The Institute of Engineering and Transport (IET) at the Malta College of Arts, Science, and Technology (MCAST) has obtained an associate membership with ALICE at CERN which is the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, founded in 1954, located at the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva.

ALICE is a detector dedicated to heavy-ion physics at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It is designed to study the physics of strongly interacting matter at extreme energy densities, where a phase of matter called quark-gluon plasma forms. The ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) collaboration involves a huge collaborative effort, consisting of 2000 scientists from 174 physics institutes in 40 countries.

The collaboration agreement was formalized on 15 March 2024, through the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by MCAST Principal and CEO Professor Joachim James Calleja, Director at the Institute of Engineering and Transport (IET) Ing Stephen Sammut and Spokesperson of the ALICE project Dr Marco Van Leeuwen.

Speaking during the signing event Professor Calleja said, “This newly formed collaboration will enhance MCAST’s research efforts in the realms of Engineering. It is an agreement that will also benefit our students through the offering of joint international study efforts which will help them become industry-recognised warranted Engineers in their future careers.”

The MCAST team for the ALICE project is coordinated by Ing Stephen Sammut and currently comprises three academics working at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Deputy Director in charge Ing Carolina Sofia), namely, Dr Inġ. Stephen Sammut, Dr Inġ. Jeremy Scerri, Dr Inġ. Kevin Theuma and Dr Inġ. Joseph A. Zammit.

The MCAST team is currently working on several projects, including the High Momentum Particle Identification Detector (HMPID) Project and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Interface Project. The MCAST academics are working to expand research in this field as the collaboration with CERN advances.

This collaborative agreement will also provide opportunities for MCAST students to carry out research projects supported by CERN through the provision of their labs and expertise.

Prospective applicants willing to join and follow courses at MCAST’s Institute of Engineering and Transport (IET) are requested to follow this link, to gain more information about Engineering courses on offer, eligibility criteria, and application procedures.