International Partnerships and Development Overseas trip report

Part A (to be completed in advance of visit)

Name of attendee Mark Hertlein

Title of visit British Council delegation visit to

Date of visit 21st to 23rd March 2018: • Arriving Malta at 4.00pm on 21st • Departing Malta at 4.55pm on 23rd

Location Malta

Background I have been invited to join a British Council led/ funded delegation visit to information/ Malta. This invitation came as a result of my connection with Vangelis reason for Tsiligiris, a leading UK based researcher in the area of TNE. Malta is looking attending at becoming an Education Hub and Vangelis has been commissioned by Education Malta to produce a report on how it can achieve this.

The British Council’s Purpose of visit: • To share knowledge and experience in setting up HE partnerships; • To facilitate and lead new partnerships, to develop joint degree programmes in key research areas (such as international business, law, accounting, entrepreneurship, sustainability, medicine/health care management); • To bring together high-level HE stakeholders from UK, Malta, and the Association for Commonwealth to connect with the HE agenda of CHOGM; • To connect with British Council work in Malta in the context of Valletta2018 (European Capital of Culture).

From personal perspective this visit provides an opportunity to re-familiarise myself with the Maltese Higher Education landscape and get a sense of the emerging opportunities. It is also a chance to meet with staff from the key Maltese bodies and British Council Malta.

Other members of the delegation: • Myra Perry (Pro Vice- and Director of Academic Partnerships, Middlesex ); • Lucy Rigler (Head of Funding Policy and Operations, Institute for Apprenticeships); • Prof. Peter Smith (Pro Vice Chancellor (International Projects), University of Southampton); • Arif Zaman (Deputy Director of the Centre for Research and Enterprise - Enterprise and Internationalisation, School of Business and Management); • Prof. Anthony Warrens (Dean for Education, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, QMUL); • Dr Vangelis Tsiligiris (Consultant, Nottingham Trent University); • Liberty Oberlander, Head of Memberships, ACU); • Kevin van Cauter, Senior Higher Education Adviser for Internationalisation, British Council); • Paul Sellers, Country Director, British Council Italy; • Ellie Buchdahl, Communications Manager (EU), British Council.

Description of event/ visit Thursday 22nd March (including an outline 09:00 Briefing is delivered by Mr Charles programme) Welcome and to Zammit (Chairman, Education Malta) and briefing over 10:00 Ms Ingrid Eomois (Director, British breakfast Council Malta)

10:30 Visit to the Delegation is met by Prof. Alfred Vella to University of (Rector, University of Malta) 12:00 Malta, Msida

12:30 Networking Hosted by Malta Enterprise to Lunch 14:00

Looking back: Setting up base on Malta: Experience and lessons learned

Looking forward: Exploring prospects for new partnerships, what does Malta have to offer?

Presentations: Looking outwards: Commonwealth 14:15 Opportunities partnerships – challenges for to & Challenges international students - student & teacher 16:30 for TNE in mobility Malta Education and Industry: The new work based apprenticeship law in Malta: opportunities for education and industry.

Research, Development an Innovation Support Measures.

British Council’s 80th At Valletta Contemporary, East Street, 19:00 anniversary Valletta reception

Friday 23rd March Visit to Malta 10:00 of Art, Delegation is met by Dr Silvio De Bono to Science, (President, MCAST) and other members 12:00 Technology, of the management

Paola Plan for Report will be circulated to key colleagues. disseminating outcomes/ information Part B (to be completed after the visit)

Overall feedback on visit. Research In advance of the visit I asked ADIs to advise on any links that staff within their respective School have or are developing in Malta: • Law: a member of staff from the school has been invited to be a visiting lecturer in Malta and is due to undertake an Erasmus visit. • SHS: setting up a student exchange arrangement with the University of Malta in the area of Radiography • SMCSE: links with Air Malta

Visit as a whole It was a highly useful and well organised visit. In addition to gaining a better understanding of Malta and potential opportunities and meeting key people from Malta, I got to know a few colleagues from the UK (for example Liberty from ACU) and a number of colleagues from the British Council. The latter include the Italy Country Director and the Communications and Engagement Manager for the EU Region, who happens to be a City Alumnus,

Malta as an education hub It is clear that the Maltese government are committed to developing Malta into an Education Hub and see attracting overseas universities (with a preference for UK universities) to deliver programmes on the Island as central to this – TNE to improve the visibility and reputation of the country as a potential destination for international students.

In its favour Malta has a very strong entrepreneurial approach and a thriving business community. Due to the size of the island, things get done, particularly from a government perspective. Malta has a fairly Laissez-faire regulatory framework for TNE and is open to all forms of TNE, including IBCs with degree awarding powers. The main sector that drives economic growth is the services sector – this includes Tourism, Maritime, IT, gaming, financial services, health, aviation training and maintenance. These would be potentially are for TNE.

