PM OPENS UNIVERSITY IT BUILDING; ICT FACULTY WORKS NEARING END
Photo: Jonathan Borg
about 19 hours ago (Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:19) - Tuesday, 26 February 2013, 14:19 , by Duncan Barry
UPDA TE 1
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the government markedly raised educational levels to where they are today and the aim of today’s inauguration of the IT Services
building is more than just simply the official opening of a building’s infrastructure but is about future job enhancement as well.
He claimed that every investor praises our University graduates, adding that a PN government has constantly invested both in the University’s infrastructure and its
lecturers.
Dr Gonzi was speaking during the inauguration of the University IT Services building where he was also given a tour of the ICT faculty building, the works of which are
nearing completion. The buildings stand a few metres apart.
He said that the government is in talks with the Chinese government in a bid to attract Chinese students to further their studies in Malta.
The eight-million-euro IT Services building project, partly-financed by the EU, has 4,000 square metres of floor space and incorporates state-of-the-art IT facilities for both
University students and staff.
Dr Gonzi was given a tour of the University data centre, the computer training rooms, the student study facilities, the open access learning spaces and the videoconferencing facilities which saw him participate in a video conference with Gozitan ICT students.
The design of the building incorporates energy-saving measures, including solar water heating and a building management system which monitors, controls and
shutdowns unnecessary use of equipment and systems such as lighting and air conditioning units.
The project also included the installation of a seven-kilometre single-mode optical fibre interconnecting the Data Centre with the 40 main University buildings on campus.
University rector Juanito Camilleri said that the University Campus Network is connected to GEANT, the pan-European research and education backbone. The network
connects over 40 million users in over 8,000 institutions across 40 European countries.
He highlighted that Malta’s internet country code domain (.MT) is supported by the IT Services building at University.
As for the Faculty of ICT, the building consists of a concrete-substructure with a steel-framed upper structure and the exterior envelope predominantly consists of a special
engineered façade which is filled with an inert gas and treated to minimise solar heat gains while not compromising the light transmission into the rooms.
The structure offers a total 6,700 square metres of floor space and the project cost 17 million euros but is partly financed by the EU under the European Regional
Development Fund Programme 2007-2013.
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