NSA – 01 Primary Class Teacher Award for Inspiring Learners in STEM
NSA – 02 Secondary Class Teacher Award for Inspiring Learners in STEM
NSA – 03 Non-formal STEM Educator Award
NSA – 04 STEM Community Project Award
NSA – 05 STEAM Project Award
NSA – 06 Lifetime Award for Contribution to STEM Engagement
NSA – 07 Engaged Researcher Award
When it comes to the preparation of STEM projects and activities, Ms Elaine Gauci’s particular approach comes across in various ways – the connecting element being that students are given the space to be as they are. Oftentimes, she plans projects according to her students’ interests because, in her view, this helps them to express themselves fully on the subject. Her awareness that learning through play, and that in watching their play a children’s creativity can be clearly seen, ensures that Elaine’s class activities are put together in a manner that encourages her students to explore and share ideas together. In fact, she remarks that boredom seems to have left the classroom, and instead she notes that her students show an increasing display of curiosity around learning, STEM and everything else. The five-year-olds have already started to talk what they would like to get up to when they grow older! And, among the directions mentioned, most of them say teachers just like Elaine, but also STEM-indicated careers such as Vets, Scientists, or Firefighters…
Elaine’s area of teaching has STEM education as its foundation, however her participation in an Erasmus+ programme* motivated her to delve even deeper and further into outdoor learning, thus exploring the connections between outdoor education and STEM, within the school curriculum.
An implementation of Elaine’s motivated interest comes across in the following delightful examples of how she extended STEM learning beyond the classroom. These STEM Activities were carried out along with her and her students engaging with various members of various communities: building-a-bird-nest with parents; exploration at Esplora; looking into the lifestyles of insects, birds and frogs, including something about salt, at the Salina Nature Reserve; all about bees, including honey tasting and making a bee and hive post-visit, as part of a session with Jimmy the Beekeeper; symbol literacy, an understanding and interpreting activity at The Cathedral Museum, Mdina; pottery time with Alka Ceramics and last but definitely not least…pizza making at Vecchia Napoli!
STEM learning also went International, when the class took part in an eTwinning project**:
leading to making coconut balls come Christmas time for inclusion in the project’s recipe book and also as part of the project, creating castles out of recycled material as part of a STEM alphabet activity (C for Castle), and Virtual, through the holding of an online video session with students from different countries to together draw and create a Christmas card, as well as talking to all students from participating countries, for the eTwinning project in mention, including virtual participation for the best logo.
Elaine’s engagement in STEM is not confined to her classroom time, and can also be found in how she participates and also readily shares her experience resulted from attending STEM and science-and-technology related seminars etc. She has showcased this through interviews, written articles and discussions. Moreover, close collaborations with a colleague has enriched the STEM element within the activities carried out in respective classrooms.
Elaine’s enthusiasm towards STEM has helped to foster positive changes at her own school. Indeed, a noteworthy achievement as a result of her personal interest and involvement with the school activities led to a STEM Day becoming part of the school calendar!
* SEL for schools – “It´s good for them, it´s good for you – Social & Emotional Learning through bringing nature back to schools”
** eTwinning collaborative project ‘The little STEAM explorers discover SEASON borders,’
centred around STEM activities, paved the way for more critical thinking and problem solving. These involved a collection of eBooks, including the joint adventure book ‘A Caterpillar That wanted to Be a Butterfly.’
Congratulations Ms Elaine Gauci for winning the Primary Class Teacher Award for Inspiring Learners in STEM!
Elaine, what inspired you to be so dedicated to STEM Engagement?
By encouraging curiosity and critical thinking in my pupils, I can help them design their future by using STEM activities to make everyday challenges easier for them to handle.
Ms Marissa Banavage carries out all kinds of STEM activities and projects throughout the year,
be it with her own school learners or even with the local and broader community in the form of parents, colleagues and the wider education population. The unifying factor fundamental to her efforts is to motivate her audience of learners towards the exploration and enjoyment of STEM subjects.
