Over 150 Sicilian business operators came together last week in Agrigento, Sicily, to meet a Maltese delegation organised by the FOI and the University of Malta. The objective of the two-day workshop was to discuss possible research and trading collaboration initiatives.
The meetings formed part of the METIC project co-financed by the EU under the Interreg IIIA Italia-Malta Programme 2004-2006. The project aims to bring together Maltese and Sicilian representatives from both industry and academia with common objectives of collaboration in the fields of alternative and renewable energy sources, rehabilitation of historical sites, municipal waste management and wastewater treatment, agriculture, aquaculture, e-leaning and telemedicine.
This networking activity was organised by the federation, the University of Malta, Confindustria Sicilia and Palermo University. This workshop enabled entrepreneurs operating in the above areas to meet their respective counterparts from both industry and academia.
The discussions also covered the possibility of tapping innovative markets in the Mediterranean basin through transfer of knowledge.
During the first day of the workshop, Dr Giuseppe Catanzaro, president of Confindustria Agrigento, and Professor Vincenzo Liguori, METIC project manager at the University of Palermo, addressed the participants. One-to-one meetings between Maltese and Sicilian entrepreneurs then followed.
The second day of the workshop saw the continuation of further one-to-one meetings, together with a number of site visits, including the Agrigento public hospital, a plastic recycling plant, a wind farm, and various treatment facilities for municipal waste, waste-to-energy and wastewater.
The Maltese delegation was made up of METIC project co-ordinators Jeanelle Catania (FOI) and Stephanie Azzopardi (University of Malta), Mark Azzopardi (Innovation Relay Centre), Clement Azzopardi (Farmers Central Co-op Society Ltd) and Dr Anton Bartolo (EuroMedITI).
Also included were Louis Borg (ECO Group), Charles Brincat and Andrea Brincat (C&V Polymers Ltd), Christopher Carabott (Iss Ltd), Miriam Duca (FM Environmental and Remote Monitoring and Control Systems), Alessio Gatt (Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Malta Ltd), Shane A. Hunter (ABT Innovia), Alan Micallef (Gozitano co-op), Mark Micallef (The Synapse), Stephen A. Psaila (AquaBioTech Ltd), Doris Sammut (Green Skip), Joe Vella and Paul Scerri (Hal Mann Vella), Reno Tanti (General Soft Drinks), Pierre Travers (DLF Malta), Marthese Triganza (SKAT), Joe Woods (Euro Mediti), David Xuereb (David Xuereb & Associates), Dr Ing. Zammit (Techinvest) and Mr Joe Debono and Dr Sammut (St Luke's Hospital).
The representatives of the University of Malta were Dr George Attard (Institute of Agriculture), Tracey Cassar (Department Electronic Systems Engineering), Robert N. Farrugia and Mario Fsadni (Institute for Energy Technology) and Professor Edward Mallia (Department of Physics).
The opportunity to exchange experiences between stakeholders from various sectors throughout the visit made this networking exercise a success. Additional round table discussions and one-to-one meetings between industrialists, academics and government authorities are being planned.
Such discussions are instrumental in aiding participants to reach their long-term business and innovation targets. In this respect, the FOI will strive to ensure that the contacts established at this event will be followed up and appropriate assistance is provided.
Business enterprises interested in participating in such events can contact project co-ordinator Jeanelle Catania at the FOI secretariat on tel: 2123-4428, 2122-2074, or e-mail on info@foi.org.mt.