University of Malta Rector Juanito Camilleri has appealed to the government, the social partners, industry and all Maltese to invest “much more” in the university.

Speaking at the opening of the new academic year, he said the university had identified projects which require a capital investment of about €240 million over the next decade.

 “Although we are living at a time of global economic crisis, I believe that the best way to prepare ourselves is through excellent tertiary education, research and innovation,” Prof. Camilleri said during his speech to mark the beginning of the year.

While the university was currently carrying out various projects, there were others in the pipeline, he explained.

These included  the restoration of the Valletta campus, the building of a new medical school to house the Faculties of Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery and Dentistry and the construction of a university residence close to the Msida campus.

As he welcomed new local and international students, Prof. Camilleri encouraged them to dream and work hard to realise those dreams that would make Malta a better place.

Over 3,305 new students start university this week, known as Freshers’ Week. Over 2,394 students are taking undergraduate courses while 911 are reading for postgraduate degrees. There are 594 international students from 78 countries.

The total number of students who will be attending the university is 11,063 – 6,427 of whom are women.