Kurt Sansone
University appeals for private donations to new research fund
After 450 years of existence and with no assets to its name, the University of Malta yesterday took a historic step in establishing a trust fund to be used primarily for research purposes.
The University of Malta Research, Innovation and Development Trust will start with an initial capital of €500,000 invested by the government.
The instruments creating the fund were signed by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and University Rector Juanito Camilleri during a ceremony at the Auberge de Castille, yesterday.
Prof. Camilleri explained that the University had no assets or reserves of its own and it only managed to generate 15 per cent of its income, mostly from fees paid by foreign students.
The remaining funds to finance the University’s operations came from government contributions.
The trust fund, he said, would help the University accumulate reserves to enable it to invest in research and sustain expenditure if circumstances led to a situation where government cut its funding.
Individuals and companies are being asked to donate money to the trust fund either by earmarking their donations for specific projects or allowing the board of trustees to manage the funds. Donations may also include property.
Donations to the fund will be tax deductible.
Dr Gonzi said there was an urgent need for the country to give more importance to research and to encourage graduates to remain in Malta, contributing to the economy and the community.
The purpose of the university was not only to prepare graduates but also to carry out research that benefited society, Dr Gonzi said.
In a Eurobarometer survey published in February, Malta emerged as performing below EU average in innovation, with its main weaknesses being a shortage of qualified human resources and low levels of public and private investment in research and development.
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Mr Marco Cremona
Apr 20th 2011, 08:35
Great initiative. Malta has an inherent ability for innovation because it was the only way for us to survive in a very hostile environment (the Mediterranean) with continuously shifting cultures, rulers and without any natural resource to fall on.
However the University must move away from falling into the trap of doing research for the sake of research. I'm not an academic - but in my view It is useless producing/publishing papers simply to elevate one's personal profile without being able to convert that knowledge into something that will benefit the local community in the first instance, and the international community thereafter.
Research for the sake of research will not attract the interest (and financial contributions) of industry. However, industry will put money in projects that have the potential to solve industry's many problems, including competitivity and environmental compliance. We have 'imported' the whole lot of EU regulation, but our economies of scale do not allow us to import the solutions lock stock and barrel. We must be smart enough to choose what works best for us, adapt the concept to our application and then re-export the tailored solution to specific markets.
Moreover, we cannot undertake high-end (CERN-like) research. We simply do not have the equipment and people to do this kind of thing and in my view it is a mistake for the University to invest millions of euro in such equipment. It is much better to channel these funds into small concept projects where the emphasis is on the innovation/ingenuity of the idea rather than on 'perfecting the technology'.
For example, the EU is a laggard where it comes to water conservation technologies - because it has not yet experienced severe droughts. The development of simple water conservation/water management gadgets is within our reach (indeed the world leaders in this field are small countries like Singapore and Israel) and we can become centres of excellence in this relatively untapped market. And you don't need millions of euro in research equipment; you need common sense.