Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1139344
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JULY 2019 COMMERCIAL THE Directorate for Research, Lifelong Learning and Em- ployability will be organising a number of Course Tasters between the 16th and the 20th July 2019. The organisation of these Course Tasters is an outreach initiative to prospective adult learners, who are invited to dis- cover the significance of Life- long Learning. Pursuit of knowledge for per- sonal or professional reasons not only enhances social in- clusion, active citizenship, and personal development, but also sustainability, competitiveness and employability. This is in line with the aims of the Mal- ta National Lifelong Learning Strategy, 2020. There will be around 20 course tasters to choose from, including Psychology, Photog- raphy, Chinese, Italian, Span- ish, Creative Knitting, Electri- cal Installation, Automotive Engineering, Maltese as a For- eign Language, Card Making and ICT for Beginners. A list of all the Course Tasters that will be available can be found at www.lifelonglearning.gov.mt. The Taster sessions will be held at the Msida Lifelong Learning Centre, and will take place in the morning or in the afternoon. The duration of each session will be three hours. During these sessions, the participants will be given a basic introduc- tion on the subject, and an overview of what to expect if they enrol in any of the lifelong learning courses. The launching of the Course Tasters will coincide with the press launch of the Lifelong Learning Courses, which will be held on Tuesday 16th July at 10am at the Msida Lifelong Learning Centre. Applica- tions for the Lifelong Learning Courses will be available online from 17 July up to 7 August 2019. Lifelong Learning courses - launch of course tasters HSBC Malta is gearing up for the 2019 student intake by launching its Student campaign. Once again, the bank is offering all full-time stu- dents enrolling or attending secondary schools, MCAST, sixth form, university or any other established post-secondary and tertiary educa- tion institution, the chance to benefit from all the features of the HSBC Student account, and enjoy a €50 welcome gift. This offer is valid un- til 31 October 2019 and is available to those stu- dents who route their stipend through an HSBC Malta account. One major enhancement for this year is that students can now use the bank's new online ac- count opening process, allowing them to open their account simply by filling in an online form and submitting it along with scans or images of their valid ID cards to the bank. After a few days, they will be asked to go to their branch of choice, and after a brief meeting they will be provided with their International Debit Card and Personal Internet Banking token. "After a long year of study and exams, stu- dents just want to wind down, so we launched this new account opening process to make it quicker and easier for them to open their ac- count and continue to enjoy their summer" said Gregory Inglott, Deputy Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management. Having a bank account is a requirement for the majority of students in order for them to re- ceive their stipend. Students opening a student account with HSBC will benefit from free inter- net banking, free mobile banking, a free Visa® International debit card and discounted fees on withdrawals from non-HSBC ATMs. "For most students stepping into the world of higher education, the opening of a bank ac- count is often their first experience with a fi- nancial institution. That is the reason why we want to engage with them at this point so they can start to develop good personal finance hab- its and have the right ideas about saving for the future," concluded Gregory Inglott. More information can be found at http://hsbc. com.mt/student or facebook.com/HSBCMalta New online account opening for HSBC Malta 2019 Student campaign Beat the heat this summer with an HSBC Student account FRESH findings have emerged from cancer research as scientists at the University of Malta's Labo- ratory of Molecular Oncology at the Department of Pathology discovered a cutting-edge tech- nology which allows for further prevention and cancer manage- ment. This has been made pos- sible through the FUSION Fund of the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST). The research group led by Prof Godfrey Grech, composed of Prof Chrisitan Scerri (Clini- cal lead), Shawn Baldacchino, Jeanesse Scerri, Ala Petersons, Maria Pia Grixti, and Martina Spiteri, together with Claudine Grech Spiteri (Industry partner; Applied Biotech) have all con- tributed to moving forward to less invasive and more sensitive techniques. In his introductory speech, dur- ing a dissemination event which was held at Esplora Interactive Science Centre, Kalkara on Sat- urday 29th June, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Executive Chairman of MCST publicly commended Prof Grech, as well as Applied Bio- tech Limited for their important contribution to