Theme
think outside the box... and read the signs of our times!
The University of Malta opened its doors this morning to new students for Academic Year 2015-2016. Rector, Professor Juanito Camilleri, and KSU President, Becky Micallef, welcomed freshers at Sir Temi Zammit Hall, while the University Wind Ensemble directed by Dr Philip Ciantar provided musical interludes. Inauguration Mass at the University Chapel was celebrated by Chaplain Fr Michael Bugeja at 1230hrs.
In the initial part of his thought provoking address, Rector remarked that in his youth the one thing he thought he could always rely on was the Maltese summer weather. He now realised that one can only rely on the fact that change happens. While this change could be positive, he said, it could also be destructive - if it were to be based on prejudice, opportunism, intolerance or even hate. To resist this kind of negative change, Rector said, we need to educate ourselves, seek the truth and that which is good, based on knowledge, tolerance and equity.
Pointing out this year’s theme: think outside the box... and read the signs of our times! Professor Camilleri said that it was consistent with the messages he put forward during his rectorship. He drew attention to one’s responsibility to make the right choices and challenge that which has become the norm. He invited students to think outside the box and to hone a global vision, to question what is said with an open mind and a different perspective. While completing university with a set of skills was very important, he said, it was not enough. Going back to the previous year’s theme, Rector explained that in order to make an impact, one had to first discover one’s true self and all that one stood for, while seeking to understand what was taking place in the world and reading the sign of the times. He encouraged students to move beyond Malta’s shores and decipher how the country looked ‘from the moon’.
Addressing international students from 71 countries, Professor Camilleri reiterated that we all live in a world laden with opportunities, choices, and also with threat if we make the wrong choices.
He said new disciplines continued to emerge, discoveries in quantum and astrophysics gave us new insights on how the world and the universe are “wired up”. He observed how social media have been instrumental in bringing down regimes, and yet, Rector remarked, we still had to see if these can be useful at all in building effective democracies.
Rector exclaimed that the way global economics unfolded in the past few years forced the rewriting of economics textbooks. He talked about the impact of climate change, natural disasters, environmental degradation, and war, while we often sat back in the comfort of our sitting rooms wondering when someone else - not us - was going to do something about it. “Never fear change, never refrain from asking a question for fear of the answer”, Professor Camilleri said. “Do not let life pass you by whilst you spectate... Seek to participate, seek to engage, seek to make a difference, cash in on the talents that adorn you... and do so for the benefit of those around you...”
Rector then took his audience on a mental journey to a possible scenario in the future. He explained that at the current rate of growth the computation power of a chip will exceed that of a human brain in between a decade or two from now. It was not outrageous, he said, to predict that probably within the lifetime of today’s freshers, the computation power of microcomputing devices of some form will in time match the grey matter of all humanity put together - all the nine or so billion humans who will inhabit the earth then. There were clearly pros and cons to all this, he said, but it will become increasingly pertinent to ask ourselves what it is that makes us human. This was why, Professor Camilleri said, he wholeheartedly believed in a Bohemian style of education which was not overly utilitarian or prescribed, in the need to invest in the humanities, in creativity, in unbridled innovation, in things of beauty, in things that uplift our hearts and feed our soul with goodness.
Professor Camilleri referred to this being his last nine months after 10 years serving as Rector. He pointed out that he was the 80th rector in the University of Malta’s 420 years history. At this point he thanked all his collaborators for being there to help him steer the University during his Rectorship. He concluded by appealing to the student and alumni community to always be proud of their Alma Mater – cherish its outstanding past and help build a brighter future.
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