Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/817563
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 APRIL 2017 X Careers How do you ensure the faculty can keep up with the fast-paced and competitive world of ICT services today? The Faculty of ICT at the Uni- versity of Malta is a main player in the ICT educational sector. The Faulty recognises the dy- namic nature of the modern ICT landscape, both nationally and internationally, and ensures that all its lecturers keep abreast with the latest and most cutting edge science and technology through their respective internationally peer-reviewed research effort. One should note, that all of the lecturing cadre at the Fac- ulty either holds doctoral level qualification or is in the process of obtaining it. From a relevance perspective, the Faculty main- tains many ties with local indus- try and social partners through various modes of interaction and collaboration, for example pro- ject proposals, student awards, internships, class participation, etc. The Faculty also invites comments from various external stakeholders whenever it reviews its courses. Do you give your students the opportunity to experience the world of ICT first-hand and not only through classroom based lectures? Most of our students seek this sort of exposure. Most, if not all students, from day one, have ties with or exposure to ICT sector players. The Faculty urges students to take on sum- mer internship duties and for this reason maintains a list of partners who are willing to offer local internships. The Faculty also uses international on-line portals to make students aware of internship opportunities abroad. Furthermore, as a service to its local industry partners, the Faculty offers the opportunity for partners to come and speak to students on campus or invite them on their premises for meet- ings and presentations. Various high-profile ICT indus- try speakers are regularly invited to deliver talks and seminars to students during and out of lecturing hours. From time to time, and according to prevail- ing possibilities and agreements, we also offer opportunities to our students to follow short courses abroad at various well- established companies. A case in question was the very recent two-week course and visit that some of our postgraduate students followed with Huaweii China, in China. In recent years, Malta's ICT industry went through a period of consolidation that resulted in an impressive expansion of the sector. How do you think Malta's educational system can compete with international ones? Naturally, I cannot speak for the whole Maltese educational system. However, at the Faculty of ICT of the University of Malta, we pride ourselves in producing graduates that are not "trained" but "taught". What this means is that we try to instil fundamen- tal knowledge and skills in our graduates pertaining to the gen- eral sector of ICT they choose to obtain a degree in. We strongly believe that having a good portion of the Maltese workforce made up of people who have enough fundamen- tal scientific and technologi- cal acumen to allow them to quickly adapt and grow with the changing tempo of the ICT and general digital sector, gives Malta a sound competitive edge at par with other countries. I cannot not mention the fact that when- ever and wherever our students have participated in interna- tional projects and fora, they have invariably emerged with the highest awards and acclama- tion. We encourage our students to understand and feel that in the ICT sector and with today's ever-growing technological base, the only limit to what can be achieved is one's self. Can you give us some more information regarding the different courses offered by the ICT faculty? Will you be introducing any new courses for the next academic year 2017/2018? The Faculty already offers five separate undergraduate degree programmes that cover the broad spectrum of ICT. These are the areas of Artificial Intel- ligence, Communications and Computer Engineering, Comput- ing and Business, Computing Science, and Software Develop- ment. So, as can possibly be gleaned from the names of these programmes, these range from the most hardware and physi- cal aspects to the most applica- tive and work-process oriented aspects of the industry. One must also remember that the current ICT job market is now feeling the need for ICT professionals who have targeted specialisation knowledge and skills in one or the other ICT areas of business. One need just mention boom areas such as iGaming, com- munications, mobile solutions, Cloud technology-based systems, etc. Therefore, many employers are now moving very quickly and resolutely towards the engage- ment of graduates with speciali- sation degrees such as Master de- grees. In this respect, the Faculty of ICT offers a number of Master programmes targeting specific area of growth within the ICT industrial landscape. The Faculty of ICT has, by comparison with foreign, and even several local establishments, quite a restricted resource availability, subject to financial realities. The Faculty, therefore, seeks to implement its plans and projections at a sustainable pace. Postgraduate Courses on o er at the Faculty of ICT ict@um.edu.mt 2340 3529 www.um.edu.mt/ict I M.Sc. in Human Language Science and Technology I M.Sc. in Artificial Intelligence I M.Sc. in Computer Science I M.Sc. ICT - Computer Information Systems I M.Sc. ICT - Microelectronics and Microsystems I M.Sc. ICT - Telecommunications I M.Sc. in Artificial Intelligence by Research* I M.Sc. in Computing Science by Research* I M.Sc. in Computer Information Systems by Research* I M.Sc. in Communications and Computer Engineering by Research* I M.Sc. in Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics* Degree applicable only to holders of qualifications satisfying specific conditions * Some of these master degrees can be o• ered either on a full-time or on a part-time basis. Graduates who are 'taught, not trained'