Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1531391
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JANUARY 2025 7 COMMERCIAL Issue of the second ESA PECS call for Malta ON the 8 January 2025, the European Space Agency (ESA) opened the second PECS call for tenders for Malta, a call which is open to the local pri- vate and public sectors, and to academic institutions, for them to be able to conduct re- search and development activ- ities related to Space. The Plan for a European Cooperating State (PECS) agreement is a five-year plan, put together by ESA and Xjenza Malta to cater for the needs of Malta to devel- op a Space sector based on the country's capacity. These tenders allow local stakeholders to submit project proposals to conduct research in the various sectors of Space, namely Space Upstream, Space Downstream and Space Edu- cation. In each call, the ESA establishes several criteria that are adapted to ensure the necessary growth and develop- ment of a local Space ecosys- tem. One of the main advantages of PECS is that it acts as an incu- bator for domestic stakehold- ers to compete for ESA tenders on a national level. This guar- antees that local contenders can bid for tenders without having to compete with com- panies and institutions from other European countries, who have more experience and re- sources. Local stakeholders are able to form collaborations with other domestic partners, and with foreign counterparts who are able to contribute to- wards the project as subcon- tractors. In this second PECS call, researchers from the pri- vate and public sectors, and from academia, are encour- aged to submit proposals by applying through the ESA Star registration platform. More information about the call cri- teria can be found on the ESA Star platform and on the Xjen- za Malta website. This call will remain open until 13.00 of the 19 February 2025. For more in- formation about the call, please contact the Space Unit at Xjen- za Malta on space.xjenzamal- ta@gov.mt APS Bank colleagues share insights at important events and publications APS Bank colleagues shared their expertise in various prominent, local and international forums. Their contributions covered key topics such as mental health, digital resilience, artificial intel- ligence, and compliance. Some speaker engagement and publi- cation highlights from November and December 2024 included: Ray Bonnici, Chief People Of- ficer, participated in a panel dis- cussion on Mental Health in the Workplace. The event was organ- ised by bBrave, the first local an- ti-bullying NGO, as part of Mal- ta's National Anti-Bullying Week. The conference, titled "A Health- ier Economy – An Anti-Bullying Perspective", focused on promot- ing mental well-being in profes- sional settings. Rodney Naudi, Head of Opera- tional Resilience, participated in a panel discussion at The Times of Malta Business Breakfast, on "The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA): Building Digital Resil- ience - Are You Prepared?" Rod- ney also represented the Bank in a panel discussion at a workshop organised by the Malta Bankers Association and the Malta Cham- ber. The focus of this workshop was on the impact of DORA on banks' third-party service provid- ers and the importance of getting this aspect right. Ronald Psalia, Head of Business Solutions, participated in a panel discussion at "PwC Malta's Next- Gen AI: Transforming Business Models for the Future." Ronald focused on the current and future applications of AI in the banking industry. He discussed how AI is expected to transform the sector in the coming years, providing ex- amples of its potential to enhance daily operations and improve de- cision-making processes. Cynthia Borg, Head of Financial Crime Compliance and MLRO, moderated the panel discussion "Mastering Sanctions Compli- ance: Tools, Tactics, and Trends" at the AML & FINCRIME Tech Forum in London, organised by FinTech Global. The discussion addressed the complexities of global sanctions regimes and the challenges they create for financial institutions. Emphasis was placed on the need for a combination of automated technologies, especial- ly machine learning, and human oversight in sanctions screening to ensure accurate compliance. Richard Scerri, Head of Internal Audit, delivered a presentation at the Head of Internal Audit Round Table forum. This practitioners' forum, organised by Deloitte, brought together Chief Auditors and Heads of Internal Audit from across Malta. His presentation was titled "The Impact of Risk Culture and the Maturity of the Board of Directors/Audit Com- mittee." Etienne Vella, Senior Internal Audit Manager, participated in the BDO Malta Internal Audit Forum, which focused on the theme: "Internal Audit: Compli- ance Routine or Driving Value?" He contributed to a panel discus- sion titled "Leveraging Internal Audit Insights for Strategic Value Creation." During this discussion, he shared insights on how organ- isations can use information from Internal Audit to drive strategic decisions and enhance overall business value. Carlo Del Buono, Risk Manag- er at ReAPS, contributed to the report titled "BEYOND GDP II: Third Country Nationals in Malta - Sharing Our Economic Future or Serving Labour Market Interests?" This report aims to provide an objective overview of the roles of third-country nationals in Malta, examining their economic contri- butions to the local economy and the support that Malta's econom- ic and social systems provide to them. He was specifically selected by the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Archdiocese of Malta for this important work. Elaine Calleja, Head of Career Development, remarked, "These opportunities demonstrate our commitment to contributing knowledge and fostering col- laboration across our industry. Through these engagements, APS Bank continues to influence meaningful conversations that shape the financial sector's fu- ture."