Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1037099
16 TECHNOLOGY maltatoday | SUNDAY •7 OCTOBER 2018 THE launching of the MITA Emerging Technologies Lab on the 2nd October marked an important milestone in the introduction of the latest technologies within Government. MITA's Executive Chairman, Tony Sultana emphasised that "such launch is being done in parallel to the massive Technology Transformation programme that MITA has embarked on in these last two years – with the ultimate objective to modernise all its infrastructure by 2020". The newly-launched Lab, which is hosted at the MITA Head Office, aims at providing MITA employees, Goverment employees, students and startups the possibility to explore emerging technologies, and share the knowledge gained and the benefits these technologies offer. This, in turn, will enable discovery and learning on how to use these technologies through hands-on activities. In fact, as from the coming weeks a programme of activities will be launched which will include seminars and workshops that will guide and provide information to interested parties. During the launch, Parliamentary Secretariat for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri emphasised that "the inauguration of this Lab means the implimentation of yet another budget measure. The lab will serve as the place where MITA employees, Government employees, students and startups will explore new emerging technologies, their benefits and share knowledge. It will set in motion a new way of thought of how these technologies can be integrated in the day-to- day business operations". Schembri also mentioned that the Lab is the result of €250,000 investment for the setting up and procurement of Lab equipment. With the aim of encouraging innovative use of technology, participants will be given the possibility to develop their idea related to emerging technologies. 3D Printing The phenomenon of 3D printing developed into an industry of its own which is used for rapid prototyping and for additive manufacturing. It is also a process of building parts by joining material layer by layer. The 3D printer selected for the Emerging Technologies Lab is very user friendly, and enables uses to learn how to use and start printing in a very short period of time. The users could find 3D designs online or else design objects directly from standard software. Either way the design is then uploaded onto the software compatible with the 3D printer. At this stage, one can specify the quality of the model to be printed and the software will also indicate the duration of the print job and the amount of material that will be used. The print would then be sent to the printer via WIFI connection or uploaded directly on the printer. Launching of the MITA Emerging Technologies Lab An important milestone in of latest technologies within