Education Malta are actively marketing Malta as an Education location and Malta Enterprise see willing to provide financial incentives for physical developments. However, the sense I got from the University of Malta and to a lesser degree from MCAST is that they see Education Malta as promoting the Island is a way that will lead to increase competition from rather than collaboration with overseas universities.

One of the issue raised during the visit was student visas. Apparently there have been delays in non EU student obtaining visas and they are unable to work during and post study. During the visit Charles Zammit addressed this and said they are looking at how to improve the process and may introduce post study visas for graduate/ PhD students in certain skills area. The following was this the month: https://thepienews.com/news/malta-announces-new-student-visa-system/

My overall sense is that Malta is unlikely to become a Hub. However, there may be opportunities for UK universities to develop some sort of presence there. I would suggest that these would be in niche programmes, linked to the country’s key economic sectors and priorities.

Summary of individual meetings/ sessions Visit to the University of Malta • 1 in 10 students are international • Currently had 8 or 9 key international academic partnerships, most with US institutions. Preferred model is for all delivery to take place in Malta. • Student Exchange – third of students (between 60 and 90 go to UK). 63 agreements. • A number of staff exchange agreements • Has some links with China • Has a Foundation School for International students (mainly from Middle East, Russia). Programmes are recognised by NCUK • Key areas of research focus – Humanitarian action/ Migration, Sustainability, innovation Presentations: Opportunities & Challenges for TNE in Malta Looking back: Setting up base on Malta: Experience and lessons learned

Barts/ QMUL Medical School • Big plus (sometimes a disadvantage) –close support of ministers • Recognised by Malta – this means they are treated as a Maltese institutions • Challenge – recruited a group of very challenging students 40% from UK, the rest from a range of countries • Issue with students wanting to do their practice year in the UK (need to understand the expectations of students

Middlesex • 3000 students in Dubai, 1000 in Mauritius and 200 students in Malta.(15% International) • 1/3 of all their students are studying vi TNE • There is no single model to branch campus • Allow long lead times and important to understand opportunity costs • The main challenge in Malta has been visa issues (for Staff and students)

Looking forward: Exploring prospects for new partnerships, what does Malta have to offer? • TNE – Malta has a very flexible/ supportive approach to TNE. The various government agencies are keen to promote innovation in the design of TNE. • Demand for TNE based: limited domestic demand, need to focus on international students • Malta also has progressive policy framework for the accreditation for online programmes. • Suggested approach: • Prioritise the design of competitive value added higher education programmes (employability, countries specific advantages) – the knowledge triangle (Research and Technology – Higher Education – Businesses). • Improve the employability and working experience of graduates through the integration of experiential learning and work experience opportunities in higher education programme

Research, Development an Innovation Support Measures. • Strong government focus on and support for Research and Innovation • Malta Enterprise – promoting and support FDI

Visit to MCAST • Vocational institution (levels 1 to 7) • 3 – foundation (level 1 to 3), Technical college (level 4), (level 5-7). Six institutes/ faculties. • 6500 FT students, 4000 PT students. 40 degrees, 10 masters. • Gateway to industry (commercial arm) Subsidiary. Short courses. Self-funded. Bespoke programmes with industry. Led by industry. • Partnership a key part of strategy. A number of existing agreements (staff and student exchange). However, not looking for one sided partnerships. Partnering for programmes. Joint programmes. New programme developments- need support: gaming, Maritime, Pharmacy • Interested in Off shore expansion – delivery of training and academic progranmes overseas (joint qualifications)

Key insights/ reflections (from briefing paper) Higher Education in Malta • Higher Education in Malta is overseen by the Ministry for Education and Employment. The department is led by Minister Evarist Bartolo who took office in 13 March 2013. • There is one university in Malta, the University of Malta (founded in 1769) which is publicly funded and hosts 11,500 students (including approx.1000 international students from 92 different countries) across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. It has three campuses in Msida, Valletta and on the sister-island of Gozo. • There are 180 British students at the University of Malta: 38 post-graduate students and 142 undergraduate students. • Joint degrees with UK universities: The MA in Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in collaboration with King’s College, . It is currently being revamped and not offered at the moment. • MCAST, the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, established in 2001, is the country’s leading vocational education and training institution. MCAST offers higher education programmes in a range of vocational subjects. • Joint degrees: MCAST offers a joint course with : (Honours) in Nursing Studies. It is a three-year course and the current uptake is 30 students. • There are also a number of private education institutions offering tertiary education programmes. American University of Malta (set up by the Jordanian Sadeen group) received official accreditation by the National Commission for Higher Education in June 2016 and the beginning of the first academic year is 28 August 2017. According to current plans, the university will accommodate approx. 1,000 students from the Middle East and Russia. In November 2017, however, only 23 students had enrolled.

