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UNIVERSIT Y OF MALTA ALUMNI NEWSLET TER
www.um.edu.mt/alumni
NOVEMBER 2013
Opening of new ICT Building
One of the largest construction projects undertaken
of late by the University of Malta, jointly funded by the
Government of Malta and the European Union, is the
new building for the Faculty of ICT. This ERDF 017 Project
which cost 17 million Euro is part-financed by the European
Union under the European Regional Development Fund
Programme 2007-2013, with a Co-financing rate of 85%
EU Funds, 15% National Funds.
The new building was inaugurated by the Hon. Evarist
Bartolo, Minister for Education and Employment, in the
presence of the Hon. Stefan Buontempo, Parliamentary
Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth & Sport,
Rector, Prof. Juanito Camilleri, and the Dean of the
Faculty, Dr Ernest Cachia, on the 15th of November 2013
as part of the events held during Discover University
Open Week. The opening included short speeches
followed by a tour of the new faculty building.
The building consists of a concrete substructure with
a steel framed upper structure. The exterior envelope
predominantly consists of a special engineered façade
which is filled with an inert gas and treated to minimise
solar heat gains whilst not compromising the light
transmission into the rooms.
The building has no open-able windows but is climate
controlled through an advanced Building Management
System (BMS). The internal climatic conditions, such as
temperature, introduction of fresh air and extraction will
all be managed by an automated system. Heat recovery
units have also been installed in key areas such that
the fresh air being introduced inside the building is pre
conditioned by the extracted air, resulting in increased
overall efficiency. The rooms shall be furnished with
presence detectors in order to switch off lights and
air conditioning systems automatically after CONT>
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a predefined period of time, if these are left on when
the room is vacated. The underground parking will
be monitored and automatically ventilated. It is
envisaged that this centralised climate control system,
together with the use of the most advanced outer
façade materials, will significantly reduce the energy
demands of this building thus helping to minimise the
environmental impact that the addition of another
building on campus will have. In general, the airconditioning units are of VRF type using inverter driven
compressors in order to optimise running efficiency
under partial load conditions.
Although the building houses its own dedicated
electricity sub-station to ensure a stable supply of power,
it is also equipped with a powerful Uninterrupted Power
Supply (UPS) system, a standby generator for emergency
power provision suitable to run all essential loads.
Another feature of the building is its own rain water
harvesting. Even in case of water supply interruption,
the building can rely on its own voluminous subterranean water reservoir. This water reservoir shall
be used to provide second class water for toilet use,
provide water for irrigation purposes, as well as for fire
fighting systems.
The types of light fittings vary depending on the
application and location, but in general they all provide
a high lumen output per watt and are therefore energy
efficient. The building is furnished with a PV array
on the roof which shall serve the dual purposes of
providing shading to the roof, thereby decreasing the
2
fabric heat gain and also generating power for direct
use by the building.
The building is also furnished with security and safety
systems including a fire detection system, fire fighting
system (with inert gas suppression in the server rooms),
CCTV and access control.
The structure itself is a four-floor edifice offering
approximately 6700 sq. m. of floor space in total,
configured as two blocks connected via a central multistorey entrance, lobby, stairwell, and lift area, with a
ramp-accessed underground level 70+ car park. Attention
was given to the overall skyline of the University’s Msida
Campus. The sloped landscape surrounding the building
minimised the visual impact on the surrounding university
buildings. The various areas in the new building will
include teaching labs, research rooms, tutorial rooms,
undergraduate study areas, post-graduate rooms,
research labs, and more.
Honoris causa
Ceremony
Mr John Alfred Myers was a pioneer
lecturer on the first Engineering degree
course of the University of Malta and
worked in Malta between 1964 and 1970.
He was awarded the degree of Doctor of
Engineering (Hon. causa). Dr Albert Ganado is best known as a keen collector
of Melitensia and maps of Malta in particular. He has written extensively on the
subject and on other aspects of Malta's
history. Dr Ganado was awarded the degree of Doctor of Literature (Hon. causa).
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Applied Creativity at Discover University - A Roaring Success!
