University of Malta, UM, Malta

University of Malta (UM) is the sole public and highest teaching institution in Malta, with its structures being in line with the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education area. UM has a 400-year history and there are over 11,500 students including 1,000 foreign/exchange students from nearly 92 different countries, following full-time or part-time degree and diploma courses. Around 3,500 students graduate each year. UM is comprised of 14 Faculties and several other campuses: at Valletta, Marsaxlokk and Gozo. As of 2020, the UM employed a total of 2,848 employees including academics, administrative, technical and industrial staff (1,885 on a full-time basis and 963 on a part-time basis). In the past 10 years, UM has participated in/coordinated numerous projects, including Horizon 2020 (70 projects; including 9 MSCA-Individual/Widening Fellowships in the last 3 years), Erasmus+ (114 projects), INTERREG EU-MED-ITALIA MALTA (44 projects), FP7 (47 projects), and Lifelong Learning Programme (76 projects). The Institute of Earth System (IES), established in 2010, is composed of 9 full-time lecturers and 4 visiting academics and has seen almost 500 students graduate with bachelor's or master's degrees. The IES is a multidisciplinary institute where recent publications addressed various topics ranging from entomology, Earth observation, landscape ecology, palynology, and climatology.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO):

Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, ICTP, Italy

Founded in 1964 by Abdus Salam (Nobel Laureate), the ICTP operates under the aegis of three agencies: UNESCO, IAEA, and the Italian Government. The proposed secondment will be conducted in the Earth System Physics (ESP) Section, established in 2005. ESP research includes climate modelling, climate variability and anthropogenic change, chemistry-climate interactions, oceanography, climate impacts (health, water resources, agriculture), and solid earth geophysics. ESP maintains and distributes a range of models, such as the regional climate model RegCM4, the intermediate complexity global model SPEEDY, and the malaria model VECTRI. The ICTP coordinates the Regional Climate Research Network (<900 participants worldwide), and leads the ESP Diploma, a pre-PhD programme for students from developing countries. Every year ESP hosts numerous short-term visitors and associates, and organizes 8-12 educational activities (workshops, schools and conferences) on climate and Earth sciences, both at ICTP and in developing countries. The ICTP has coordinated and participated in several international projects including 7 H2020 and 17 FP7 projects (since 2008).

Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation (MEYR):

Esplora Interactive Science Centre, EISC, Malta

EISC, Malta’s Interactive Science Centre, is operated by the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) within MEYR, and part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. It is characterised by a dynamic multi-disciplinary team that is driven by shared principles and objectives. ‘Team Esplora’ encompasses all of the hard-working and dedicated individuals who contribute to the success of the Interactive Science Centre. The primary aim is for Visitors to experience science as being fun, exciting, and enjoyable. Visitors are able to engage with science through hands-on interaction and a range of workshops, performances, science shows and debates. Throughout the careful design of the spaces, visitors can see the relevance and the presence of science in their everyday lives. In this way, the importance of the scientific processes is communicated through questioning, predicting, experimenting, analysing and making conclusions. Features within EISC include a Planetarium, an Outdoor Adventure Experience, an Activity Centre as well as interactive exhibition halls catering for every age and interest, making EISC one of Malta’s top attractions. The Core Ideology is the point of reference against which decisions are taken at EISC. It encompasses our Vision, Mission and Values which guide all the roles and departments to work united as a team. We aspire to cultivate a culture of scientific curiosity and creativity by igniting a passion for questioning, investigation and discovery by encouraging our staff and visitors to Explore, Think, Imagine.