Thursday, June 26, 2008, 00:00
The seed of success sown at university
Christopher Ciantar (left) discussing aerial emission control with the operator of a disused landfill in Tel Aviv,
Israel.
The annual final year student project exhibitions of the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of ICT at the University of
Malta will be held on campus next week. These exhibitions serve to showcase the skills and creativity of the students as they
prepare to graduate and embark on their career. They are also meant to bring engineering and ICT closer to the public.
Visitors can meet the students who will explain and demonstrate their work. This is a unique opportunity to those interested
in enrolling for an engineering or an ICT degree or for secondary school students who are still considering their choice of
subjects and future career.
After they graduate, students do not simply put their research in the drawer. Their university years are only a spring board
towards a career in industry, whether it is local or abroad. Success stories abound.
For Adrian and Ruth Mizzi success meant more than completing their course in ICT at the University of Malta. The two met
when they both joined the B.Sc. IT (Hons) course in October 1996. During the third year of the four-year course their
relationship grew stronger and they tied the knot in 2004.
Mr Mizzi's final year project involved writing an integrated development environment (IDE) for an abstract machine called
ACE (Asynchronous Computing Engine). On the other hand, Mrs Mizzi created a statistics-based spell-checker that was
applied to the Maltese language.
They both agree that the B.Sc. IT course helped them to learn how to hone in on their problem solving skills. "At university
you cannot pass examinations simply because you have a good memory. You must also develop good problem solving skills
and the ability to understand and apply abstract concepts," Mr Mizzi said. "The emphasis is on concepts and not
technologies. Technology is something you can learn on your own once you have grasped the underlying concepts."
When they graduated in 2000 they both spent a year working at Hob Software. Mr Mizzi today is the head of research and
development at Ixaris Limited while his wife joined Anvil Software where she spent seven years as a technical consultant.
The birth of their baby daughter Michaela in April has meant that Mrs Mizzi now stays at home in order to look after the
baby. "It's nice to take a break from the day-to-day pressures of software development," she said. "At the same time I miss
the excitement of the deadlines and the roll-outs." She intends to return to work as soon as Michaela has her first birthday.
The couple never regretted they chose a career in ICT.
"The work pressure is substantial and you sometimes do not have time for a break," warned Mr Mizzi. "One has to keep
reading constantly in order to keep in touch with evolving and emerging technologies. ICT changes all the time. However, it
is a very exciting and rewarding career."
As the University of Malta's Faculty of Engineering prepares for the annual final year students' projects exhibition, it recalls
with pride one of its past students.
Christopher Ciantar has managed to take the engineering profession to new heights within the public service. Graduating as a
professional engineer from the University of Malta, he is today the permanent secretary at the Ministry for Resources and
Rural Affairs. He also holds a doctorate in engineering - a qualification which has helped him master a variety of skills. He
is convinced the higher the level of studies the more fascinating it becomes and that the University of Malta had prepared
him well to embark on this specialisation route.
Dr Ing. Ciantar remembers the challenges he was exposed to during his engineering days at University. In his final year
project at the University of Malta, he was involved in the joint development of a computer aided design tool for cams (cam is
a device that changes rotational movement to horizontal or vertical movement and is used in automatic lathes).
The annual final year university student project exhibitions of the Faculty of Engineering will be open in the Engineering
Building (car park 2) on Friday July 4 from 5 to 8 p.m. and on Saturday July 5 from 9 a.m. to 1p.m. The ICT Projects
Exhibition will be open on Friday July 5 from 5 to 8 p.m. in Dar Guzeppi Zahra (computer building, car park 2).