The Malta Business Bureau and the Institute for European Studies within the University of Malta have concluded an agreement that will make it possible for students to obtain credits through traineeship programmes with the MBB.
The collaboration between the MBB and the institute has been successfully evolving over the past two years resulting into a mutually-beneficial relationship now culminating into a formal agreement signed by MBB CEO Joe Tanti and Institute for European Studies chairman Roderick Pace to strengthen the business-academia collaboration. This partnership will provide invaluable opportunities for undergraduate students to gain a practical and professional experience.
Mr Tanti warmly welcomed the agreement describing it as innovative and extremely beneficial for university students to gain first-hand work experience:
“The MBB prides itself in providing such an opportunity to students and is pleased that as of next semester, traineeships offered by the MBB will be accredited by the Institute of European Studies. So far, 14 students have participated in our programmes. Based on their performance, the MBB highly commends the aptitude of students reading EU studies at the University of Malta. For this reason it will keep providing them with further opportunities in both its Malta and Brussels offices, in order to expose them to a dynamic office environment as well as to contribute towards their personal development,” he said.
Prof. Pace explained: “The European Studies degrees offered by the Institute of European Studies are greatly enhanced by this scheme as it opens up opportunities for students to work on European issues in a workplace environment. We are extremely happy with this initiative and we thank the MBB for collaborating with us and for the opening it provides to our students.
“Students are now being given the opportunity of applying their knowledge of the EU and the skills they acquire at the institute to day-to-day matters of the business community under professional supervision. They also gain experience of what they will most likely expect to encounter in working life. Placements are a useful side of their overall learning experience and I am convinced that the scheme will gain in popularity as we go along. We look forward to increased collaboration with the MBB and other entities on this model.”
Second-year students of the institute will have the possibility to choose the traineeship as an elective study unit during their second semester. The traineeship entails a total of 112 hours over a period of 14 weeks, which will cover a total of 4 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System).
The MBB executive team will mentor students on an individual basis and assist them in developing and enhancing practical knowledge in the area of European affairs. At the end of the traineeship, an assessment of each individual will be determined by a board of examiners on the basis of a logbook held by each student constituting of all the work done during the traineeship programme, in addition to a report drafted by the mentor.