The University of Malta should look beyond European mechanisms and towards the United States, Latin America, Asia and the Gulf to attract funding for itself, according to the new chancellor, David Attard.

“I am looking into expanding links beyond Europe. We should develop courses that attract foreigners, especially American, Chinese, Indian and Japanese,” Prof. Attard said.

It is not the first time either he or University rector Juanito Camilleri have spoken about tapping alternative funding and doing away with total dependence on the state for financing.

In a report published last year, entitled 2020: Vision Or Optical Illusion?, Prof. Camilleri said unless addressed, a number of issues would hamper the development of the University and the biggest challenge of all, in his view, was financing.

The University generates about 15 per cent of its revenue. Maintaining or improving it would require a significant effort to create new lines of revenue, according to the rector.

Independent revenue is mainly generated by fees charged to international students, of whom the University hosts 800. But Prof. Attard believes Malta can attract more foreign fee-paying students by developing niche areas.

“There are a lot of areas where we have tremendous academic excellence. These include maritime affairs, maritime law, Mediterranean studies and climate change studies. I am working towards setting up a Caravaggio studies programme,” he said.

He believes distinguished American universities offering Mediterranean history or Mediterranean affairs courses would be interested in sending students to a stable peaceful country in the middle of the Mediterranean.

Apart from creating niche areas and programmes to attract fee-paying students, the University is considering developing research programmes that would interest international foundations.

This is where a new trust fund, set up last year, will come in. “My experience of foreign institution funding is that these entities prefer to invest in academic institutions rather than government authorities. The trust fund is an autonomous institution with its own trustees, which would attract funding from international research foundations. The government has committed itself to deposit €500,000 as seed capital. The attracted income will go directly to the trust fund and not to the government or the University,” Prof. Attard said.

Usually, such trust funds become so wealthy they would be able to supplement certain funding of the University, he added.

Malta’s first trust fund was the brainchild of Prof. Camilleri, who said in his report: “The setting up of the University of Malta Trust Fund for Research, Development and Innovation and the updating of legislation to allow tax incentives for donors is a crucial step forward.”

As a student, Prof. Attard set up the first Mediterranean university students’ meeting. His interest in Mediterranean studies was instilled by former rector Fr Peter Serracino Inglott, together with whom he wrote a document titled Towards A Mediterranean Consciousness back in 1970s.

Despite his love for the Mediterranean, he wants to go beyond. “I would like to see this University as a global campus. We are situated between two great continents. We’re surrounded by conflict and diversity but the island is stable.

“Although there are already a lot of well-established Mediterranean studies programmes in the US with great centres of learning, they are as far away as you can get from the Mediterranean,” he said.

He insists Malta has winning features and comparative advantages in a region spanning from the Maghreb to North Italy. The English-speaking University, bang in the centre of the Mediterranean, is safe, relatively inexpensive and boasts a friendly population.

“What’s left is promotion, promotion and promotion,” he said.

Malta has already seen great interest from the Kuwaiti government in training doctors here, which proved there were interesting opportunities for international students to study on the island, Prof. Attard said.

Prior to 1988, the head of state was also University chancellor. A new law provided for the appointment of the most senior University official by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister after consulting the Opposition Leader.

The chancellor is the highest ranking University officer. He signs the enforcement of statutes and regulations, which are then published in the Government Gazette.

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