Marissa’s way of creating a great space of opportunities for fostering critical thinking, problem solving, leadership skills, and exploring and combining creativity with STEM in her learners, comes through the set-up. In other words, how Marissa sets up the learning process, that is, how she engages with her learners, is inspired by her personal expressed desire to make STEM subjects tangible to her students. To put you in the picture of how this comes about, activities are done in groups, with the students being given projects where they are trusted with the decisions on how to go about the project themselves, including the solving of problems and the designing of experiments. Students are given the opportunity to present and explain their work in front of the class and beyond, such as when certain experiments involve teachers/other students/parents. Participation in competitions is encouraged, once again so as to encourage students beyond the apparent limits of their personal environs. Furthermore, Marissa makes use of peer assessment, a process in which students provide feedback to other students. Therefore students are able to discuss their impressions directly with each other. All the above, this set-up, opens up a space that empowers the students to show and make themselves heard through their projects and more. Students are thus exposed to this way of STEM and other learning in class, but also outside. In fact, and in conjunction with STEM education, Marissa has taken her students beyond the school environment to the Malta Dairy Products, Salina Nature Reserve, Chadwick Lakes, Buskett, the Għammieri Government Research and Experimental Farm, the National Blood Transfusion Centre and the National Aquarium. They were also taken to career-related outings, such as to the Faculty of Engineering, and also went on the Science Safari*! Such science-focused trips have also been away from the Maltese islands, in countries such as Germany, Belgium and the Italian Aegadian Islands, in addition to fascinating visits made to CERN, the Euro Space Centre and the Neanderthal Museum among others.
Another type of involvement on Marissa’s part, which relates to the educational aspect but from another angle, finds her in an organising and coordinating role for such particular events as the annual Science Fair, the Malta Junior Science Olympiad and the Thematic STEM debate. Marissa also fulfils a training and mentorship position. At the moment, she is working with the ProSTEM ICSE Academy to provide STEM pedagogical training to teachers in local schools. She has also given seminars on STEM, is a teacher mentor within her school for both NQTs and student teachers, as well as an examiner for student teachers. She further supports educators through addressing various seminars and conducting professional development sessions. In line and accordance with Marissa’s belief of a holistic science approach, where teachers of all science subjects collaborate to enhance the experience of all students, Marissa works jointly with other STEM teachers at her school, all sharing good practices to together create resources and out-of-school activities for students. A willing collaborator, she also often works with teachers of other subjects such as geography, home economics, health and social care, and physical education, to find cross-curricular links and create lessons.
And, along with the ongoing teaching, organising, coordinating, mentoring and collaborating, currently you can also find Marissa working on the STEM challenge during her break time!
*Science Safari is an event organised by the Science Centre Pembroke, as part of a suite of initiatives that aim to popularise STEM subjects across all year groups within state and non-state schools.
Congratulations Ms Marissa Banavage for winning the Secondary Class Teacher Award for Inspiring Learners in STEM !
Marissa, what inspired you to be so dedicated to STEM Engagement?
I believe that it is through STEM education that our students can develop the skills and competencies necessary to be actively-contributing and participating 21st-century citizens.
Ms Danielle Martine Farrugia develops and implements STEM educational activities or projects that are carried out physically or virtually. What is clear across them all is that she is earnest in her ways to connect people, dispelling gaps of separation and miscommunication around the area of science, with STEM being a particular area of focus. To this end, she has developed, collaborated within, participated in, initiated, as well as formed part of, multiple teams. Here are some wonderful instances, some of which are still ongoing.
