Having started last November, the Turquoooise Project is well underway and progressing. Each university has now held focus groups with a wide range of stakeholders to identify the skills needed by future Turquoooise managers, to better cope with and lead the transition towards more sustainable management.
Eighteen academics from the University of Cadiz (Spain), the University of Western Brittany (Brest, France), the University of Malta, the University of Gdansk (Poland), the University of Split (Croatia) & Nord University (Bodo, Norway), met in Malta over 2 and 3 March to compare their findings, and transform the skills into learning outcomes. This exercise will serve as the basis of the future programme structure for the new master's programme.
The Malta meeting has been kindly hosted by Farsons, Malta's oldest and largest locally-owned manufacturing concern, which brews beer as its core activity, but has expanded into soft drink manufacture, food services and importation. The company, soon to celebrate 100 years of operation, has a longstanding collaboration with the University of Malta, supporting research particularly in industrial heritage. With its cutting-edge human resource management practices and drive towards sustainability, Farsons has been especially receptive and enthusiastic about the TURQUOOOISE endeavour. This was confirmed by Ms Antoinette Caruana, the HR Manager of the Farsons Group who kindly opened the meeting and addressed the participants on the first day.
Joint design is a key element in making this initiative a truly European Joint Master and these two days have been a perfect opportunity for academics to work together, debate and confront their views in a multicultural environment.