Malta College of Arts Science and Technology (MCAST)

Established in 2001, MCAST is Malta’s leading vocational education and training institution. Six Institutes in Malta and the Gozo Campus, MCAST offers over 190 full-time courses and over 300 part-time vocational courses ranging from certificates to Doctoral level.

   

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The six MCAST Institutes namely the Institute of Applied Sciences, the Institute for the Creative Arts, the Institute of Engineering and Transport, the Institute of Business Management and Commerce, the Institute of Community Services, the Institute of Information and Communication Technology and the Gozo Campus provide all the technical and professional expertise towards the delivery of the programmes at MCAST. They also maintain the aim of driving forward all the areas of study under their respective responsibility. This corporate structure enables focused strategies, which address the specific needs of students at each level while maintaining a healthy dialogue with all interested stakeholders in order to provide the best programmes for the needs of the local economy and society.

MCAST’s relationship with industry stimulates the College’s success – its programmes are flexible, relevant and responsive to the aspirations of the students and to the needs of industries which are constantly evolving to meet the challenges of a changing global economy. The College supports small and medium-sized enterprises through a multidisciplinary approach. This encompasses work-based learning through the Apprenticeships Programme, the various entrepreneurship initiatives and through MG2i (MCAST’s commercial arm) services whereby it provides training courses tailor-made to their needs. The College is focusing on increasing the portfolio of MG2i by developing new programmes in Life Long Learning, accrediting new programmes at different levels, including Master’s degrees, and introducing more professional development programmes. It is working on the internationalisation of MG2i through the Training and Professional Development Programmes and joint-venture opportunities in different vocational areas.

Role in WATERLINE

MCAST is the coordinator of the project and responsible for the overall coordination of the project, which includes professional, administrative, and financial management, organising effective communication between project partners, overseeing deadlines and deliverables. The main functions of the Project Coordinator are: (1) Monitoring task execution and project success, (2) Liaising with the EU on all organisational issues, along with technical and financial reporting, (3) Proposing workable solutions to any contractual and/or managerial matters, ensuring that technical, administrative, and financial issues are on schedule, (4) Allocation and transfer of funds, (5) Organisation and scheduling the activities, meetings, inputs and outputs, (6) Administrative support to all partners in all activities, reports, deliverables and project management status updates and requests, (7) Review the project deliverables. 

Key people

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Edwin Zammit

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Edwin is a Deputy Director of Research and Innovation and a Senior Lecture at MCAST.  He is specialised at Educational Technologies and Strategiess, and Innovation management.

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Dr Lorna Bonnici West

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Dr Lorna Bonnici West graduated in Pharmacy from the University of Malta in 2000. She read for a Master of Science degree in Clinical Pharmacy at the Robert Gordon University, Scotland, graduating in 2006, and was awarded a scholarship by the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme to read for a PhD at the Robert Gordon University, Scotland, graduating in 2015. In 2016, she was awarded a post-doctoral grant under the Reach-High Scholars Programme Scheme, part-financed by the European Union, Operational ProgrammeII – Cohesion Policy 2014 – 2020 ‘Investing in human capital to create more opportunities and promote the well-being of society’ – European Social Fund. Her post-doctoral research programme was conducted with the Medicines Use Research Group at the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Malta.

Lorna’s PhD and, subsequently, post-doctoral research applied mixed methods to investigate aspects of medication wastage in Malta. The research, which was composed of a series of studies, aimed to determine behaviour and practices in relation to medication wastage. It also aimed to identify medication wastage minimisation strategies, and the effects of quality improvement measures in relation to enhanced value and wastage minimisation in pharmacy processes.

Dr Bonnici West holds a post of Visiting Senior Lecturer with the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Malta. She also served on a number of committees and was the founder of the Malta Association of Hospital Pharmacists (MAHP) in 2013, and has collaborated with individuals and groups from various countries and published in diverse international peer-reviewed scientific journals. Lorna also presented at several national and international conferences.

Lorna also held various professional roles. She worked as a clinical pharmacist at Mater Dei Hospital within the respiratory field until June 2013, after which she was appointed Principal Pharmacist at Sir Paul Boffa Hospital, where she led the oncology and dermatology pharmacy services. In 2015, following the migration from Sir Paul Boffa Hospital to Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre, she held the role of Principal Pharmacist and was in charge of the aseptic reconstitution unit. In February 2019, she was the Principal Pharmacist responsible to establish the oncology ward pharmacy services at Mater Dei Hospital, Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre. Since January 2020 she joined the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology as a Senior Research Officer supporting the Institute of Applied Sciences