@KSU MARCH issue 2014
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sailing through harsh winds sean mallia Public Relations Officer
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ith the remaining days as PRO slowly diminishing, the number of challenges, the extent of my schedule, as well as that of my colleagues in KSU, still remains constant. KSU is at its busiest during this time of year. Preparations for the AGM are in full swing, documents are gathered in order to compile our Annual Report and we also continue finalising projects which are still in the pipeline. In the background, our fellow colleagues forming part of the KSU Student Fest’s crew and cast are also going
at full throttle. It is a great sensation to be surrounded by an atmosphere full of activism and excitement. Seeing everyone busy with their own tasks gives me more motivation to work hard and finalise the pile of work that is still to be completed. However, it is unfortunate that most KSU members cannot fully share the excitement building up towards Student’s Fest as a lot of the work that is still to be done needs to happen simultaneously and most of the deadlines for different projects overlap, for example, producing the KSU video updates; maintaining communication with students through Facebook; closing off agreements; compiling the @KSU; compiling the Annual report; seeing to the promotional needs of offices; selling adverts to finance the @KSU magazine; approving artwork for offices; finding
new designers to do more artwork; working on obtaining funds for a laser cutter; more exec meetings and so on. All these activities have to happen at the same time. Nevertheless, the work has to be completed - it is the last push we have to give in order to close-off another successful year of KSU!
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@KSU MAR 2014
KSU EXECUTIVE 2013/2014
BECKY CAMILLERI Vice President
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JOHN GABARRETTA Secretary General
Andrea A. attard Financial Officer
THOMAS BUGEJA President
YANICA SANT International Officer
Thomas naudi International Coordinator
sean mallia Public Relations Officer
Daniel vella fondacaro Education Coordinator
malcolm zammit Education Commissioner
luana vassallo Social Policy Coordinator
Gayle lynn callus Culture & Entertainment Officer
TAMARA CALIGARI Social Policy Commissioner
luke azzopardi Culture & Entertainment Coordinator
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@KSU MAR 2014
tying loose ends thomas bugeja President
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s the letter in the centre spread of this magazine clearly shows us all, another year has passed in what seems like a month, with the KSU 2013/14 term soon coming to a close with the Annual General Meeting to be held in the coming days. This year being my third in KSU has seen the council growing in operations, driving initiatives, publishing positions, and setting up events all with the aim of safeguarding student rights
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and making campus life a better one. It is in the last few days before the AGM,that we look back at our year and at all the ups and downs that come along with it, together with our accomplishments and achievements. KSU’s focus this year, was of opening the council and its operations to as many students and areas as possible. A number of sub-committees and forums where opened by almost all the offices in KSU, student organizations were intrinsically involved in almost everything KSU did, online polls and feedback were used to gauge student opinions and feedbacks, and record numbers of attendance and participants were recorded in most of our popular and growing events!
Nonetheless, the time has come to tie up our loose ends and conclude this year’s work, while handing over the longterm projects we have worked on throughout the past year, while make way for a new and freshly-elected council, who I am sure will continue to work in the students’ best interests.
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focusing our efforts gayle lynn callus Culture and Entertainment Officer
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ith another AGM just round the corner, it’s time to explain what we’ve been up to during this term in KSU. I can honestly say that despite years of experience in various student organisations, initiatives, sub-committees and events, nothing could compare to KSU’s intense workload and it was nothing close to what I had expected. Working with so many people and students, all having so many different ideas is in
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itself overwhelming. The true potential for us to move forward in anything we do at KSU is to simply to be even more inclusive and involve as many students & student organisations as possible. Although KSU took pretty much all of my time, meaning that I had to cut down on certain things in my personal life, I have come to love it! Considering the team’s effort and input, it is unfortunate that most of our work seems to go unnoticed. Apart from implementing the proposals set out in the manifesto one must not forget the long list of tasks and general duties we at KSU have to handle, including daily complaints and studentrelated meetings, smart card refunds, parking permits, meetings and commitments
related to ongoing initiatives and much more. I can’t fail to refer to the recent article written by Julian Caruana and published in the ‘Insiter’; which rightly suggests that the electoral programme results in an added burden on our already expanding workload. All in all one must not depart from the true aim of KSU, the actual role which is to represent the student body. Rather than focussing on electoral manifestos, we need to redirect our vision and focus more on the true and real needs of the students, to be the student council which students at our university deserve.
