Ceremony 5
Graduand’s Speech
Monday 25 November 2013 at 1630hrs
JESUITS’ CHURCH – VALLETTA
Ms Tracey Camilleri
Ph.D. Graduate and representative of the students
I stand here today as a PhD engineering graduate of the University of Malta, honoured to be given the chance to
deliver this speech on such a unique occasion.
Each and every one of us sitting here today has a story to tell, a story of a young man or woman with a dream. My
story started when at the age of twenty I was scrolling through the choice of undergraduate final year projects,
hoping to find an interesting title. I did find one but I grasped so little of what this project could be about that I had
to ask the supervisor who proposed it for more details. After half an hour listening to what information one can
extract when processing EEG signals, I was still at a loss because I still missed the fundamental key. As shy and
uninformed as I was at the time, I had to raise the question and asked “Great, but what is EEG?” And that’s how
my story started. Ten years later I am graduating with a doctoral degree for my work which involved the signal
processing of brain signals called electroencephalographic or EEG signals.
This evening I will not bore you with the details of my research but I would like to share with you the analysis of
some signals that may have implications on our future and those who will follow suit. Being an engineer who does
things systematically, allow me to start off with the definition of a signal; a physical quantity that varies with
respect to some independent variable and which conveys information. Let me give you a simple example. So you
wake up in the morning and have no idea of what to wear, especially if you’re a woman, so you look outside to
see what the weather looks like. To get a more objective measure, you log on your mobile phone and check the
actual temperature. If you had to monitor the temperature on a daily basis, then you have a signal that gives a
quantitative measure of how hot or cold it is. You can then use the information given by this signal to take a
particular action, such as what choice of clothes to wear.
Where is this getting me at? We are now here today at the doorstep of graduation but we are not the first students
graduating with a Master’s or PhD from the University of Malta. In fact statistics show that in the past six years
there has been an average of 12 PhD students and 396 Master’s students graduating per year. In spite of the
limited amount of data, this signal conveys interesting information. The University of Malta is successfully
breeding a workforce with a very high level of education each year. My question is: How is the country processing
the dynamics of this signal? Is the Maltese industry looking for individuals with such expertise or do we end up
doing jobs for which we are overqualified? If I had to shift my focus to PhD graduates, it is well known that the
opportunities to pursue a career in academia are limited. In foreign countries it is typical to have postdoc
opportunities which allow an individual to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to
pursue his or her chosen career path. When will we see such opportunities in our country? When will the powers
that be realize that this high level of education is vital for the country’s growth? Why is it not common to get
companies that require people like us set base in Malta and help the economy, instead of allowing other countries
to use one of our best resources, human resources who can make a significant difference? In the past few years
government scholarships have been available to support postgraduate students but it is about time to look beyond
because congratulating the country on its yearly number of graduates and then providing limited career prospects
and opportunities falls short of a country who wants to be at the forefront with leaders. The signal is available and
the trends look positive but I feel that the wealth that is being generated is not well exploited. We love what we do
so please give us the chance to be of more value to this country.
Let me now zoom in a little on who I am, an engineer within a profession still dominated by men. To try and gain
a measure of this imbalance I obtained some statistics on the number of female and male students pursuing a
bachelor’s degree in engineering at the University of Malta. In the past six years there has been an average of 81
students graduating per year, with the female category exceeding only one fifth of the total number of engineering
graduates. This is yet another interesting signal which follows a similar pattern to that of other countries. Many
have tried to answer the question of why so few females opt for an engineering degree. Some argue that it’s
because of early gender identification, familial influence or the lack of confidence in maths and science abilities.
The truth is that there are many confounding factors which influence the dynamics of these statistics, and although
there are also programs focused on attracting more women towards an engineering degree, the numbers still
remain relatively low. From my experience, I always had an aptitude towards mathematics and when I came to
choose what degree to pursue I opted to go for engineering as I felt it was more challenging. I think the question
here is all about setting limits. I always believed that one should shoot at the sky and not let the clouds dissuade
him or her in believing that they are the limit. Tomorrow the wind will carry the clouds away and your horizons
will be endless. Why stop midway through your destination when you can go further? The journey may not be
easy but if you get there, it will be worth everything you put into it. As a female engineer I hope that I will serve
as a role model to show that it is not a question of a stereotyped career but it’s all about believing in yourself and
aiming at the skies.
Today we are all celebrating the well deserved award for our hard work. We’ve made it. We’ve succeeded. But if
someone had to start collecting data to plot the signal of success, what measurement shall one take? Does the
graduation ceremony alone imply that we have been successful or does success go beyond the certificate we are
being given today? We are all experts in our own area of study but a postgraduate degree teaches you more than
the niche you have worked in. We’ve all gone through the writing of a literature review for example through
which we should have learned how to make a constructive criticism of other people’s work. Are we fully aware
that the results we have obtained were only possible because others have acted as stepping stones for us to cross
from the problem to the solution or do we think we’ve made it all on our own? How do we evaluate each other’s
opinion in our daily life? Do we constructively build better arguments which can lead to better conclusions? Have
we learnt how to better relate with each other? Did the degree really change us to become better individuals?
Today the spotlight will shine on each and every one of us. We will all have our moment of glory but what will
people see beyond the degree? Who have we become? Speaking for myself, I am today gratefully employed as a
lecturer within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Malta and today’s achievement will allow me to
progress with this career. However from now on, this whole celebration is no longer about me. I simply see myself
as having reached a position where I can now help others aim for the skies and reach their dreams. I believe that
on our own we can only achieve so much but if we can let down the rope for others to climb up the ladder as well,
then together we can reach the unreachable. I think this is how success can be measured. We have the potential to
influence the dynamics of the signal of success. Will we let it stabilize at the level it is or will we contribute to a
possible exponential growth which will benefit us all?
Our own individual stories have brought us all here at the same milestone. Looking back we may wonder how
we’ve made it and sometimes we tend to forget the difficult times we’ve passed through and the sacrifices that we
had to make. But let us not forget that we have not walked this journey alone. It is all thanks to our supervisors
and mentors who have offered unfailing guidance and motivation; our parents who have not always managed to
understand the research we were doing but who have supported us every step of the way; our loved ones who
stood by our side unconditionally, offering an ear to listen to us and a shoulder to lean on. We did not do the
sacrifices on our own but God granted us the blessing of all these people who stood beside us. For this we remain
always grateful.
And this brings me to the conclusion. Today is not only a celebration of our own personal achievements but it is a
reminder of how many people believed in us and supported us. What do we do now? Are we going to help others
reach their dreams? Is today the limit we set for ourselves or are we still reaching for the skies? The choice is ours.
Good luck to all on your individual journeys.