (Distributor), and Miller (Distributor).
Interview with Joseph Mizzi (Midsea Books/Klabb Kotba Maltin) entitled A Dying Industry: Confessions From A Maltese Publisher – This was done in the lead-up to the Malta Book Festival 2024. Watch the video.
THINK appeared on Niskata alongside MUP and the Library Services to speak about UM’s attendance and offerings at the Malta Book Festival. An advert for THINK was also included in First Magazine.
THINK appeared on The Lunchbox (Radio Programme with Coryse Borg) to speak about its editorial production and initiatives.
November 2024: THINK initiated the move to have UM at the Malta Book Festival and was a key organiser alongside MUP and the Library Services. Issue 45 was launched and heavily distributed at the Malta Book Festival. 3.2k people marked our FB event page as ‘interested’, many of whom came to our stand and complimented our videos and posts leading up to the festival.
April 2025: Serving Kotba on Campus – THINK, along with the Library, MUP, and MUDis hosted a small book festival focused on research publications on the Library Terrace on 10 April (09:00–16:00). This was done to compensate for the National Book Council’s decision to stop organising Kampus Kotba festival.