The University is designing a post-graduate course instructing one how to start a business.
Students would develop their product or service idea, conduct market research, come up with the right brand, develop a marketing strategy, devise a business plan and draw up a strategy to raise financing.
The course will be one of those falling under the new Institute for Sustainable Development, launched by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi last week.
The institute's main aim is to assist, through research, in the realisation of national plans to improve infrastructure, productivity, entrepreneurship and quality of life in Malta.
Geographer Maria Attard, who will chair the institute, said it would seek to provide advice and assistance on issues of sustainable development as well as promote the commercialisation of science and technology, encourage start-ups and new business ventures and also promote the transfer of innovation and technology to industry.
University Rector Juanito Camilleri said the institute would offer stakeholders an opportunity to collaborate in the application and development of strategies that would support decision making.
He said the University was in the process of strengthening its administrative and academic capacity to participate more actively in the country's socio-economic development.
It would be encouraging students and academics studying aspects of Maltese demographics, geography and environment to map their findings digitally in a central repository.
For example, a criminology student could map crime hotspots on the Maltese islands, an educationalist would trace the main sources for truancy, a sociologist attempt to identify the hotspots for unemployment, a nutritionist strive to locate areas where malnutrition and obesity in children were most common, said Prof. Camilleri.
Dr Gonzi said the University had transformed itself from a supplier of human capital to an institution that responded to the country's needs, coming up with specific courses in the principle economic drivers of the country. The government, he said, was investing €3.5 million a day in the social development of the country through welfare programmes, education and free health care.
In the context of sustainable development, he mentioned the rent and Mepa reforms, saying the latter aimed to achieve more consistency and enforcement through better use of land.
"Sustainability is all about duty and obligation, not only towards the present generations but even more for future generations.
"National competitiveness in a globalised world hinges on research, which has economic value," he added.
He commended the University's initiative, saying the institute would become a reference point for research.