The National STEM Engagement Working Group was set up in 2020, as a direct outcome of the National STEM Engagement Conference that took place at Esplora Interactive Science Centre in 2019.
The Working Group’s main aim is that of bringing together different Maltese entities and professionals working in STEM education, research, communication, outreach and engagement to discuss and plan STEM initiatives in a way that avoids duplication and fragmentation of efforts.
The Working Group’s current road-map 2019-2022 consists of over twenty measures that will culminate in the drafting of a National STEM Engagement Strategy.
Activities implemented so far include a STEM Career Expo targeting children in late primary, a STEM Careers exhibition and profile booklet, STEM through Storytelling Courses for Kindergarten and Early Primary Educators, the first-ever National STEM Awards aimed at honouring local STEM professionals and creating role models for the younger generations, a STEM Community Fund supporting community-based STEM-related projects, a Master course on Science in STEM Education and Engagement offered by Working Group member Institute of Education, and the community festival Esperimenta Tikka Xjenza. These activities can be followed on Esplora’s website and social media channels.
For more information, kindly contact the STEM Engagement Team at Esplora on stemengagement.esplora@esplora.org.mt
“The STEM Engagement Working Group brings together professionals from different Maltese entities working in STEM education, research or communication.
The Working Group’s mission is that of discussing and planning the implementation of actions and activities aimed at bolstering STEM learning and outreach, as listed in the road-map issued in the wake of the National STEM Engagement Conference that took place at Esplora in May 2019. A living document requiring regular revisiting, this road-map lists the measures the Working Group intends to focus on in its initial years.
Implicit in the above is the Working Group’s commitment to raising awareness about the beauty and usefulness of STEM subjects, careers and professions, and increasing engagement in this respect. The Working Group will strive to encourage children and young people to take up STEM subjects and persevere in these fields.
The Working Group is keen on dispelling the myths and stereotypes that tend to surround certain STEM subjects and careers. In this context, the Working Group is aware of under-represented groups within STEM fields and aims to boost their participation in STEM-related activities and events. The Working Group supports diversity, gender inclusivity and equal access to STEM subjects and careers for all.
The Working Group intends to lobby with education authorities for improvements of the STEM curriculum reflecting all of the above and for the provision of the necessary resources. The Working Group will also call for stepping up research on public engagement with STEM subjects.
The Working Group’s actions will not focus on a particular target group but will strive to offer activities for all age groups, from early years to youths, and up to seniors. As part of its efforts to enhance STEM learning, it will also seek to address the needs of educators via teacher training and lifelong learning courses.
The Working Group will work in close collaboration with all potential STEM advocates and ambassadors, including educators, researchers, NGOs and STEM professionals from both public and private entities.”
Current members of the National STEM Engagement Working Group are:
Clayton Cutajar is the current Director of Strategy & Education Relations within the National Skills Council. The National Skills Council primary objective is to use evidence-based practices to understand and anticipate current and future skills within the labour work force, whilst instigating policy changes to this effect. Mr Cutajar served as a Managing Director at the Malta Council for Science and Technology. He overseed, coordinated, and strategically directed the running of Esplora Interactive Science Centre in Kalkara till end of 2022. Clayton graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Science Education, followed by a Master of Education Degree in Education and Training and a Post-graduate in Evidence-based Management and Effective Decision Making, from the University of Malta. Recently, Clayton also completed a Master of Science Degree in Marketing Management with the University of Chester.
Clayton taught Science and Biology in secondary schools for a number of years after which he continued his work in Lifelong Learning, EU projects, with Arts Council Malta and later with the Malta Council for Science and Technology. His passion for teaching and learning also translated into the Higher National Diploma in Teaching Adults which was launched as part of an EU Agenda for Adult Learning project. Clayton was involved in various lecturing posts and boards including Local Councils, Academic Boards, the LGBTIQ Consultative Council and the Annual Conference Programme Committee within Ecsite.
Dr Edward Duca is a Science and Innovation Communication Lecturer at the University of Malta, co-runs the science communication STEAM Summer School, is involved in several large EU funded projects, and has created and managed several science communication events through the NGO the Malta Chamber of Scientists. The largest activity being the national science and arts festival Science in the City, attracting 6% of Malta’s population annually. He’s the Rector’s Delegate for STEM Popularisation (Engagement) and EUSEA board member.
Dr Duca’s aim is to continue developing transdisciplinary research and activities to develop evidence for the effective communication of research that will encourage a scientifically aware society leading towards an informed democracy and active citizenship. He wants to embed a culture of public engagement and research that benefits society.
