Malta鈥檚 year-long programme of scientific, social, cultural and economic activities that kicked off upon its designation as the first World Capital for Women and Girls in Science, came to a close on 29 February 2024, at an event during which three individuals received an Excellence Recognition Award for their respective STEM contributions.
During her introductory address, Ms Danielle Martine Farrugia, Senior Executive of Science Popularisation at the University鈥檚 Marketing, Communications and Alumni Office, said the event is a celebration of how the University enabled, encouraged, and empowered our girls and women in science and technology through its various initiatives.
Her Royal Highness, Princess Dr Nisreen El-Hashemite, who serves as the current Chief Executive Officer of RASIT, was present at the event, and personally handed royal medals to:
Dr Doreen Pace Said, Principal of St Ignatius College, for leading a focused effort to promote STEM and Women in STEM through various projects, activities and events, Mr Glenn Bugeja, Manager of Corporate Sustainability at HSBC (Malta) Foundation, for supporting several initiatives of STEM, even assigning personnel as a support to some of those activities, and Prof. Pauline Galea, a UM academic with a career-long interest in evaluating the seismic hazard to the Maltese islands, communicating this hazard to both the authorities and the general public.
The title was designated, unprecedentedly, to Malta by the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT) last year (in 2023) for the inaugural year of the global event. The Capital of Women and Girls in Science is a global initiative offered under the patronage of RASIT to advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion in all areas of science, and to place these issues at the heart of the world鈥檚 attention by organising a year-long celebration.
UM鈥檚 Pro-Rector for Student and Staff Affairs &
Outreach, Prof. Carmen Sammut, commented on how this title will fuel the country's motivation to keep working towards inclusivity across all career choices.
Among the activities that have been held were the Girls4STEM Summer Camp, the AI Bootcamp and more recently, the SHE CAN Exhibition.
Representatives from the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Malta Council for Science and Technology, the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) and the University of Malta (UM) were present at the event, and showed their appreciation at being involved in such a collaboration-rich initiative.
A number of students from several schools across the island who have shown interest in STEM also gave their contributions throughout the closing event, discussing matters such as what initiatives exist to promote greater diversity in STEM fields, and how this compares to what is being done on an international scale.
