Institute of Earth Systems celebrates academic performance and student activism

Four third-year students recently received the Institute of Earth Systems’ Award for Academic Excellence in recognition of outstanding academic achievement in their undergraduate studies.

The awards were presented to Ms Julia Borg, Mr Daniel Calleja, Ms Sofia Carpinato and Ms Nicola Farrugia during a ceremony held on 26 June 2026. Prof. Everaldo Attard, Director of the Institute of Earth Systems, and Prof. Elisabeth Conrad, Head of the Institute’s Division of Environmental Management and Planning, both congratulated the students on their achievement sand commended their excellent performance on the programme. The four students recently submitted their final-year projects and are expected to graduate later this year.

The Award for Academic Excellence is sponsored by APS Bank, which generously donated the vouchers presented to the awardees during the ceremony. In order to qualify for this award, students must consistently obtain the highest results, including a minimum of 80 ECTS at grade A or better and a further 20 ECTS at grade B or better, during the first two years of the B.Sc. (Hons) in Earth Systems course.

In recognition of their exceptional contribution to student activism throughout the three years of the course, all five members of the 2025-2026 Executive Team of the student organisation Earth Systems Association (ESA) were presented with the Institute’s Award for Student Activism during the same event. Each student received a certificate and was also presented with a locally propagated native Maltese plant kindly donated by the Argotti Botanic Gardens and Resources Centre.

The B.Sc. (Hons) in Earth Systems is an interdisciplinary 3-year degree programme which considers the various key components of the Earth’s systems and studies their interactions in order to develop an integrated and holistic approach to the management and planning of activities at the human-nature interface. Any queries can be addressed to the Course Coordinator, Dr Mark Scerri, and potential applicants are encouraged to apply online for the course starting in October 2026.