“The Microsoft Innovation Centre is living up to its commitment to act as a catalyst, bridging the gap and bringing Microsoft and IT specialists and business entrepreneurs in Malta closer. Over the past year, it hosted over 40 events, with the participation of nearly 4,000 students, 500 developers and 20 user group events. It also trained over 2,000 teachers and saw the start of 35 startups,” said Adrianna Zammit, country manager for Microsoft Malta and Cyprus at the Skyparks business centre in Luqa.
“Having this centre in Malta is not only a milestone for Microsoft Malta but also an achievement for the country in its quest to further establish the IT sector as a main driving force of the economy. The significance of this milestone is further enhanced when one takes into consideration that there are only 110 MICs in 40 countries.”
MIC has been hosting countless activities focused on supporting the community, such as practical, hands-on, technical training and certifications, housing and mentoring new startup business and business courses for students to learn the importance of business values and concepts.
The centre has been working closely with specific business partners to continue supporting the community and success of this initiative. In fact, it is supported by some outstanding partners that include BMIT, Go, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Demajo Group, Newtech and the University of Malta.
“A lot of work has been done within the local educational infrastructure to bring students in line with the modern demands of today’s technological environment. Never as much as today have local students been exposed to IT and all its advantages. But there is so much potential in this area, as IT is a fast-paced industry,” Ms Zammit added.
“One particular important achievement was seeing 35 IT startups registering to our startup programme. This means over €1 million worth of software licences, another €1 million worth of hosting services and more than 1,000 hours of startup meetings hosted at the MIC premises. Bridging the gap between academia and industry is our second focus area. In this regard, five coding and entrepreneurship competitions, student internships and a number of training sessions were hosted, whereby IT and business students obtained first-hand experience on the challenges faced in transforming an idea into a product and eventually presenting it to a wider audience.”
MIC business development manager Edward Portelli talked about future plans, saying that the MIC team would be focusing on events targeting entrepreneurs. “I believe there aren’t enough opportunities in Malta for entrepreneurs to network and share ideas. We are also working to register the centre as a non-profit organisation. This will allow us to explore new partnerships and services towards the local IT community. We are also leveraging the team at Microsoft Ventures to connect local startups with Accelerators and Venture Capital funding. I am positive that this year we will see the fruits of this initiative,” he said.