Let us start with Malta Café Scientifique (MCS)*. For the past 11 years, Danielle has been leading and developing the content for this platform, which aims to bring science closer to several sectors of the public (researchers, citizens and scientists), through the medium of dialogue. Besides its means to update citizens on the latest research happening on the Maltese Islands, MCS is also at the receiving end when Danielle includes her audience in the planning process through gathering feedback from MCS events to find out which future topics her audience might want to engage with.She also encourages creativity in her audience of learners by providing a space for them to express themselves through interactive activities conducted at MCS events. During the past eight years, Danielle has also produced the content for her own radio show, Radio Mocha Malta (RMM)**, another platform that aims to raise awareness of science topics, research and innovation, both locally and internationally. Many members of her audience reach out to Danielle, expressing appreciation of how RMM has made them aware of the wealth of local research and talent previously unknown to them, as well as the wide range of topics. Danielle has even had students creating the content for RMM! She guides and mentors them through the whole process of producing a radio show and script, video recording and promoting the material online.
Danielle has also been part of various teams to develop engaging activities targeting audiences of various age groups. Some particularly intriguing undertakings showing the implementations of these STEM-oriented activities and other related topics include: Developing the first Unconventional Science Career Open Day, which saw close to 1000 students and educators at the Science faculties at the University of Malta; managing a light installation, Light Pushes Stuff, where thousands of participants interacted with said installation, the artists, a science communicator and a quantum physicist, in the process finding out and about how light pushes stuff; together with colleagues, she has facilitated and helped develop the content for two free games, Ariana’s Magical Journal of Light and Curio. Danielle has facilitated school visits so that researchers at the Faculty of Media and Knowledge sciences could engage students with VR experiences during Brain Awareness Week, published several articles, as well as contributed to Sounds of Science, a space where citizens are free to discuss in the comments section and on social media. Danielle has also engaged with her audience through participation in annual career fairs. In fact, since 2017, she has consistently and constantly taken part in fairs such as Ichoose, and school fairs at St Monica School, St Edward’s College, St Martin’s College, as well as at Business & Professional Women (BPW) Malta. Participation in wider community events include Science in the City. A particularly special event that Danielle is immensely proud of, is her being part of the communication team involved in the teamwork between different entities to launch the space balloon to record footage of the Maltese islands for a study of the atmosphere! The extent of Danielle’s engagement also has her working closely with educational organisations such as MEYR, Esplora and NGOs such as Greenhouse.
To conclude, we would like to highlight a particularly fun piece of engagement that involved our very own Esplora, in which Danielle engaged with the youth at the Cottonera Resource Centre, creating activities revolving around the science of juggling, as part of Esplora’s Science Youth Café!
*Malta Café Scientifique is an event that bridges the gap between citizens and science through
a series of free monthly STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) talks, followed by discussions, at Malta’s National Centre for Creativity – Spazju Kreattiv. These are also streamed online via the dedicated Facebook page.
**Radio Mocha Malta (RMM) is a series of programmes, produced and presented by Danielle Martine Farrugia, together with researchers, scientists and students studying at the University, with the latter talking about their research in their various fields of study.
Congratulations Ms Danielle Martine Farrugiafor winning the Non Formal STEM Educator Award!
Danielle, what inspired you to be so dedicated to STEM Engagement?
I believe public engagement is essential in any scientific endeavour, and everyone can contribute according to their level of expertise and experience.
During the scholastic year 2022 – 2023, students from across Gozo measured nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a principal pollutant from car exhaust emissions, in the Gozitan atmosphere. This formed the essence of the project GLOBE Malta* – Europe Direct Gozo** Air Quality Campaign. The 11 participating schools were provided with the necessary equipment and guidance to measure nitrogen dioxide.
Students actively participated in monitoring air quality using diffusion tubes. This hands-on approach, besides being engaging and practical, brought science and environmental issues to life. Moreover, by focusing on air-quality improvement, students were involved in handling a real-world challenge in the classroom. This community concern had the students directly seeking solutions to this local issue. The outreach activities designed with the Gozo community in mind, culminated in the celebration of achievements through a fair at Villa Rundle. Commemorating Europe Day, the fair served as a central platform displaying the project’s overall efforts. The GLOBE stand set up for the occasion had students sharing their findings with the wider community, while a panel discussion served to empower the students to articulate these very findings and insights, and to concurrently propose practical solutions. The discussion also encouraged peer-to-peer learning, allowing students to explain complex STEM concepts in a way that is accessible to others.Thesharing aspect engaged the community through connecting the project to broader European values, highlighting the importance of addressing environmental issues collectively and the just-as-important role that individuals can play in it.
