Canadian chair in Island Studies

As from July, Professor Godfrey Baldacchino has taken up the Canada Research Chair in Island Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Professor Baldacchino served as Director and Research Officer of the Workers' Development Centre and lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Malta.

Particularly well known for his work in labour relations, human resource management, worker participation, adult education and social policy, he is enthusiastically involved in empirical research on Island Studies. As a visiting lecturer, Professor Baldacchino has taught in tertiary education institutions in Barbados, Crete, Iceland, Seychelles, Fiji, Mauritius and Prince Edward Island, Canada. His fieldwork has been published in internationally refereed journals and books and he has authored six books and co-edited another nine exploring human resources and development prospects in island settings.

Professor Baldacchino's new position will give him the chance to explore the many aspects of island development. Over the term of his appointment he will be directing, anchoring and promoting a broad range of island studies initiatives. Among these will be the definition and exploration of issues related to the sustainability of small island societies from economic, jurisdictional, environmental, literary, human resource and cultural vantage points.

Professor Baldacchino will lead projects on small scale manufacturing strategy, labour and industrial relations, population density, and island identities. He will also bring other researchers together and build on existing collaborative efforts within the Institute of Island Studies on such themes as jurisdictional capacity, transportation considerations, marketing knowledge-based services and sustainable tourism practices.

As a result of his work, Professor Baldacchino plans to publish a definitive volume introducing the discipline of Island Studies. He also aims to launch the International Journal of Island Studies, which will become the flagship of comparative island oeuvres.