The Malta Council for Science and Technology ensures STEM Engagement, Research and Innovation remain at the forefront of the national agenda

The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) has taken various initiatives, undertaken several projects and measures to ensure STEM Engagement, Research and Innovation remain at the forefront of the national agenda. These are all highlighted in the Annual Report for 2019 which MCST has launched and covers the activities of the Council in 2019 under the executive chairmanship of Dr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. Through the support of the parliamentary secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation and the Office of the Prime Minister, MCST’s efforts are being reinforced.

Responding to the increasing demand and forecasted shortages of STEM skills in Europe, MCST has been a catalyst in STEM-related fields by enacting the national STEM Engagement Working Group through Esplora Interactive Science Centre. This Working Group brought together the major national stakeholders in the field of STEM including the University of Malta, the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology (MCAST) and MCST itself to create awareness and address the shortage of STEM skills. A position paper was launched which includes various STEM Engagement measures including the development of a consolidated Malta Science Communication Strategy. Hence, MCST, through Esplora, would be turning to its STEM Working Group to offer a synergistic and holistic approach to STEM Engagament on a local, EU and international level.

Esplora offered various events for schools and the public during 2019 including a new and revised school education programme in line with the Learning Outcomes Framework, various Family Science Days and Thematic Events for visitors of all ages. Among many other events, the latter included Carnival at Esplora, Halloween and Christmas at Esplora. An independent survey carried out by Misco International confirmed a 14% increase in the perception and attitudes toward Science and Technology among the public in 2019 when compared to 2015. Other statistics also show an increase greater than 10% in STEM subject uptakes at Year 8 for 2019 when compared to 2017.

Tying-in with the national drive to encourage a greater take-up of STEM subjects by Maltese students and to develop Malta’s knowledge-based economy the ground work for EsploraNatura has started and will complement Esplora in that it will address particular STEM subjects, such as the natural and biological sciences. A director was engaged in the latter part of 2019 for the €40m+ project. Work on the formulation of the terms of reference, for the issuing of calls for tenders for Topographical Surveys and for Geological Surveys of the site intended for the location, progressed at a steady pace.

The works related to the rehabilitation of the foreshore around the Bighi peninsula progressed to an advanced stage and visitors to Esplora will soon be able to access the Science Centre from the Grand Harbour through the historic Cot Lift. Through these efforts, MCST will be offering a holistic visitor experience that is second to none in the Mediterranean.

MCST’s Technical units have achieved unparallel growth as in 2019, MCST set up a dedicated Internationalisation Unit to deepen international collaboration among local and foreign researchers and stakeholders and to serve as a one-stop-shop for international initiatives in which the Maltese research community may participate. Of note is the work being done with the Chinese counterparts and the Ministry of Science and Technology, most notably through the Sino-Malta Fund. The first call was launched in 2019, with a total budget of €700,000 put forward by MCST and MOST to fund one project in the field of Maritime Science and another project focusing on Transport. Successful projects are foreseen to commence later on this year.

In 2019, work intensified on plumtri – a platform for Research and Innovation – a one-stop-online portal for researchers wishing to connect with other researchers and/or find opportunities on research openings and calls among other R&I initiatives – to make it more relevant to local stakeholders while expanding the platform to partners operating in the Mediterranean region. It is remarkable to note that plumtri has been awarded as the Best eGovernment Initiative for 2019 in the eBusiness Awards.

Strong commitment to research and innovation is pivotal to make Malta one of the leading knowledge-based economies in the world. Policy work, appropriate systems put in place have that transformative power of creating close links between science, policy and society. To this end, the policy unit at MCST started the groundwork and consultation on the smart specialisation and Research & Innovation Strategy. In 2019, various steps were taken to collect as much information as possible from stakeholders on the future smart specialisation strategy and understand the key challenges that should be addressed in the next Research & Innovation Strategy.

An important input into the new national R&I Strategy post 2020 was the Peer Review of Malta’s R&I system, supported by the EU’s Horizon 2020 Policy Support Facility. The outcomes and recommendations of the Peer Review report have been reviewed and discussions on their implementation have also commenced. This work will continue this year.

The first edition of the National Space Education programme, particularly the CanSat Malta and AstroPi activities open to all Maltese schools, reached its culmination in 2019. Organised in collaboration with the Ministry for Education and Employment, Esplora and ESA, the annual Space Education programme seeks to improve not only the scientific and technical insight of the younger generation, but also softer skills such as problem solving, teamwork and communication. MCST also continued to provide invaluable support to the government on Space policy, to support the Space Taskforce which was launched in March 2019.

MCST continued serving as Malta’s official contact point organisation in the administration of EU Framework Programmes. Horizon 2020, the biggest EU R&I programme, will be succeeded by Horizon Europe an ambitious €100bn research and innovation programme which will kick off in 2021 and run till 2027. Malta has greatly benefitted from EU innovation funding within the Horizon 2020 programme. By the end of 2019, 133 Grant Agreements have been signed with the participation of 179 Maltese entities. The amount of funding received by Maltese participants amount to €25.3m. There are currently 61 unique entities successfully participating in Horizon 2020. The most active beneficiary is the University of Malta which is participating in 46 projects and received around €8.8m since the beginning of the programme.

Fusion, the national R&I Programme, has continued to attract the attention of the local research community throughout 2020, with a budget of €2.2m. Through the Commercialisation Voucher Programme (CVP) and the Technology Development Programme (TDP), public and private entities have been able to test the viability of their ideas and engage in collaborative research respectively, with the total budget for the fund being consumed. Following the successful completion of the projects under CVP, 12 projects were awarded funding through TDP during 2019. A total of almost €2.8m were committed to these projects, some of which will be completed in 2022.

MCST is very proud to show that the Annual Report financial statements reflect the consolidated position that MCST has taken good care of its funds.