Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1524298
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 JULY 2024 THIS IS A PAID COLLABORATION launched new mobility scheme with Italy's renowned Centro Nazionale della Ricerca (CNR). Science Malta has also doubled its funding for the flagship Sino-Malta R&I Programme and the joint funding programme with the Turkish Research Council (Tubitak), and tripled its participation in joint and scoping actions through the Joint Programming Initiative on Oceans (JPI Oceans). Horizon Europe – the EU's Frame- work programme for R&I – also of- fers myriad opportunities, and I am proud to point out that, with the help and guidance we have offered to academic, public and private en- tity players in the sector, participa- tion in collaborative calls has been improving, and we are currently coordinating Malta's participation in three co-fund partnerships – the Transforming Healthcare Systems Partnership (THCS), the Clean Ener- gy Technologies Partnership (CETP) and the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP), and striving, and looking forward, to increasing Malta's participation in new Co- fund Partnerships in the areas of brain health and resilient cultural heritage. The new legal mandate for Science Malta also strengthens the organ- isation's remit in the area of Space policy, establishing Science Malta as the institutional liaison body with the European Space Agency (ESA), and brokered Malta's elevation to membership of the Plan for Euro- pean Cooperating States (PECS), backed by an unprecedented annu- al €1.5 million investment for a five- year period of competitive funding calls for Maltese entities. Science Malta shall, in close collaboration with the Parliamentary Secretariat for Youth, Research & Innovation, be spearheading the ushering in of a public consultation exercise on a new legal framework for Space activities. All these developments underline the fact that the step we have taken is, in substance, a giant leap (with apologies to the late Neil Armstrong) for the Research, Inno- vation and Space sectors in Malta. All these achievements did not take place in a vacuum, in isolation from other efforts or in some elitist environment that is out of touch with our population. We have complemented investments at the cutting edge of the scientific sector, with parallel STEM education efforts in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Public interaction with all levels of our society, for Maltese and Gozitans of all academic back- grounds and levels, and of all ages – from grandchildren to grandpar- ents – is coordinated and executed by Esplora, the National Interactive Science Centre in Kalkara that welcomes an annual influx of over 200,000 visitors. As a Government Agency with the responsibility for its running, Xjenza Malta will now have boundless possibilities to take what is currently on offer at Esplora to new heights, making it more than ever a must-visit for Maltese and foreigners alike. The past eighteen months have been exciting, to say the least, but surely fruitful and productive. We now look forward to move ahead at increased rhythms, speeding up and strengthening our technical, financial and supportive presence in the field, using all the resources that we now enjoy for the benefit of the Research, Innovation and Space sectors. We will continue to increase our investment in the number and type of exhibitions that the public has learnt to enjoy and appreciate at Esplora. The future looks bright for our contributions to the whole scientific spectrum and to living up to our new name, Xjenza Malta (Science Malta), having ownership and responsibility for all things science in Malta. Mother and daughter mesmerised by an exhibit at Esplora Sun-and-fun with water experiment Award' for administration of public funds.