As reflected in Malta’s HE Strategy (below), Malta has an aspiration to be an education hub for the region, to increase private education provision and attract an even greater number of international students.

Malta’s HE priorities: Further and Higher Education Strategy 2020 (NCHE) • Increase participation in tertiary level programmes • Increase participation in areas relevant to Malta’s economic and social development • Attract foreign fee paying students to study in Malta in various fields of study and research • Secure fair and equitable access to further and higher education with particular focus on vulnerable groups • Assure quality provision across all institutions and their programmes • Develop Malta’s Qualifications Framework and qualification recognition services • Increase the University of Malta’s research capacity • Facilitate and promote student and teacher mobility • Ensure responsive systems through adequate governance and funding policies • Maintain active participation and co-operation within Europe and Internationally • Develop and implement a long-term Investment Plan.

TNE in Malta, recent findings from Education Malta-commissioned research • Welcoming regulatory environment for the provision of transnational education. Specifically, foreign providers are allowed to establish their teaching and research provision in the country and, most importantly, accredit their programmes under the national qualification framework. • The National Qualifications Framework: unique framework for accreditation and recognition of online/ programmes. This in itself can be a major competitive advantage of the country in attracting foreign providers who want to use Malta as their base for online education. • Ecosystem of businesses, education providers, and governmental organisations creates opportunities for multiple synergies between the key stakeholders. Some examples are: enrich the academic curriculum with experiential learning elements; create post-graduation employment routes for undergraduate and postgraduate students; develop applied research activity; incorporate apprenticeship components in academic programmes. • Clear alignment of priorities and efforts by the different governmental bodies/organisations in supporting the development of the education sector in the country. • Secondary education is undergoing a number of reforms that will strengthen further the readiness of Maltese youngsters for succeeding in higher education. Furthermore, the emerging focus of secondary education on developing skills suitable for the real economy creates a vast array of possible synergies between secondary and further/higher education institutions.

UK HE partnerships and provision • Currently, there are three UK licenced institutions based in Malta (Queen Mary University of London (Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry); (Business and IT), and London School of Commerce through Cardiff Metropolitan University, & Trinity Saint David) and around • There is also Global College Malta (part of Study World Education Holding Ltd with its headquarters based in Dubai, UAE), recently opened at SmartCity Malta which has programmes accredited by The , UK and L.U.de.S. (Switzerland). • Currently, 3,500 Maltese students are enrolled in these institutions. • In December 2017 a memorandum of understanding was signed between the University of Malta and the outlining the two institutions’ shared vision of collaborating in the area of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) • UK will continue to be a part of Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ until the end of the programmes. • UK has always been an important destination of study for Maltese students. In 2016/17 920 Maltese students studied in the UK universities (about 3% increase from the previous year), with 70% of these students (645) studied postgraduate courses. Subjects related to medicine, engineering and technology and education were the most popular. • At the same time 185 British students studied in Malta during the same scholastic year.

Commonwealth links • Malta joined Commonwealth in 1964. • Malta's Prime Minister Dr. Joseph Muscat is the current Commonwealth Chair-in-Office. • In January 2018 a memorandum of understanding was signed between the British Council and the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) to promote higher education between the United Kingdom and countries in the Commonwealth and beyond. Under the MoU, the British Council and ACU will explore opportunities to share international insights and develop a Commonwealth recognition framework. The MOU will also support early career researchers, assist higher education refugees and develop UK mobility. • In September 2016 the government of Malta and the Commonwealth Secretariat set up Small States Centre of Excellence (SSCOE) in Malta. The objectives of the SSCOE are: to facilitate targeted and predominantly internet-based capacity-building programmes in areas that benefit Small States; to maintain links with development agencies, academia and other relevant organisations to further the interest of the Centre and the development of Small States; to provide an information and referral service for academic and research work on Small States, in partnership with the University of Malta, including building and maintaining a repository of research information relevant to Small States’ development etc. • The priority areas of the Centre for Small States’ development will include but are not limited to public debt management, natural disaster management and mitigation, broadband internet connectivity, diplomatic training, women and enterprise, and ocean governance. • In November 2015 the Ministry for Education and Employment (MEDE) and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) signed a memorandum of understanding establishing the basis for long-term collaboration between the two entities in digital education. COL is an intergovernmental organization created by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1987 to promote the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. The partnership between MEDE and COL recognises Malta’s key position as an interface between the Commonwealth and that of the European Union, and seeks to lever on cooperation in international fora to advance common objectives in education and learning for sustainable development. • The Commonwealth Centre for Connected Learning (http://connectedlearning.edu.mt/) a joint venture set up by the Ministry for Education and Employment in Malta and the Commonwealth of Learning. • The University of Malta has a joint degree with the University of Western Australia and Western Australian Museum: of Arts in Global Maritime Archaeology.