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culture on campus luke azzopardi Culture and Entertainment Coordinator
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’m currently working very close to the different members of the KSU Culture Subcommittee on a number of different projects – not all essentially listed in the electoral manifesto but necessary nonetheless. Seeing that all the members have their own expertise and areas of interest, they naturally found themselves working with myself as coordinators and main actors for Students’ Fest, event organizers and HR for the various KSU initiatives.
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With the V18 collaboration already operational in full swing and with the Internships and Workshops launched, I am now working the last two manifesto points which carry the most weight – The Culture Card and the Gallery Space on Campus. Due to the natural complications these proposals came with, as well as the number of people that unquestionably have to be involved in their completion, they are taking a lot of time to move close to completion. This does not mean that they will not be completed, however, we are taking our time for these last two schemes in order to make sure they are implemented correctly. I guess, as with everything else I do, it’s the friendships that count. I’m happily working within a group of old friends and new friends
– all active students in their respective organisations or committees and all very passionate about what they do.
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HECTIC YET REWARDING becky camilleri Vice President
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ith the end of the KSU term fast approaching, executive members have been working hard to accomplish all they set out to do this year. Most recently I have been trying to finalize a number of projects; Firstly I have been working towards making smart card refunds available at Mater Dei for medical and FHS students who may find travelling down to the main University Campus to receive such a service to be quite an inconvenience. After meeting with the University
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architect and other related parties, it has also been decided that the number of charging bays in Sir Temi Zammit hall, LT 1 and 2 and the KSU common room will be increased.. Together with the culture office, I have also been working closely with V18 so as to secure a number of cultural internships for students and to work on the introduction of a Culture card. Additionally, as I am writing this article, rehearsals for Student’s fest are in full swing. As an acting coordinator, my role involves directing the main cast and chorus ,planning rehearsals and making adjustments to the plot where it is necessary. However, in addition to this I have also been lending a help in hand with regards to costumes, dance, script and the overall image and ‘feel’ of the show.
Being in KSU is a great responsibility and this fact makes the experience quite overwhelming at times, however seeing the fruits of your efforts after long hours of hard work is extremely rewarding. Balancing all this with my studies often proves to be quite challenging, but I find that if you want and enjoy something enough, you can ultimately make it work.
@KSU MAR 2014
busier than ever yanica sant International Officer
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ith only 2 months of our tenure left to go, every KSU executive member has a duty to leave to his/her successors a foundation on which to build further. This necessarily means that these two months are busier than ever. Two such examples are the case of the International Office is the MEP candidate elections and the Erasmus+ Talks. It so happened that this year happened to include the elections and the significant
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changes in the Erasmus programmes. Although the latter two fell outside our manifesto, we nevertheless took it upon ourselves to relay the relevant information and provide the appropriate opportunities to the students. Every KSU member this year went over and above the points in the manifesto whenever we felt the need to do so. For instance, we all heard, welcomed and did our best to help any student who came to us with any query or complaint even though most often, these were in no way related to our office. It was our pleasure to have done so, because this is ultimately what we have signed up for, and it needn’t be written on paper. This is what enables KSU to build a strong relationship with students, and if we fail
in this respect, we would have not only failed all the students who entrusted us with this responsibility, but also future executives which will consequently suffer the results of our actions.
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an un forgettable journey luana vassallo Social Policy Coordinator
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hile writing this article it dawned to me that our term in KSU will soon be over, the end of a term which I can easily describe as a wonderful journey, which had taught me lessons that for sure I wouldn’t have learnt just by reading books. KSU has been the key to help me explore a different perspective of being a University student, that of being actively involved in students’ lives and being able to organize and work for the benefit of all students. Even though this is time consuming, the satisfaction that you get once it is all over, and having students thanking you themselves for that particular initiative, makes it all worth it.
I cannot not end this article without truly thanking all those who believed in me and whom without, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be able to represent all University students. Moreover, I cannot not express my satisfaction of being part of this team which I can comfortably call my second family. Baring this mind, I strongly advice all students to get involved and be part of students organizations and give something more to University. I can assure you that this will surely serve you well since there is no better opportunity to explore and discover your true self.
