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2 NEWS 10.6.2021 ECONOMY and industry minister Sil- vio Schembri this week announced a €100,000 investment in Artificial Intel- ligence scholarships for students by the Malta Digital Innovation Authority, dur- ing a press conference in which the min- ister gave details on the second call for scholarships entitled 'Pathfinder', aimed at those who are interested in following a course at Masters or PhD levels in Artifi- cial Intelligence. e minister said that, unlike last year, the current call is wider, and more stu- dents are expected to sign up. "We want to increase the number of people who have graduated in ICT, in- cluding Artificial Intelligence, and this is being addressed precisely with this scheme". Schembri said that Artificial Intelli- gence offers an opportunity for several careers of quality. Among these are ro- botics in manufacturing, data analyt- ics which analyses the data collected, computational linguistics where a pro- fessional builds systems that perform certain functions such as speech recog- nition, machine translation or grammar checking, game development which uses AI to complement a computer or console game and software engineering which analyses the needs and builds software according to those same needs. Minister Schembri urged all those in- terested in this sector to get in touch with MDIA to enquire how they can benefit from this fund by visiting the website www.mdia.gov.mt/pathfinder. "When you look at the developments that are taking place both at European and international level, you will notice that the world is moving towards more dependence on technology. us, Malta will be able to be at the forefront if the human resource in this aspect is also strong", he added. He said that the Malta Digital Innova- tion Authority was set up to raise the lev- el of the local technology ecosystem. e Authority has been tasked with oversee- ing the implementation of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which was announced in 2019 - a strategy aim- ing to turn Malta into the best platform for AI by 2030, prompting a strong in- vestment in local education. MDIA CEO Stephen McCarthy and Officer Greta Attard said each applying student can enjoy a maximum of €10,000. is fund covers 80% of tuition fees, all bench fees, and a study allowance of € 3,600 which is calculated pro-rata. e educational institution with which the student will take the course must be rec- ognised by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority. €100,000 in scholarships for studies in artificial intelligence Masters or PhD level VBL Group, the largest private owner of Valletta real estate, has recently completed the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Casa Rooms Ltd, one of the leading Property Management Companies on the is- land. Dr Andrei Imbroll, Chairman of the VBL Group, said that, over the last decade, the short-let accom- modation market had seen an extraordinary growth in market share. "Professional and larger operations can ensure higher standards of service for both property owners and guests, whilst achieving elevated economies of scale," he said. "e acquisition of Casa Rooms Ltd. further consolidates our market leader position in the Capital city and will allow us to hit the ground running as the COVID restrictions continue to ease." omas Cremona, founder and Board Member of Casa Rooms Ltd., said "When I started Casa Rooms, the short-let market was in its infancy. We grew to- gether with the industry internationally, also thanks to innovative tech companies like Airbnb which was recently listed on the NASDAQ. I felt that it was time to take Casa Rooms to new heights and VBL Group was the natural port of call to achieve this." VBL Group moves to consolidate the Valletta short-let market HV Hospitality appoints new CEO HV Hospitality, the Malta-based hotel investments firm, has ap- pointed seasoned executive Petra Deuter as its new Chief Executive Officer. Deuter, who has relocated to Malta to assume the role, will lead the establishment and growth of an international focused luxury hotel brand, identify opportunities to grow a commercially sustaina- ble portfolio of assets in appropri- ate markets, and appoint and lead a team of hospitality professionals. She will also oversee the delivery of HV Hospitality's first project – the redevelopment of the new hotel and villas on the island of Comino, off Malta. HV Hospitality's new Chief Ex- ecutive Officer has more than 20 years' strategic management ex- perience in travel and hospital- ity and is a hybrid professional, a tri-lingual communicator and a cross-cultural leader. She has pre- viously worked across Europe and the Americas in executive posi- tions with Lufthansa Airlines, Ac- cor Hotels and London & Regional properties / L+R Hotels, among others. Deuter has broad commercial, operational and luxury hotel as- set-management proficiency and the ability to combine entrepre- neurial vision with successful team leadership and advanced thinking. Established in 2019, HV Hospi- tality is a dedicated and respon- sible investment firm, focused on identifying and developing bou- tique hotels, retreats and sanctu- aries in Europe which are destined for landmark status, with particu- lar interest in the Mediterranean. Its vision is to own and manage a collection of properties in stun- ning locations for discerning trav- ellers who crave more meaningful, purposeful and sustainable luxury experiences from their journeys. e firm is committed to safe- guard the integrity of the world's natural surroundings, local cul- ture, heritage and history. Building on this vision, the growing team at HV Hospitality has set out to de- velop a luxury hotel and resorts brand. Petra Deuter

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