Malta team discusses ties with KKU
A four-member Maltese delegation met with representatives from King Khaled University (KKU) in Abha last week to discuss collaboration on the teaching of English and developing expertise in translating from English into Arabic.
Juanito Camilleri, university of Malta rector, and his team met with KKU Dean of Faculty Abdullah Al-Methi to pursue the collaboration proposed a year ago.
“It was agreed during our meeting that a KKU delegation will visit Malta to continue the discussion on the proposed collaboration,” Camilleri said in an interview at the Maltese Embassy in the Saudi capital.
The collaboration was proposed by Fahd Maglooth, Saudi cultural attaché at the Saudi Embassy in Rome, who also has jurisdiction over Greece and Malta. He said collaboration in other disciplines was also discussed "to produce quality graduates.”
He recommended that six Saudi students enroll at the University of Malta for doctorate degrees in English or linguistics, adding that the method of instruction was similar to the British system. “We go for quality and not quantity.” Saudis would have access to top teachers and stateof-the-art education facilities.
“There are many students from Gulf Cooperation Council countries studying at the University of Malta but not so many from Saudi Arabia,” said Camilleri.
The Saudi students studying at the University of Malta are under the King Abdullah Scholarship Program with a monthly stipend of over SR7,000.
The other members of his team included Stefania Fabri, University of Malta’s director at the international and European Union office; Odette Vassallo, director at the Center for English Language Proficiency; and Sergio Portelli.
Camilleri and his team also attended the International Exhibition and Conference on Higher Education in the Saudi capital held last week.