One can say that our economy stands on four major activities: tourism, construction, manu-facturing and financial services, so the University must see to it that enough professionals graduate each year to provide the personnel needed by operators in these sectors.

Tourism is mostly catered for by the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) and by some courses at University. However, it is surprising that the ITS has not been incorporated with the University or the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (Mcast). This would substantially save on overheads and elevate the prestige of such an indispensable institution.

The construction industry is facing problems, as clearly shown by last Sunday's report that property prices have gone down by 15 to 20 per cent. The industry is in this quandary because of ill-planning. Architects and engineers educated at University are responsible for this planning. The oversupply of housing is said to consist mostly of substandard tiny apartments. Why did the engineers and architects allow such buildings that are not only ugly but also do not make sense from a business point of view?

Couldn't the University teach its young architecture students never to sign plans for substandard and horrendous housing however, pressurised they may be to do so? Couldn't the architects at Mepa stop approving such plans?

The academic staff at the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering could certainly act as advisers to Mepa and the government not only on building safety but also on what should be accepted as a satisfactory design. It seems that in the long term, such a policy would also be in the interest of people who invest in property to make money.

Regarding financial services, the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy seems to have been the most successful faculty in terms of attracting students to its courses. The accounts course in particular seems very popular among students, who go on to command high salaries straight after graduation.

Master of Business Adminis-tration degrees (MBAs) have also become very popular, though one should perhaps question how relevant they are to the needs of the country. One should analyse the success of those who obtained an MBA and compare it with managers who do not have an MBA.

The University, which awards its own MBA, should analyse the performance of its graduates and compare it with the performance of those holding one of the many MBAs awarded by other institutions. This would serve to guide aspiring managers about the rational of obtaining an MBA as compared with other options, including that of carrying out research in one's own technical area.

Could management studies be included in the Master of Science or Arts degree courses? It may be possible to have a combination of several options.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said last Sunday that notwithstanding the grim international economic situation, Malta is still attracting significant investment, including in the manufacturing sector. Such an attraction is today more linked to the availability of competent personnel than to cheap wages.

Education is the key to such a success. But we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. The University must continue, as it is now doing, to improve its course programmes, giving attention to the needs of our economic development, through course modernisation, quality control, research and development, and attracting newly qualified staff, while retaining those with many years of experience who cannot be replaced by experts in theory alone.