This month, Malta is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone at the main campus of the University of Malta in Msida (known as Tal-Qroqq).

It was laid on September 22, 1964 by Duncan Sandys, the then Commonwealth Secretary.

One may well wonder where would we be today if there had not been the foresight and vision of statesman George Borg Olivier in preparing the Maltese for the upcoming developments which these islands went through along the years after attaining  independence.

The total area of the Msida campus at the time was 194,452 square metres. The University included the Valletta Campus in the Old University building and the Gozo Campus.

The foundation stone ceremony at Tal-Qroqq came a day after Malta became independent on September 21, 1964.

Thousands of graduates have emerged from the University of Malta who are essentially the backbone of today’s economy. One could also point out how, throughout the years, hundreds of Maltese graduates scattered and successfully settled around the world.

The University of Malta traces its origins to the founding of Collegium Melitense on November 12, 1592, through direct papal intervention. History tells us that during the short French ‘interregnum’, Napoleon abolished the University when he landed in Malta on June 18, 1798.

After the French were expelled from the islands, Sir Alexander Ball reinstituted the University and Canon F.X. Caruana had been appointed rector in recognition of his services during the uprising against the French.

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