In practice, the project taught students how to use diffusion tubes, data loggers and tally counts to collect data on air quality, weather parameters and traffic. After the four-week observation period, students analysed the data, with this approach enabling the students to make informed decisions based on evidence. Involvement in the data collection process served tobring up the scientific method and helped students see how STEM knowledge can be applied to solve surrounding life challenges. Through collaborating with schools in Ireland, students’ perspectives were broadened, via being introduced to diverse solutions, ideas and perceptions coming from another country. GLOBE students from the various schools participated in different ways, such as: students from Laura Vicuna School and Sacred Heart Minor Seminary participated in an Air Quality Student Virtual Conference, with the students receiving great feedback from the scientists and coordinators present, while four other schools submitted their research reports*** for the International Virtual Science Symposium! With the help of the Victoria Local Council and Transport Malta, students attending the Gozo Sacred Heart Minor Seminary installed four signs in the proximity of their school, reminding drivers to turn off the engine while waiting, thus ensuring better air quality. Likewise, students attending the Gozo College’s Sir Arturo Mercieca Primary School in Victoria, put up notices to stop idling of cars, promoting use of bicycles and walking to school. Parents are using school transport more often to get students to and from school, from only one transport bus to four transport buses! Students attending Gozo College’s Ġuże Aquilina Primary & Special Unit in Sannat planted seven trees in collaboration with the Munxar Local Council. More tree planting was carried out by Gozo College’s Agius de Soldanis Middle School in Victoria and Gozo College’s Karmni Grima Primary School in Għarb. Schools also organised walks to encourage students and staff to use active transportation.
A marvellous undertaking and application of the project’s inspiration could be seen when 380 students and educators, from the Gozo College’s Agius de Soldanis Middle School in Victoria, walked from Xewkija to Għajnsielem on 15 December, 2022, thus saving 25kg of CO2 emissions!
* The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Programme
is an international science and education programme that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and to contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment.
GLOBE MALTA’s Mission is to Promote Environmental Education and STEM – connection to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
** EUROPE DIRECT Gozo is part of a network of EUROPE DIRECT centres which aims to reach out to and engage in dialogue with citizens. Its main role is in fact to provide information, assistance and answer questions about the EU.
*** Titles of research reports submitted:
01 Clean Air Matters – A study on the state of our atmosphere;
02 Can a tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean have air pollution?
03 How can we improve air quality at our school and its surroundings?
04 Air Detectives: Exploring air quality at St Francis School, Victoria.
Congratulations Project GLOBE Malta – Europe Direct Gozo Air Quality Campaign, directed and represented by Ms Ramona Mercieca, for winning the STEM Community Project Award !
Ramona, what inspired you to be so dedicated to STEM Engagement?
My passion for geography, love of nature, and commitment to fostering a deep appreciation for the outdoors have stimulated my dedication to STEM engagement.
The IEEE Region 8 Robot Championships in Malta was a project where an interdisciplinary approach, promoting the convergence of STEM’s multiple fields, was taken up and applied, moreover making possible the flowing together of the fields of STEM and Art.
The heart of this project was the practical experience of participants constructing their robots without using kits,while sharing their experience through STEM and Art activities.
This hands-on approach not only equipped them with a profound understanding of STEM principles but also led to the cultivation of essential skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, digital literacy, coding, entrepreneurship, data analysis, branding, science communication and teamwork, among others. As they designed, assembled and programmed their robots, students became active participants in applying STEM knowledge. This brings us to yet another important key element, a set of skills given particular attention across the project and whose integration with the STEM elements make up the core of this Award.
This was the art aspect, the artistic side. In other words, the A part of STEAM.