Research and Innovation • Malta has increased its R&D investment, making some progress towards its national R&D intensity target, but it remains rather low. Strengths: Private R&D expenditure is 60% of total R&D intensity and Malta’s innovation performance is improving but weaknesses include: quality of the public research system is not outstanding, collaboration with the business sector is weak and there is a shortage of highly skilled human resources especially in science and technology (EC report 2016 http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/pdf/country- performance/mt_research_and_innovation_performance.pdf#zoom=125&pagemode=none • Participation in H2020: Malta has 69 participants receiving €13,53M – which is the lowest nation in EU28. Collaboration countries for those projects include Italy (79), Spain (78), UK (74), Germany (63) and France (54). • The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) acts for and on behalf of the Foundation for Science and Technology, as a public body established by central government in 1988 with the mandate of advising government on science and technology policy. Today its remit has developed and expanded to include the: o Responsibility for the National Research and Innovation Strategy 2020 and related Action Plan. o Responsibility for Policy recommendations in the area of science and technology as well a representation of the Government of Malta in EU fora such as: ERAC, ESFRI, JRC, DG working parties, EIT,SFIC, COST, ERAC, MoCo, SGHRM and the High Level Space Working Party. o The management and administration of the National and EU Research and Innovation Funding Programmes. o The setting up of the first National Interactive Science Centre (Esplora), science communication and science popularisation. Esplora, in collaboration with the British Council organises the international science communication competition for early career scientists: Famelab.

Country context Malta has been a member of the EU since 2004. The centre-left Malta (Partit Laburista), which is currently in power, campaigned against EU membership. The party’s current leader, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, has held this position since 2008. • Only two parties are represented in the Maltese Parliament: the above Labour Party and Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista, leader: Adrian Delia). In October 2016 the new was set up and Dr Marlene Farrugia, former Labour MP, was elected as its leader. • Bilingualism is a big part of Maltese identity (Malta has two official languages: Maltese and English) and its unique selling point. Bilingualism is probably one of the most important factors attracting investment and business to Malta as attested by various international attractiveness surveys. The growth of Malta as a hub in various industries, including financial services and ICT, is also due to Malta’s bilingualism. • Eurostat study, published in September 2015 confirms that Maltese students are the EU’s most proficient English speakers outside the UK. • Malta’s significant foreign trade balance with the UK implies that the Maltese economy is potentially one of the most exposed EU countries to the consequences of Brexit. The value of all imports from the UK is equivalent 27.3% (21.1% services 6.2% goods) of Malta’s GDP – the highest for any Member State. In that context, Malta is very interested in continuing collaboration with the UK – as either part of the European network or via bilateral agreements. • Joseph Muscat has said that the government will look to play “an honest broker role” between the UK and the EU in Brexit negotiations. • As pointed out by the Prime Minister, Malta is likely to position itself as “a gateway of the UK to the European Union” attracting companies that decide to leave the UK. This also applies to educational sector. • The Prime Minister also said that “Malta's vocation is to bridge Europe and North Africa”. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean and known for its stable economy and pro- business government, Malta is the ideal setting for companies looking to serve the Europe, North Africa and Middle East. • According to the government employment agency, JobsPlus, Brits were the second largest group of EU nationals (after Italy) earning a living in Malta: 4564 workers (December, 2016). They made up approx. 18 per cent of the EU workforce. • Approximately 27,000 Maltese-born people work and study in the UK. • British Council in Malta was one of the first offices opened worldwide. This year we are celebrating the British Council’s 80th anniversary in Malta.

Recommendations We should keep an eye on developments in Malta and potentially invite Charles Zammit to visit City when next in London.

Follow up actions Write to Ingrid Eomois (Country Director, Malta) to thank her for organising the visit. Write to Charles Zammit (Chairman, Education Malta) to thank him for hosting the visit. Circulate the report.

New contacts made/ met with (name, title, email address) Education Malta: • Charles Zammit. Director [email protected]

British Council: • Ingrid Eomois, Country Director, Malta [email protected] • Paul Sellers, Country Director, Italy [email protected] • Ellie Buchdahl, Communications and Engagement Manager (EU Region) [email protected]

Malta Enterprise: • Claire Grima (Project Manager, RDI), Incentives Administration and Development. [email protected] • Horatia Borg (Investment Promotion) [email protected]

University of Malta: • Stefania Aguus Fabri, Director International and EU Office [email protected]

MSCAST • Details for a number of staff available upon request.