The Malta College of Arts, Science, and Technology (MCAST) anticipates a positive new year ahead after experiencing a successful year. The relentless efforts of staff and students across all institutes and departments have contributed to these positive outcomes in 2023.

In 2023, MCAST welcomed the newly established ‘MCAST Act’, which ensures that the College operates with more autonomy and increased representation by all stakeholders. MCAST is the first local tertiary educational institution with its legal act independent from the act governing education in Malta. This new law ensures that the College can continue growing as a tertiary-level educational institution that provides equal opportunity to all individuals. The recently held elections for student and staff representatives are essential to ensure wide representation and participation in decision-making.

At the start of the year, the Institute of Community Services (ICS) organised a two-day national sports symposium. The symposium “Challenging the Status Quo: Inspiring a Legacy Beyond the 2023 Major Sports Events” brought together key international speakers, academics, and students working together to challenge the status quo within the sports sector.

This year, MCAST earned the National Equality Mark, a certification given to entities that demonstrate a commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming work environment for people of all backgrounds and genders. The College is the first post-secondary educational institution to gain the Equality Mark.

Another highlight this year was the campaign with the theme, ‘Our Nurses. Our Future’. The event held by MCAST’s Institute of Applied Sciences was held to celebrate ‘International Nurses’ Day’, aimed to put the nursing profession in the spotlight by recognising the work being done by nurses within the healthcare industry and looking at ways by which policymakers could strengthen health systems to address growing global health demands.

The Open Day events and outreach activities with students and guidance professionals organised by the College proved to be a success, with hundreds of visitors enthusiastically attending the highly anticipated student-centred events, seeking information about education and training opportunities.

This year’s MCAST ICA Festival and Fashion Show was the perfect platform for students following courses at the Institute of Creative Arts (ICA) to embrace their most expressive, eccentric sides and freely express themselves. Both initiatives attracted many local artists, creative practitioners, and alumni.

Moreover, the College and the Institute of Business, Management, and Commerce (IBMC) held the 2023 IBMC Fexserv Awards and the Career EXPO. The events brought academic staff and industry partners together to encourage networking.

Working with industry is a priority, and the Encounter series of talks continued throughout the year. The conference’ Quality Apprenticeship – Are We There?‘ focused on the importance of apprenticeships to students, employers, and the local industry. Industry partners, key international speakers, students, and academics attended the conference. The event acted as a platform whereby different stakeholders came together to reflect on the current practices governing local apprenticeships and propose new takes to improve the apprenticeship experience for students.

MCAST is proud of all the achievements obtained by students and alumni. This year, the first certifications related to the Engineering Pre Warrant Qualification Course (PWQC) were awarded to 29 MCAST alumni who had taken engineering courses at the College’s Institute of Engineering and Transport (IET). These alumni were the first cohort of MCAST Engineering students who will be obtaining their fully recognised Engineering warrant.

Moreover, a team of MCAST students following courses at the Institute of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) secured 4th place in the playoffs while competing against another 140 nations in Singapore’s international FIRST Global Robotics Competition.

This year, around 93 participants between 13 and 16 years of age followed the Teens Summer Camp, an initiative organised by the College and MG2I – MCAST’s Gateway to Industry, which aimed to expose participants to various educational areas, helping them make informed decisions when choosing their next learning and career journeys.

Held in August 2023, the College hosted, for the first time, the arts festival production titled, ‘KampuSajf’, a production that served as a new and enriching experience for College students and staff, especially those studying and working within the creative arena. It also attracted new visitors to the campus.

In 2023, admissions increased, and more students chose MCAST as their place to continue their studies. Every Institute increased its application intake over 2022, now receiving an average of 1,500 applicants in each Institute. A significant increase in applications is evidenced in ICT-related subjects. Worth mentioning is that the rise in the number of female full-time applications in STEM-related institutes was higher compared to the increase of male full-time applicants. Such attraction to MCAST results from more than 200 Education and Training full-time programmes and the closer links between formal education and work experiences. As the academic year commenced, the College hosted over 160 organisations during the MCAST Freshers, a vibrant yearly event where students met employers, learned more about career opportunities, discovered the campus, and met their lecturers.

In November, a total of 2,412 students graduated from the College in diverse study areas. Around 528 students graduated at Master’s and Bachelor’s levels, while 776 and 91 students have completed Diplomas at levels 4 and 5. At levels 1, 2, and 3, another 987 students completed their studies. MCAST is proud and celebrates students’ determination and success.

In a bid to connect and encourage cultural exchange this year, MCAST and MG2I – MCAST’s Gateway to Industry inaugurated the opening of the new Zheng He Traditional Chinese Medicine Education Centre on campus in Paola. The new Centre will operate under MCAST’s Institute of Community Services (ICS), and two modules linked to traditional Chinese medicine practices have been developed. They will be offered to prospective students during the first quarter of 2024.

Throughout the year, several collaborative agreements were established between MCAST and various institutions, including MCST, Teatru Malta, the National Skills Council, Temasek Polytechnic, the Western Regional Council, and the European University Alliance, which will help in prioritising crucial sectors, namely,  research and innovation, training, and creating student learning opportunities. These agreements give MCAST students more opportunities to experience work related to their courses and chosen career paths.

As part of the College’s drive to foster more research projects to bring results that can be applied in an industry setting successfully, two research initiatives, namely the 2nd edition of the Qualitative Research Conference and the 5th edition of the MCAST Research EXPO, were held in December 2023. Both research initiatives brought together local academics, students, international academics, industry partners, and key international speakers to discuss and present research-evidenced solutions to enhance the well-being and development of the local industry and population.

As of this year, administrative workers at the College will benefit from an improved financial package, better progression opportunities, and improved flexi-time benefits thanks to a new collective agreement agreed with Union Ħaddiema Maqgħudin (UHM).

For more detailed information on news and activities at MCAST, follow the news section on our website and our social media channels. College initiatives are also covered extensively in our MCASTlink quarterly publications.

As a community college, MCAST looks forward to continued success in 2024, filled with more achievements, student success, collaborations, and enhanced educational opportunities for all.