Valuable opportunities were given, and space made possible for participants to develop their artistic skills in various ways: designing the parts; branding the robot itself; and creating video documentaries showcasing the process of building their robots.The specific aesthetic aspect of the robots was likewise a vital component of the competition. In fact, roboteers vied for the award of ‘The Most Attractive Robot.’ This part of the competition encouraged participants to think creatively and apply creative principles to their robotic creations. This requirement further encouraged participants to explore the intersection of art and engineering, turning their robots into visually appealing works of technological art. We must also mention the event itself, a show of talent combining music, animations and entertainment, displaying to the audience that creativity and innovation are at the core of STEM.
All these various creative endeavours allowed participants to express themselves artistically and reinforced their understanding of complex STEM/STEAM concepts through practical application.
And finally, a further reflection on how, when diverse disciplines come together, creativity and innovation can come through brings us to the collaborative part. The project embraced a wide-ranging partnership strategy that brought together diverse expertise and resources from various sectors. The partnerships with experts in robotics allowed the exploration of the different complexities of robots, pushing the boundaries of what students could achieve. On the other hand, the collaboration with a sector of tourism inspired the incorporation of team-building and team-playing elements into the project, emphasising the importance of collaboration and camaraderie in robotics. These extensive collaborations enriched the project and contributed to the community’s thriving STEM/STEAM ecosystem.
The pooling of so many areas of expertise and resources, in alignment with the attention given to all the STEAM elements, ensured the project was impactful and well-positioned to inspire the next generation of STEM and STEAM enthusiasts!
Congratulations IEEE Region 8 Robot Championship Malta 2022, directed and represented by Dr. Conrad Attard & IEEE Malta (VO)and IEEE Computer Society, for winning the STEAM Project Award!
Conrad, what inspired you to be so dedicated to STEM Engagement?
My passion for STEM engagement was inspired by a lifelong curiosity and moments of excitement in science and technology, motivating me to create opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to experience the thrill of STEM discovery.
Prof. Pauline Galea has had a career-long interest in evaluating the seismic hazard to our islands, and in communicating this hazard both to the authorities and to the general public. This includes the monitoring and analysis of local and regional earthquakes, geophysical studies of the local geological formations, their seismic response and effect on buildings, as well as investigations carried out at national heritage sites. She also became involved in tsunami hazard and tsunami awareness. Earthquakes and tsunamis pose a real threat to the Maltese islands, positioned as they are in the centre of the Mediterranean, and Pauline always felt a sense of responsibility, inspiring her to contribute towards disaster prevention, a safer community and societal well-being.
Her involvement with geophysics, particularly in earthquake monitoring and research, started in 1978, during her time as an M.Sc. student, when she operated a seismograph installed at the University of Malta (UOM). In 1995, following the completion of her Doctorate in Geophysics, she took the initiative of collaborating with the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica of Rome (now INGV) to install a digital broadband station in Malta as part of a Mediterranean network. Since that time, she has overseen the development of seismological observation, resulting in the Malta Seismic Network of today, as well as the setting-up of the Seismic Monitoring and Research Group (SMRG) within the University’s Department of Geosciences. As a result, the Maltese islands now have detailed information about earthquake sources and earthquake processes occurring close to our islands, as well as a deeper knowledge of the Earth’s structure in the islands’ region. The Malta Seismic Network is regarded as a national service and a national reference point whenever earthquakes are felt and the hazard from seismic events questioned. It is also an important component of the Mediterranean-wide network of seismographic observatories and plays a salient role in earthquake and tsunami monitoring of the region.
