Just a couple of weeks after Malta’s first Creative Student Showcase awards, ICE Malta founder and director James Abela explains how the institute strives to achieve ICT excellence among its students.
When we launched ICE Malta, we designed a business plan focused on achieving partnerships with worldwide vendors such as Microsoft, Cisco, Autodesk and Adobe, among others, and creating a unique academic experience which promised practical hands-on experience, a fresh classroom environment with the latest technology with a ‘small classroom’ philosophy to ensure that all students enjoy individual attention.
We also committed to work with tutors who not only have the highest level of qualifications and are considered to be ICT specialists in their fields but who can also act as mentors.
Looking at our operation and student portfolio today, we have accomplished all we set out to do and have made a name for ourselves through our part-time courses which also complement the studies of students attending the University of Malta, Mcast and other private colleges and academies. We are considered to be the ICT education hub for people striving to enhance their CV.
The creation of an ICT timetable is not an easy feat. Before launching each quarterly semester, we analyse the market, discuss career paths with students, meet industry leaders to identify which skills the local workforce should obtain, and liaise with institutions and entities to understand what kind of funding will be available for people and corporate training.
This is the foundation to the designing of an ICT timetable, which is based on globally recognised certification. We consider ourselves to be one of the first to design ICT training specifically for corporate institutes, companies and organisations. We understand that companies have a dedicated training budget which they need to maximise. Our training is based on case scenarios specific to the company we are working with. Corporate training is conducted either on site or at our institute, and can be designed during normal working hours or during an employee’s personal time.
Clients are also eager for their staff to attain world-recognised certification, as this means that they have added more qualifications to their personnel’s pool of qualifications. As Malta works to establish a fully-fledged creative design industry, we are working closely with industry leaders and recognised brands to ensure we provide world-class certifications specific to this industry. We are helping to guarantee that our students achieve the required skill set to work for the game development industry, locally and internationally.
We started the year with the launch of Malta’s first Creative Student Showcase, an initiative supported by Malta Enterprise, through which students now have the opportunity to present their show reels to key local and international industry leaders. We were proud to welcome local and foreign industry leaders to our institute to share our student creative work.
After welcoming a record number of students for our February semester, the timetables for upcoming semesters have been drafted – we are currently confirming further associations with world-recognised vendors and will continue to offer part-time courses and assist students in choosing courses which match their chosen career path.
Our marketing plan for 2013 includes the ICE Malta Scholarship programme, another innovative Learn and Win competition and a unique sponsorship agreement with a national team which should continue to position ICE Malta as a leading ICT institute.