Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1204548
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JANUARY 2020 15 COMMERCIAL FRANK Salt Real Estate wel- comes Ian Laferla to its manage- ment team, as the new manager of Sliema branch. He takes over from George Vassallo, who was recently appointed company di- rector. Ian Laferla joined Frank Salt Real Estate in 2006, having pre- viously worked in the hospital- ity and catering industry. Dur- ing his 12-year practice with Frank Salt Real Estate he has been stationed at a number of its branches including Sliema, St Julian's and Homes of Quali- ty. Throughout the years he has garnered a wealth of experience in the real estate industry, as well as the respect of colleagues and industry peers – thanks to his strong sense of responsibility, integrity and ethics – which are synonymous with the Frank Salt Real Estate brand. Having already spent a good number of years at the Frank Salt Real Estate Sliema offices, in 2018 Ian was appointed As- sistant Branch Manager. This role gave him the opportunity to work closer with and get to know better his future team. "At the Sliema branch I found a fantastic tight knit team of positive, hardworking, success- ful sales people, who are proud brand ambassadors of the com- pany," said Laferla. "I am proud to be leading a very dynamic and energetic team at the Sliema branch," he adds. "My objective is to keep the team mo- tivated and support them in ex- ceeding their goals, without los- ing sight of who we really are and who we work for. My favourite mottos are 'Treat others the way you want to be treated' and 'the glass is always half full'. "We are very pleased with this appointment," said Director Grahame Salt. "Since joining the Frank Salt Real Estate family, Ian has been a firm believer in team- work and the values of our com- pany. He has shown enthusiasm and eagerness in achieving personal and company growth and he au- gurs well for the future well-be- ing of the Frank Salt Real Estate Group, and the Sliema branch in particular". New branch manager for Frank Salt Real Estate's Sliema offices IN a society where safety and security if of growing paramount importance, critical in areas pertaining to foresight and im- plementation, the Planning Authority and over 40 entities have been working on a project that ensures reliable data capture, analysis and innovation. SIntegraM, an EU project that went be- yond the state of the art, is financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Planning Authority. It is driven by Pro- fessor Saviour Formosa in a conceptualised 25-year transformation process initiated in 1995 that allows for the change from pa- per-based maps to digital spatial data to re- al-time capture and finally immersion in the virtual spaces. The Project is run by Ashley Hili as project Leader and over 60 experts across the public service and public sector with international collaborators delivering on the process. A first in all steps, the technology availa- ble to the Maltese Islands is unprecedented, ranging from aerial drones (one of 2m width is only one of 23 in the world), to a space- age terrestrial vehicle scanning the roads to an autonomous underwater vehicle that is scanning our waters. A first also is the installation of a Virtual Immersion Lab which allows scientists and users to scan a building, quarry, city and through a series of programmes, built that entity in a virtual world and allows users to walk within it. For those interested in mo- bile interaction, SIntegraM has acquired Oculus Rift and the most innovative tech- nology ensconced in the Mixed Reality Do- main, a technology called Leap One, from Magic Leap. We are taking reality as we saw it in the past to the present to the future. Talking to Jean de La Vallette, experiencing the Second World War as it occurred from the places it occurred in to futuristic envi- ronments of how Mount Xiberras will look in 2300 is within grasp. This is so innovative that it is serving as a launching pad for diverse domains to be able to study reality and propose change before it happens. An example would be to understand how a landscape would change once a quarry is rehabilitated, a ho- tel is built underwater, sea-level rise and extreme weather will affect a town... and a myriad other scenarios. This brings in also sociologists, psychologists, first responders, post-disaster management, disaster victim identification, crowd monitoring, erosion studies, traffic movements and other sce- narios towards a holistic approach to solv- ing society's ail and serve as a foresight tool for preparedness. SIntegraM is a foundation project that has revolutionised data as we know it: from 2D, it is converting Malta in 3D, Vir- tual Reality, Augmented Reality and now Mixed Reality. Whilst other countries are planning such changes for the next EU programme 2021- 2027, Malta has embarked upon, affected and implemented such changes. Ian Laferla is the new manager of Frank Salt Sliema branch Of earth, sky and underwater: Malta's first-in-Europe high-tech project