Pauline was also the founding Head of the Department of Geosciences at the University of Malta and helped design the undergraduate degree in the Geosciences. Young researchers and professionals are trained in the understanding of local and regional environmental and societal problems, which necessitate a deeper geoscientific knowledge for their mitigation and solution. A particularly great pleasure for Pauline was looking into innovative ways to explain scientific concepts and making them widely accessible. Several groups of secondary school students were hosted at the Geosciences Department, where Pauline and her team explained the work of the SMRG, and answered enthusiastic questions about the Earth’s processes! Pauline’s work has also seen her involved with stakeholders from a variety of disciplines. She has collaborated with structural engineers, geologists, geotechnical engineers, spatial analysts etc, who all contributed to a better understanding of the possible impacts of earthquake shaking, and the prevention of damage. Consultations carried out with the building industry and engineering community were likewise of great significance because earthquake engineering is at the interface between seismology and construction engineering, with the aim to mitigate building damage.
Finally, and crucially, Pauline has done her best to understand people’s perception of risks from earthquakes and tsunamis through surveys and other studies, in line with addressing the issue of preparedness. One of the many ways in which she and her team engaged the community is through their online questionnaire, inviting people to give their experience of felt earthquakes. The public has become quite accustomed to this, and during the last earthquake sequence in January 2023, thousands of responses were submitted. This citizen-based response continues to greatly help the team to evaluate earthquakes and understand the effects on certain localities.
Congratulations Prof. Pauline Galea for winning the Lifetime Award for Contribution to STEM Engagement!
Pauline, what inspired you to be so dedicated to STEM Engagement?
Using the geosciences to understand how our beautiful planet works is very exciting, but having the opportunity to use this knowledge to address the concerns of society and the public is even more rewarding.
Dr Ing. Bonnie Attard’s research area focuses on materials engineering in additive manufacturing (AM), primarily for aerospace applications. This involves changing material properties to enhance or create novel functionality. Her research has been a vital component in allowing her to involve the community and foster a culture of research and innovation. This has been achieved through active engagement by using gamification and physical components generated in the course of her research, during her outreach efforts with the public.
Currently Bonnie leads two projects, both related to additive manufacturing, one in surface improvement titled Green Laser Post-Processing in Additive Manufacturing, and the other investigating porous engineered structures, titled Lattices Graded using Additive Manufacturing. Both involve fruitful collaborative aspects within academia and with industrial partners. She is also a key member of the research team investigating additive manufacturing for space applications in a project titled Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing of Magnesium for Satellites. Her research activities have led to several peer-reviewed publications in international scholarly journals, and to participation within conferences. These publications were issued in collaboration with other international research teams working in her field of research, with the aim of connecting fellow research professionals in the field with the work being done.
Beyond her research, Bonnie serves as Secretary-general of the Chamber of Engineers, where she has spearheaded educational outreach initiatives aimed at engaging young minds in STEM, particularly in engineering. Through this role she has organised and supported activities herself, as well as supported other STEM professionals in their engagement efforts by actively involving them in participation.
Gamification transforms the mundane into an exciting experience, where engagement becomes its own thrilling prize. To this effect, Bonnie has implemented gamification techniques to engage the public in materials-engineering research during outreach activities, allowing them to interact with physical components, understand material properties and engineering challenges. Such activities have involved games where participants get to touch, feel and understand material properties like density, conductivity and stiffness. One of the games has participants trying to answer what the different components are and where they are used. This helps the public and students clearly visualise the engineering challenges associated with designing and using such components.
Other stakeholders, such as members from industry, have been equally engaged through discussions regarding research ideas and direction. This close involvement specifically flourished into two project collaborations, along with support offered in part design and manufacturing.
We come to a fitting close with a particular example of engagement which stands out in its own way, when Bonnie presented an elevator pitch at a workshop organised by MCST to assess Malta’s space potential for the PECS agreement. This activity translated to being put into contact through a European Space Agency (ESA) representative with various stakeholders in the space industry, and allowed a collaboration to be developed to fruition for a project funded through the Space Upstream Programme.
Congratulations Dr Inġ. Bonnie Attard for winning the Engaged Researcher Award! Bonnie, what inspired you to be so dedicated to STEM Engagement?
Only by engaging and involving individuals to develop a strong research and innovation base can we advance and shape a brighter future for ourselves and the generations after us.