@KSU MAR 2014
making the most of time
tamara caligari Social Policy Commissioner
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eing towards the end of my term I cannot not look back with a sense of nostalgia. Ever since my 1st year at University I have always been active and involved in student organizations. This has helped me increase my organizational skills and enhance my experiences working within a team. KSU has been a different yet great experience. Being Social Policy Commissioner I have been involved with many
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organizations and worked on various initiatives, reports and policies. This gave me the opportunity to get to know more the organizations at university and the work they do. The KSU team has also been a pleasure to work with. Coming from different backgrounds we work well together and bring our different experiences and ideas to execute our plans and proposals. Whilst working within KSU and carrying out my duties, I am also a full time student doing a Masters in Computer Information Systems. I am following this course as I would like to work in the ICT sector which deals with IT projects and with
users at the same time. My experience within KSU and other organizations in the past is always an asset in any interview I go to and employers are always interested to hear more of these experiences.
Therefore looking back, I believe I have truly made the most of my time in KSU and I certainly do not regret it despite the work and time management it involves. I would finally like to end by thanking all my family and friends for their support and help whenever needed.
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A FULFILLED EXPERIENCE malcolm zammit Education Commissioner
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his was an interesting and intensive year indeed! KSU always tries to go that extra mile to ensure that the student gets what is only just and deserving. As student representatives, we naturally don’t do miracles in just a term, but we use this term as a unique opportunity to give our utmost. This is what we tried to do in KSU, as one team. During this year I am pleased with our efforts to channel more with student reps,
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student organisations and the student body in general. We have kept also a great working relationship with library management were we managed to extend the opening hours during the Extended Library Hours. We handled multiple student complaints, and also extended the relevance and usability of KSU’s Online Academic Complaint System. The Education Office made sure that the students’ voice was heard in a consultative process such as the Education Act Reform. Activity of the office was kept vibrant throughout the year! Following the end of my term in KSU, I will keep treasuring my efforts and experiences in student representation. With this thought, I extend my best wishes to all students to remain active whilst reaching their goals.
This encouragement for more representation particularly goes towards my colleagues. I envisage that Engineering students will start taking an active role in KSU on a more frequent basis. The systematic, solution-oriented mindset fostered by the Engineering profession can be of benefit to such a representative body and society at large.
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proactive student experience DANIEL VELLA FONDACARO Education Coordinator
KSU WORK
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he KSU has held meetings with the Library Administration regarding early opening hours and we have reached a compromise for the library to open at 08:30. Moreover the Extended Library Hours project continued as planned.
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Several meetings and discussions were held with the University of Malta Academic Staff Association (UMASA) and the University Human Resources department, Registrar and University Secretary regarding the collective agreement. The KSU Education Office is also working on several issues such as online tools (VLE, Turnitin), publication of results and assignment feedback by meeting up with the deans of all the faculties to gather feedback and information. The KSU has been closely monitoring the stipends for repeaters issue and proposed several recommendations for the implementation of the system. These proposals were approved by the Students Maintenance Grants Board (SMGB) and will be online soon.
WHAT I FIND INTERESTING IN MEDICINE The beautiful thing about performing medicine and surgery is that it is both a science and an art. Patients are vulnerable individuals who need your help, and that’s where you get the satisfaction from. Above all one must balance health with wellbeing, and always take the patient’s choice of care as an individual into consideration.
WHAT I FIND INTERESTING ABOUT UNI University is the place where students coming from different backgrounds with different ideas study different subjects to eventually make up the adult population of society in the coming years. This is the things that I truly appreciate within the walls of university – diversity within unity.
Matching the human resource needs in the maritime sector An M.Sc. in Applied Oceanography opening next October
In Europe, marine research and technology underpin the competitiveness of the industry and service sectors. Society needs to invest in human resources and infrastructure to advance marine sector development against a background of the rising industrialisation of Europe’s seas and oceans.
European seas are experiencing increasing human impact such as from renewable energy provision, aggregate extraction, fishing and leisure industries.
This is naturally also fitting to maritime Malta with its 266Km long shoreline, a marine territory up to the 25 nautical mile limit amounting to 20 times the extent of the land area, and the economic, social and scientific dimensions of human activity that are inextricably linked to the sea.