Alexandra Bonnici received her B.Eng (Hons) in 2004, an MPhil (Melit.) in Engineering in 2008 and PhD (Melit.) in 2015 on work related to the vectorisation and interpretation of sketches with artistic cues. Alexandra is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malta and is currently serving as Head of Department of the Department of Systems and Control Engineering and coordinator of the Faculty’s Certificate in Engineering Sciences. Alexandra is an active member of the research community, serving as a steering committee member of the ACM Symposium on Document Engineering. She is also active in promoting Engineering knowledge to students, having set up the Engineering Technology Clubs at the Faculty of Engineering.
Carl James Debono is the Dean of the Faculty of ICT at the University of Malta. He obtained his PhD degree from the University of Pavia in Italy in 2001. Prof. Debono has been conducting research in the field of image/video coding, processing and transmission for the last fifteen years and has published several peer-reviewed conference and journal publications in this field.
Jonathan Camenzuli holds a Doctor of Education from the University of Sheffield. He graduated as a Mathematics teacher and later read for a Master in Education specialising in Social, Emotional, Behavioural Difficulties at the University of Malta. Dr Camenzuli is an Education Officer in Inclusive Education with the National School Support Services within the Educational Services Department at the Ministry for Education, Sports, Youth, Research and Innovation.
Gianluca Valentino is the President of the Malta Chamber of Scientists, a voluntary organization which promotes science and R&D in Malta, while providing a network for scientists and researchers. He is also a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Communications and Computer Engineering at University of Malta, where he lectures and conducts research in areas related to machine learning, signal processing and computer vision.
Dr Mifsud has a doctorate in informal education and museum learning from the Institute of Education at University College London (UCL). He regularly participates and presents at educational conferences such ESERA and ERIDOB. He has contributed chapters in books and papers in journals in his area of research. He also represents the University of Malta in the STEM Engagement working group at Esplora.
Dr Mifsud is senior lecturer II at Junior College and has taught Biology A-level for over twenty years. He also lectures part-time in the Faculty of Education at UoM. Dr Mifsud is also very passionate about music, art and culture. His research interests are in primary science education, informal and out-of-class learning and museum learning.
Dr Mifsud served as a member on the Board of Governors of ESPLORA interactive science centre, the Endeavor scholarships scheme board and also MPSS. He is currently a board member of the Academy for the Disciplinary Forces.
Mr Michael Mercieca is an Education Officer for Chemistry at the Directorate for Learning and Assessment Programmes (DLAP) within the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation (MEYR).
Paula Grech Bonnici is the Director of the Institute of Applied Sciences within the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST). She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry and a Master of Science degree in Biology, both from the University of Malta. Ms. Grech Bonnici has extensive work experience in the water and wastewater sector as well as laboratory accreditation and laboratory management.
Joanne Rita Grima has been the CEO of the Institute of Education since October 2015. She has extensive experience in education, educational leadership and professional development in the education sector. She holds a Master Degree in Education (Science) from the University of Malta. Before being appointed as CEO, she served as the Assistant Director of the Educational Assessment Unit of the Directorate for Educational Services within the Ministry of Education. She was also the Education Officer responsible for introducing Assessment for Learning and the Core Curriculum programme in schools.
Stephen Sammut received a B.Eng.(Hons) degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Malta in 2000 and an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School in 2013. He also holds a Master of Science in Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics from the University of Malta and a Master of Science in Engineering from the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST). Stephen Sammut is currently reading for his PhD in Microelectronics from the University of Malta.
He is also warranted as an Electrical Engineer by the state of Malta. Throughout his professional career he has worked in the fields of microelectronics, electrical power, project management and engineering contracting. Currently Ing. Sammut is the Director of the Institute of Engineering and Transport of MCAST.
Ms. Nicola Cini is the Department Manager of the Jobseekers Services within Jobsplus. She holds a Master of Science in Occupational Psychology from the University of Sheffield. She has worked for the Maltese PES for nearly 20 years where she focused her expertise on various areas within the Corporation spearheading a number of projects across research and analysis, career guidance, recruitment, matching, training and development.
Prof. Paul Pace, B.Ed. (Hons.) (Melit), M.Ed. (Melit), Ph.D. (Bradford), founder and former director of the Centre for Environmental Education & Research, is a researcher and professor in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and science education at the Faculty of Education, University of Malta. Prof. Pace was involved in several local and foreign ESD and science curriculum development projects. He is also the Eco-Schools National Co-ordinator and the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program Country Co-ordinator.
