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MT 5 March 2017

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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 MARCH 2017 42 Information Technology As part of MITA's outreach towards students who are interested in pursuing a career in In- formation Technology, a study unit is being delivered, where students are given an in- sight of what it means to work in the IT indus- try. We have spoken to MITA's coordinator of the unit, Daniela Chetcuti who gave us an overview of the unit. The Dean of the Faculty of Economy, Management and Accountancy (FEMA), Professor Frank Bezzina, together with Assistant Lecturer, Dr Vincent-Anthony Marmara gave us their views about this unit and their collaboration with MITA. Andrea Mallia also gave us her feedback as a student who attended for this module. Daniela Chetcuti What is the name of the study unit that is being delivered by MITA? What does it consist of? The name of the module is "ICT Industry In- sights". This module exposes students to the industry, rather than the academic part. It is being delivered by MITA experts who tackle particular topics during every session. They are first exposed to Government's strategy about technology, they are given an expla- nation about the reasons why a strategy is formulated, by whom is it drafted and the dif- ferent roles played by Government and MITA. They are also introduced to Project Manage- ment because MITA's work is based on pro- jects. This is not only the situation in MITA but also in the industry in general which also implements projects. To have a project man- ager explaining what it feels like in the in- dustry helps to provide a student with a more tangible experience that compliments the academic aspect learnt in the previous years. How important is this study unit for MITA and what are its main goals? This study unit is very important for MITA as it helps to prepare students to be in tune with what the industry requires. Our remit is to in- clude technology in both education and the industry. It is therefore important that there is a bridge between what the industry needs and the skills turning out from University and other educational institutions. It is important for us because we are trying to shape what we know and deliver it to stu- dents. Our goal is to use our ways to prepare students for their careers. In fact, through other projects we also try to expose students to the work environment both during sum- mer and winter. In this way, they can get ac- customed to the office environment and to the conversations they have with their col- leagues. It is important for them to feel what it is like as it is completely different from when you leave school. The way you discuss with your colleagues is different from when you talk to other students. Therefore, it is important that students are exposed to how they should behave and communicate when entering an office environment. As a study unit, is it required for students to proceed with their studies as part of their degree? Yes, it is a compulsory module. Students have to pass this module to progress to the next level. From this year, the module will al- so be offered to the Faculty of ICT as MITA op- erates in this sector and it is important for us to be in contact with students from this fac- ulty. For this purpose we have extended this study unit, although our principal collabora- tion will continue to be with FEMA. Students from the Faculty of ICT who wish to choose this unit can select this unit as an elective module and attend with students from FEMA. How are students assessed during this unit? As we already explained, our main goal is to expose these students to the industry. There- fore, we wanted to reflect this also in our assessment. The assessment is divided into three parts. Each student needs to prepare a presentation on a case study presented on different modules. Students are allowed to work in groups but we check that every stu- dent contributes in the preparation and ex- ecution of the presentation. We present them with a boardroom set-up and a real case study where the project manager presents an actual project to see how the students follow the steps that were previously taught during class. All the class is present during the presentation and permitted to ask ques- tions to the presenters. It is a very profes- sional assessment where students also need to come wearing their professional attire. In itself, this presentation involves a lot of work and maybe it was not given enough weight in the assessment. In fact, this year we have amended its weight. Another task for the students is divided into two sub-tasks. The first task is to formulate a reflective summary of all the modules within the study. However, we pretend a seamless combination of these modules and how they are applied within MITA or any other organi- sation, rather than just a summary in isola- tion. In the other task, students are presented with a case-study that includes modules from the unit and from which they need to prepare a project initiation document. They are given a scenario where the Executive Chairman or the Minister sends them a request for a par- ticular task through this case study and they have to present their document on how to implement the project. On the latter two tasks, the work has to be done individually. However, students have expressed more difficulty in the presenta- tion. The fact that they had to present in front of such an audience might have affected them phsycologically and caused them to be stressed. However, they all did well as they took the task very seriously and presented themselves in a very professional manner. This is the third running of the study unit and I am very happy with the result we had in the previous two years. As an organisation within the IT industry, how does MITA deliver lectures in this module? The delivery of this module is given through MITA experts who apart from delivering these lectures and working with Government, they also have a variety of clients from the private sector. Lessons are not only delivered at Uni- versity. In fact, we have taken our students to MITA's Data Centre where apart from deliv- ering the lecture about emerging technolo- gies, we have also given them a tour of the data centre, the call centre and the server room where they could observe the infra- structure. I must say they were all in awe and it showed how much this works. Student comments were positive and I think that it is important to expose students to the environ- ment which they are not accustomed to as somehow it helps them to learn and take a lot more out of it. Regarding the content of our lectures, it is based on real content. We are not lecturers and neither academics. Students get their academic content from their professors at University. We try to complement by provid- ing a practical insight to what they are being taught. What type of business situations are students exposed to? We expose them to several projects such as software lifecycle management where a project manager takes care of a particular software development project and another project management like the implementa- tion of whiteboards in schools. They get to know how this came about, the coordination of the logistic part with schools, the relevant training that was given and the processes of project management itself such as stake- holder management. Students are given a walk through all of the process. In this way, they can learn about the particular tangible process. Does this study unit expose students to advances in technology? Every year, we revise our subjects accord- ing to the changes in technology. For exam- ple, in the last year MITA has launched the National Strategy on Cyber Security and the Government Strategy on Mobile Apps. We are also introducing those subjects in the lec- tures. You cannot work in a vacuum and you must keep abreast with the latest technolo- gies that emerge. We have a module about emerging tech- nologies so in itself it requests that we ex- pose students to what is emerging. Be sure that students themselves let you know if you teach them about any technologies that are outdated. Last year we worked on a subject about application development. This year we will be having a topic about this devel- opment and why it is being implemented in government. MELVIN FARRUGIA MITA Social Media, PR & Communications Executive Providing students with an insight Student Andrea Mallia with Daniela Chetcuti, Prof Frank Zammit and Dr Vincent-Anthony Marmara

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