Malta trying to attract CERN
Lack of financial resources are a challenge
The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) is looking into the possibility of carrying out research in Malta.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday he had met with senior officials from the reputable centre to explore the possibility and the indications were positive.
He said one of the challenges was the lack of financial resources, which the government was trying to increase, but insisted that the private sector needed to get more involved in research.
It was a shame, he said, that there were not enough resources in the sector and students who wanted to specialise had to continue their studies abroad.
The Switzerland-based centre was at the centre of international media attention earlier this year as it prepared to carry out one of the most groundbreaking experiments in scientific history, which seeks to recreate the Big Bang - believed to be the event that caused the beginning of the universe - by crashing protons together at high speed.
Maltese scientist Nicholas Sammut, who had played a key role in the project, now chairs the Council for Science and Technology, which is trying to attract CERN to Malta.