An agreement signed between the Maltese College for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) and the Maltese Council for Science and Technology (MCST) will put in the center two important sectors for our country, the Research and Innovation, in connection with training that will be given to students.
With this agreement, it also aims for students who attend MCAST to have more opportunities to experience work related to the subjects they are studying. The Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation Clifton Grima, together with the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation Keith Azzopardi Tanti, who presided over the signing of the agreement, they talked about the importance that the Government is giving not only to these two areas, but also by offering more opportunities to students.
Minister Grima recalled the measures announced in the budget, but also the work of MCAST to, while strengthening the apprenticeship, continue to extend its work to more training opportunities for students. “We are investing in students to continue to excel in their studies, improve their skills and continue to advance in their career. We are also seeing that there is more cooperation between all entities to give importance to research, in this case in a subject so important to our country, Science. We want to continue to bring Science closer to the public at the same time that we see that research has been carried forward in areas from which all the people will benefit,” said Minister Grima.
Parliamentary Secretary Keith Azzopardi Tanti stressed how important this agreement is because it continues to promote research. He said, “The Government continues to invest fully in research and innovation to create new economic niches for the country and help citizens in the most important sectors, including in the health field. This is clear when the Government invested for the first time €800,000 in cancer research in Malta.” He said that the investment in research and innovation is proof of the long-term vision that the Government has, as its fruit is not a momentary one but we will also experience it in the coming years, with the ultimate goal of improve people’s quality of life.
The Chairman of the Maltese Council for Science and Technology, Dr. Tonio Portughese, said, “We are committed to strengthening our collaboration with MCAST through this agreement. Through Esplora and MCST we will be providing MCAST students with work experiences while strengthening the coordination between us, planning and carrying out initiatives in the field of communication of the science.”
The Principal Deputy for Research and Innovation Tatjna Chircop said, “Through this collaboration, the College will continue to contribute to strengthening the initiatives that promote science and research. We will be working to enable MCAST students to contribute while learning and experiencing the world of work. This is crucial for us, because we believe that learning is not only done with theory but with practice in the real world of work while they continue to advance in their studies and do research.”
