As I cling on to my couple of Maltese cents in my pockets I cannot help but wonder what it'll be like in a week's time to go to the supermarket and have to pay in Euros. Worse still, I cannot imagine having to wait endlessly until the by-then impatient bus driver manages to convince the random old person that the Lira days are long gone by and even our pockets have to face change.

How much will the chocolate or soft drink from the canteen cost? Why do I have so many odd-looking coins in my wallet? Change - bound to cause a certain degree of tension and instability during the process of adaptability. The degree of insecurity that for years our University was never threatened with! Save for the random constructions based on Mr England's design, University has remained in its status quo for ages. Where have the students gone? Have they simply resorted to remain mute on the political field opting simply to attend lectures, if at all?

With me being a student, it is natural to hope also for a change in the educational sector. Thankfully my dream may be close to becoming a reality as the government has launched its e-Learning strategy up to 2010. That is clearly one change I'd welcome more than an increase in my student maintenance grant. The rest of the developed world has started moving towards cyber-education where one has the luxury of staying at home in his pyjamas and simultaneously ‘attending' lectures. Ah! How I'd welcome the lack of visits to Tal-Qroqq where several hours are pointless waiting for lecturers who fail to turn up.

Change - that bittersweet word that petrifies any Faculty Board on campus turning almost any lecturer defensive. With curricula that have remained intact since time immemorial I may be perhaps too naïve to hope that this year we will see a substantial reform in the content being taught to students. Honestly, what is the point of making students cram in all lecture notes to regurgitate them in an exam when post-exams they will probably wash it all away during a post-exam alcohol binge? How substantial and valuable is it to our knowledge? Will this make us better adults? I fear not!

Change, or as one of the local political parties call it, "Il-Bidla" is a rather controversial word right now. With the days of the general election getting close by, this word is perhaps condemned to being the most over-used word in the Maltese lexicon. Be it education, infrastructure or the healthcare system, both sides of the coin, or, with apologies to Dr Vassallo, all the three parties will be busily trying to lure the ever-increasing number of floating voters into their world. The local council elections are also close by. Hopefully these elections will bring to us, the electorate, several young, fresh faces all enthusiastic at willingly working more than their predecessors.

For many issues there are no simple solutions. Resources are perhaps way too limited. While it may be so much easier to simply ignore the problem or opt for a quick fix, addressing the situation head-on is what may perhaps be best. Change cannot take place overnight. It requires a certain degree of focus and personal strength and integrity. Well, that is what I like to make myself believe each time the 31st December deadline to make my personal resolutions gets close by.

Daniela Bartolo is a 2nd year Law student and Insite's International Officer