On Sunday 10th November, the Edward de Bono Institute participated in the Discover University Family Day
with activities running throughout the whole event. Visitors of all ages were engaged in activities that focused
on the development of everyday creativity. The range
of activities included a shared effort in creating a drawing and a collaborative story-writing exercise where
participants chose a word at random and incorporated
it in a story. Another popular addition were the Puzzle
Trees, where live trees were used to hang puzzles and
brain-teasers and visitors were invited to choose one
and come up with suitable answers. For photos and
updates please visit and like us on Facebook, our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/debono.uom
STREETS Project
to improve
accessibility to
Malta and Sicily
The STREETS Project was launched in October 2013
in Vittoria, Sicily. STREETS (STRatEgia IntEgrata per
un Trasporto Sostenibile_Italia-Malta) is a 3-year
project partly financed by the European Union
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under
the Operational Programme Italia-Malta 2007-2013.
The project aims to improve the accessibility to both
islands, while overcoming the current bottlenecks
identified between the two islands. STREETS involves
six partners, with the leading partner being the Regione
Sicilia (Dipartimento Regionale delle infrastrutture,
della mobilità e dei trasporti), together with Collegio
Universitario ARCES, Vittoria Local Council, Catania
Port Authority, Transport Malta and the University of
Malta’s Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable
Development.
The Institute is responsible for a number of tasks
which include an analysis of the territory and the traffic
flows in and out of the port areas of Catania and Malta;
the proposal of a draft joint strategy to determine
current territorial problems; the identification of
intermodal means of transport within the SicilianMaltese environment; an analysis of passengers
and goods flows between Malta and Sicily; and the
promotion of an integrated and sustainable transport
solution.
The STREETS launch conference took place in Vittoria
with all project partners discussing progress so far. The
University of Malta was represented by Dr Maria Attard
(project coordinator), Ing. Luana Chetcuti Zammit, Ms
Nicolette Formosa and Ms Deborah Mifsud (project
research officers) and Ms Boglarka Toth (project
administrator). At the conference Dr Attard presented
the work being carried out in the development of a
digital map of the transport network and the survey
results gathered so far on the flow of passengers by air
to and from Catania and Trapani.
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ERASMUS Students learn the Maltese Language
Student life can present many motivating challenges,
opening doors to many interesting opportunities. One
can particularly see this in respect of students who have
decided to embark on a first-time experience of a study
period abroad, where culture, customs and language are
unlike the norm, and far from the comforts of home.
One of the aims of the Erasmus Intensive Language
Courses (EILCs) offered by various Universities across
Europe is to give ERASMUS students visiting European
countries for studies and/or placements abroad, an
opportunity to study the native language of the host
country. The organisation of such courses is also seen as a
way of enhancing and facilitating the integration process.
Learning a less widely used and less taught language
across Europe is yet another objective of the Erasmus
Intensive Language Courses (EILC).
The International & EU Office at the University of Malta
has also taken in hand the organisation of an EILC in the
Maltese language, presenting eighteen Erasmus students
with an opportunity of attaining a general grasp of the
Maltese language whilst acquiring an understanding of
the language’s uniqueness and its origins. Participants
were divided into two groups, with each course running
in parallel, comprising of 60 hours of lectures followed
by an assessment, which led to certification. The course
was also accompanied by a series of visits to historical
sites like the free standing temples of Hagar Qim, Mosta,
Rabat, Mdina and the capital city of Valletta, a UNESCO
world heritage site and European Capital for Culture 2018.
Participants also had the opportunity of visiting Dingli
Cliffs, Marsaxlokk, Wied iz-Zurrieq, Argotti Gardens as
well as Nature Trust.
Participants were awarded a certificate of merit which
was presented to them at a ceremony celebrating
Maltese Cuisine. The Director of the International & EU
Office, Ms. Stefania Fabri awarded the certificates to the
course participants in the presence of the International
& EU Office staff and the students’ respective teachers.
The project was funded through support received from
the Commission of the European Communities within
the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme,
(ERASMUS).
GRADUATION 2013
Masses of Thanksgiving were held at St. John’s CoCathedral on the 13th and 14th November 2013. Mass was
celebrated respectively by Bishop Mario Grech, Bishop
of Gozo and Archbishop Paul Cremona, Archbishop of
Malta. This year, nearly 3400 graduands are expected
to graduate in various undergraduate and postgraduate
disciplines.
Nine Postgraduate Ceremonies are scheduled to be
held in the Church of the University (Jesuits’ Church),
Valletta while fourteen undergraduate ceremonies
will take place in the Sir Temi Zammit Hall on the main
Msida Campus. This year sees the graduation of the first
students in several recently introduced courses.
The Foundation Day Concert with the participation
of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of
Mro. Michael Laus, was held on 22nd November 2013 at
the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
This newletter is published by the Communications and Alumni
Relations Office within the University of Malta.
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