cancer research and innovation. He added that "Through FUSION, the national funding programme, MCST, which falls under the Parliamen- tary Secretariat for Financial Ser- vices, Digital Economy and In- novation, exercises its mandate to support researchers by en- suring that their talent is recog- nised, supported and nourished throughout their career. These researchers will help further high quality, innovative research to improve the health of our soci- ety." The research findings have pro- vided knowledge to better clas- sify tumors into particular sub- groups with unique properties. The improved techniques en- able sensitivity to measure cells and cell capsules shed by solid tumour in blood through a liquid biopsy to follow up standard tis- sue biopsies, moving towards less invasive tests. Targeted therapy is a type of treatment that uses drugs to target specific proteins found in cancer cells and related to cancer growth, different from traditional chemotherapy, as the active drug selects between the healthy cells and cancerous ones. The next challenge is to sup- port screening for early detec- tions and hence improving can- cer patient care across hospitals worldwide. Prof Grech said that "the next hurdle is the transition to the clinic for patient benefit, hence the fruitful collaboration with the industrial partner in this project." CEO of Applied Biotech Ltd, Claudine Grech Spiteri stat- ed that the innovative method is very versatile and provides the possibility to develop and inno- vate various products. The first oncology product is planned to be launched during coming Sep- tember at the European Con- gress of Pathology. The com- pany has been active in engaging young scientists to expose them to the laboratory methods and to provide ideas for dissemination and communication of science to public. During the dissemination event, an animated video of ACT "Detecting the undetectable" was launched with the public https:// youtu.be/DyCYJxGbjwU CEO of the Research & Innova- tion Development Trust (RIDT) Wilfred Kenely referred to the collaboration with the ALIVE foundation that has been raising funds towards cancer research since 2013, from which the RIDT had donated €135,000 to Prof Grech's team to support cancer research. The Alive Charity Foundation where also present during the dissemination event whereby they spoke about their mission just in time before the Maltese cyclists will travel more than 1,200km from Oslo – through Hamburg and finishing in Am- sterdam in just a week – from the 14th till the 21st of July. In order to raise awareness and make the topic more accessible to the public three 'Science on the Spot' activities and a short tour through the Esplora Exhibi- tion Spaces where held. The event ended with an ACT Science Cafe' Disscussion where the importance of medical re- search; the responsibility of a researcher towards innovation; translation to clinic: the role of the industry; and healthcare driv- en research in oncology: present and future were debated. Maltese scientists at the forefront of cancer research QATAR Airways celebrated the launch of its Doha to Malta route with a host of elite local and international guests dur- ing a VIP corporate dinner at the Hilton Hotel on 1 July 2019. The evening was hosted by Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Ak- bar Al Baker, who welcomed VIP guests, including the Presi- dent of the Republic of Malta, George Vella, the Charges d'Affaires to the Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Malta, Khalid Ali Abdulla Abel ; Mal- ta's Minister of Tourism, Kon- rad Mizzi; Christian Cardona, Minister for the Economy, In- vestment and Small Business and Carmelo Abela, Minister for Foreign Affairs, as well as CEO of Malta International Airport, Alan Borg. In his keynote address to the assembled VIP guests, His Excellency, Akbar Al Baker said: "As a key Mediterranean gateway for leisure and busi- ness passengers alike, we are thrilled to add this stunning and culturally significant des- tination to Qatar Airways' rapidly expanding European network. The new direct services to Malta will be operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 120 seats in Economy Class. As well as enjoying the award- winning in-flight service on board, passengers travelling to Malta will also have access to Oryx One, Qatar Airways' in- flight entertainment system, offering the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more. Malta has also joined Qatar Airways' air freight network, with the carrier's cargo arm offering a total capacity of 21 tonnes to and from Malta each week, and a direct connection to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas via Doha. A multiple award-winning air- line, Qatar Airways was named 'World's Best Airline' by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. Qatar Airways celebrates launch of direct services to Malta Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive H.E. Akbar Al Baker joined by senior politicians including the President of the Republic of Malta