Seven hundred and forty two students graduated from MCAST at the Graduation Ceremonies held on Tuesday and Wednesday. This year there were two new courses, namely the Diploma for Pharmacy Technicians and OIC Navigational Watch.

Both events started off with speeches by MCAST Graduates. Stefan De Battista, Art and Design graduate, delivered his speech on Tuesday while Gwendoline Sciortino, graduate from the Institute of Business and Commerce, delivered her speech on Wednesday. The student speeches were followed by addresses by Prof Maurice Grech, MCAST Principal/CEO, Mr Paul A Attard, President of the Board of Governors and Hon Dolores Cristina, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. This year music interludes livened up the graduation ceremonies.

During the last few years MCAST has invested heavily, through Government and European Union funds, in the latest equipment in various industrial areas and will continue to invest to ensure quality education and training. Moreover, MCAST is planning very substantial investment in the professional development of its human resources, the primary element of MCAST’s success story.

A major milestone for MCAST this year is the provision of vocational top-up degree courses for students that successfully complete the two-year Higher National Diploma (HND) in the areas of Art and Design, Information and Communication Technology, Business and Commerce and Electrical and Electronics Engineering. MCAST has partnered up with foreign universities to design the courses which meet the demand for local skills while maintaining international quality standards.

The College is providing education and training programmes that are directly related to the needs of industry. An important event this year was the launch of the Diploma in Manufacturing Excellence by MCAST and the Malta Federation of Industry (MFOI). This Diploma, a major step in the development of professional and vocational education and training of employees, is targeted at those employees in industry that have acquired skills and competences through informal and non-formal routes and are interested in polishing their skills and advance in the career ladder. Once completed successfully it will enable students to meet the entry requirement for a variety of Higher National Diploma courses. This initiative is in line with the college’s Mission Statement and Strategic Plan 2007-2009 as it serves to meet the training demands needs of industry and the economy. This Diploma is an outcome of the partnership agreement that the College signed with the MFOI last November.

The college is very proud of the six MCAST students that participated in the Euroskills Competition that was held in Rotterdam in September. Three of the students returned to Malta with silver medals. Euroskills Competition is a platform for improving the quality, results and attractiveness of vocational education and skills, with the objective to help the EU member states to raise the standards of skills and to promote excellence in vocational skills throughout the EU.

MCAST is proud to announce that this year it has received nearly €200,000 approved funding from the EU to be spent on international exchange programmes. Students as well as members of administrative and academic staff will have the opportunity to participate in international exchange programmes including Mobility Studies, Mobility Placements, Teaching Assignments and Staff Training Projects.

In his speech Mr Paul A Attard, President of the Board of Governors and Policy Advisor to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, mentioned the significance of the holistic development of the student and the value of brain power. He spoke about the importance of the development of a creative, entrepreneurial mind that will lead to the success of the student and also Malta. He urged the students to further their studies, to work hard and be ambitious and successful in this strongly competitive environment.