Gonzi calls for children's science park based on Amsterdam's 'Nemo'
Pullicino Orlando becomes MCST chairman
An interactive science museum for children will be set up in Malta within the Sciences Park in San Gwann by the end of the legislature, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning.
Speaking during a visit to the Malta Council for Science and Technology, Dr Gonzi said he had been to Nemo - Amsterdam's interactive museum for children and he wanted a similar structure in Malta.
This, he said, would be a place which would expose children to science through a hands on experience.
The Prime Minister said he had taken the strategic decision to put research and innovation at the heart of the government's work. This would also clearly be a pillar of the EU's 2020 strategy.
Although the European innovation scoreboard put Malta as one of the countries to most register progress, Dr Gonzi said, it was still towards the bottom of the list and more needed to be done.
He said that a unit focusing on development was to be set up in Castille in the coming weeks.
MCST CEO Nicholas Sammut said that the council was this year getting a budget of €700,000 from the government, double last year's allocation. It had also managed to increase this sum through EU funds and it had had about €2 million for research.
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who was approved chairman of MCST last Monday, said there were big opportunities for cooperation between Malta and other countries.