Dr Inġ. Bonnie Attard represents the engineering profession as the Secretary General on behalf of the Chamber of Engineers. In this capacity she is closely involved in outreach programs aimed to kindle the interest of young people in engineering and STEM subjects and activities to aid current engineering students with learning about the engineering field and the opportunities therein. She is currently a lecturer with the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Malta focusing on alloys used for high temperature applications and additive manufacturing of metallic materials.
Mariella Galea is the Head of HR for Michele Peresso Group and founder of HR TalentLEAD, offering HR consultancy and development services. She holds a Master degree in HR Management and Development from the University of Leicester.
Mr. Edwin Zammit graduated with an honours degree in Chemistry and Biology in 2009 and subsequently graduating in a Master of Science (Biology) in 2012. Edwin has worked in an Environmental Research Laboratory as an environmental biologist with one of the main activities being water quality analysis. Edwin has occupied the post of Senior Lecturer at MCAST and has taught a number of units related to the fields of health sciences, applied sciences, food sciences, analytical chemistry (practical), water quality and water technology at EQF levels 3 – 7. Edwin has worked with a number of foreign VET institutions and has coordinated projects which involved local and international students. He was instrumental in the generation of MCAST’s first craft beer that was labelled as the Valletta 2018 official craft beer.
Edwin is currently the Deputy Director for Innovation within the Applied Research & Innovation Office at MCAST. He oversees projects that fall under the MCAST EdTech -Innovation framework together with projects that fall under the innovation sphere. Edwin’s main interests include Applied Research & Innovation; Work-based Learning, connecting VET and the workplace, Applied Science popularization and Internationalization.
Erica Falzon is the Head of Education at Esplora Interactive Science Centre. Her past work at Esplora mainly focused on the development of education and public programmes, as well as science communication events, outreach and professional development training for educators and researchers. Nowadays, she heads Esplora’s education department and works with team members in strategizing, budgeting, relationship building, project applications, operational improvements and organizational planning to deliver high quality programmes and excellent customer service.
Irene has worked at Esplora since 2019 and coordinated the STEM Engagement Team since its inception. In 2022, she took up a research-focused position within the interactive science centre. Irene holds an MSc in Environmental Science and Management (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium) and a Master of International Studies with a focus on environmental strategy (University of Otago, New Zealand). Prior to joining Esplora, Irene worked for the Malta Council for Science and Technology, the Environment Commission of the Committee of the Regions in Brussels, and for several environmental NGOs in Malta and abroad. Irene’s research interests include museum activism and community-based participatory approaches to environmental challenges and climate action.
Tessabelle Camilleri is the Senior Manager heading the Operations, Business Development and Project pillars at Tech.mt. With more than 10 years of experience in the areas of Technology, Tessabelle has had the opportunity to contribute to various sectors, namely EU Funding, Project Management, Public Policy and Strategy.
Her Honours Degree in Work and Human Resources Management from the University of Malta has provided her with the strongest possible groundwork for her career. Her philosophy and mindset as a Senior Manager is to get closer to achieving operational excellence that starts and ends with the employee experience by focusing on macro organisational outcomes that create a positive company culture that’s conducive to efficiency and growth.
Dario Pirotta has been working at MATSEC since 2009 and occupying the role of Director for the last 10 years. He started his career in education as a Physics teacher. His professional interests focus on national assessments in general, non-examination assessment and science education.
Odette Vassallo is Chair of the MATSEC Board at the University of Malta. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Nottingham, UK. Prof. Vassallo lectures in the Department of English and is also Director of the Centre for English Language Proficiency. Her research prioritises national tests and examinations, language testing, and academic literacy within a multilingual and cross-cultural context.
In 2023, Ms Casha Sammut was appointed as Director for the new Directorate for STEM and VET Programmes, within the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation. After a number of years as a Primary teacher, in 2011 she was appointed as the Education Officer for Primary Mathematics. Together with a team of Heads of Department and Maths Support Teachers, they offered support, in varied ways, to all primary schools in Malta. They also sought to reach out to different stakeholders, through different collaborations, initiatives and projects. The aim was always Quality Mathematics Education for all.
Ms Casha Sammut holds a Masters in Comparative Research in Education from the University of Malta, and is currently a Doctoral student at Loughborough University (UK). Through her doctoral research project, she is looking into the learning experiences of primary students who are gifted and talented in Mathematics in mixed-ability Year 5 and Year 6 classrooms in Malta.
