The University of Malta does not have the budget to take part in any more EU-funded research projects, said the head of the university's European Unit, Joseph Mifsud.
"We will reach saturation point at the end of the year. We have the expertise to take on more projects, but not the money," said Dr Mifsud, whose unit oversees applications for EU research funds.
Academics and students have long complained that the cash-strapped university has reached a point where facilities and research were suffering and not even important journals could be bought for the library.
Now it appears that the latest victim of the lack of financial resources is participation in EU-funded research, which still requires some monetary input. "Seed money" is needed to set up the project and participating entities, usually from several European countries, then need to match at least some of the EU funds in the running of a project.
"A lot of our people are already taken up in current projects, but the University of Malta is not in a position to employ more people. Other universities buy in support for projects in terms of human resources," added Dr Mifsud.
When asked about the matter, Education Minister Louis Galea said he recognised that the university needed a "sounder and more consistent flow of finances" to continue to develop its research capabilities.
"I am also aware of the excellent work that a number of centres at the university already do.
"I hope that the eventual policy and strategy decided upon following the discussion of the higher education funding report will result in a stronger financial base for the university to enable it to widen its participation in research programmes in Malta and the EU," said Dr Galea.
A task force headed by Roderick Chalmers has drawn up a report on higher education funding that will form the basis of a national discussion on the issue.
Still, it is highly ironic that Malta's university has an excellent record of participation in EU research projects, most of which got underway in the pre-accession period, but now that the country has joined the Union its budget for such purposes has run dry.
"Our university has been doing far better than any university from the new EU states in terms of participation in the Union's research programmes," said Dr Mifsud.
"We have the expertise to take part in most programmes and we are sought after as partners. But with no seed money or co-funding money...
"Most of the projects run for three years. We are still operating on a pre-EU budget. If we are given a post-EU project budget we can do much more. We could invest, for example, Lm20,000 in a project that would earn us Lm80,000 or more. But we can't even come up with that amount. Unless there is a proper research fund for EU programmes, we cannot take on any more projects.
"The university's research budget is very low. The university is crying out for more money to do research. All faculties and institutes want to be involved in these projects. Internationalisation, after all, is part of the university's mission statement and strategic plan," said Dr Mifsud.