The goal is for sustainable development, which means protecting the marine ecosystem, minimising the impacts of climate change, natural hazards and anthropogenic influences, whilst maximising benefits to society. Marine environmental policies, management of marine resources, coastal planning and marine operations should support sustainable development. Managers need to adopt an integrated approach in order to make the best informed decisions. Good management and decision support systems are becoming more dependent on the timely
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delivery of routine, reliable, quality-assured marine data. Operational oceanography, as it is commonly called, provides systematic and longterm routine measurements of the seas and oceans and atmosphere through the use of multi-purpose meteo-marine observing systems; coupled with rapid interpretation and dissemination of information, the aim is to support integrated, service-oriented applications to meet a range of different requirements: policy, research, monitoring, surveillance, security and industry. The new Master Course in Applied Oceanography on offer as from next October by the Physical Oceanography Unit of the IOI-Malta Operational Centre at the University of Malta is precisely earmarked to accomplish the human resource backbone needed to achieve such targets. It is the culmination of several years of endeavour by Prof. Aldo Drago at the helm of this branch of innovative activity. The course will avail of professional academic staff at the University of Malta as well as an international faculty of high repute. The specialized course programme is elaborated over seven study units spanning ksu.org.mt
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2013 and merging the legal, socioeconomic, scientific and environmental elements into one whole to offer students a wide-ranging vision to marine affairs, linking science to management, putting technology at the service of users and stakeholders, and providing tools and training for more efficient service oriented applications. Targeted areas of such applications include environmental monitoring and surveillance, assessment and mitigation of risks, marine sciencebased policy development and strategic planning, climate change, sustainable resource exploitation, ocean governance, marine industries and service provision and the overall empowerment of human resources to face current and emerging challenges in the marine domain. While retaining the necessary scientific elements related to the acquisition and use of data and its transformation into knowledge, the course
targets to put an emphasis on achievement of skills, and empower students to excel in performance on applications and operational practices. The course is fitting to postgraduate students with a first degree in science, engineering, architecture or computing as well as to mid-career professionals aiming to supplement their background with a grounding in marine and maritime studies and willing to augment their academic portfolio with a new suite of capabilities. Certified proficiency in Computer Programming and Mathematics is considered to be an essential requisite.
Prof. Aldo Drago Physical Oceanography Unit IOI-Malta Operational Centre University of Malta w http://www.um.edu.mt/ ioi-moc/msc e aldo.drago@um.edu.mt ioi-moc@um.edu.mt
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JUNE
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
• New executive • Planning weekend • Attanded 3 events by invitation • KSU & MUSC - FISU Summer Universiades • 3 meetings with local authorities
• Organisations BBQ • Gave feedback to the legal studies option • Gave feedback to the Graduate Employability Research study by NCFHE • Gave feedback regarding Youth Employment to Education Minister. • KPS issues immigration statement • KPS Immigration Working group formed • Meeting with MRFU
• Revision of paper refund • Education Officers Meeting’ initiative • KSU KSJC Summer Bash • KSU Video Update #1 • KSU Freshers’ Week 2013 • Student Organizations Video • International Students’ Welcome Party • International Students’ Handbook • Participated in Science and the city
JULY • Organisations’ Forum • Welcomed prospective students • MFA Collaboration • Started working on laser cutter funding
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OCTOBER • KSU Campus Fest 2013 + After Party • Website updates • Orientation Days • KE/KPS Seminar • Feedback survey on earlier library opening hours • Malta vs Czech Republic - Pre-Party + game • Meeting with Secretary for Culture • Clean Up of Mistra Bay
DECEMBER • Online Assignment Submission survey • Christmas on Campus • The KSU Great Grad Ball • Presidents’ Fun Run • Park & Donate (w/SACES) • Referencing and Plagiarism Seminar • €12,000 raised during Christmas on Campus for research and charity • @KSU Magazine • IT Services Water Fountain
NOVEMBER • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Updated Rent-a-Laptops software Student Representatives Elections Participated in Discover University KPS Budget Working Group formed Graduation Speeches selection process Malta vs Croatia Rugby game Movember Initiative JC Milkshake day Spring Hunting Referendum Statement KSU Spring Hunting Debate TED talks Car Treasure Hunt KSU Szeged Exchange KSU Careers Convention 2014 Smart Card donation Collective agreement re-negotiations Consultation process with UoM Deans PR: Government’s IIP Scheme PR: Fine Arts Collection PR: Budget Reaction 2013 Culture Sub-Committee Participation in Notte Bianca 2013 (w/V18) Students house monitor for organisations
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4 meetings with University and authorities More Extended Library Hours New bike racks Recommendations for increased use of online academic tools Revamped online calendar PR: Gives feedback on Stipend for Repeating Students’ initiative PR: Reaction to the Change in Public Transport Operator Memorandum of understanding with V18
JANUARY
• • • •
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FEBRUARY • International Welcome Party • Meeting with KSJC • Meeting with SMGB • Feedback on the IT facilities at the Gozo campus • Meeting with Kuwaiti students • Junior College contact hours • Cyber Harassment Statement (KPS) • Cyber Harassment Working Group formed • Feedback on Standardised Assignment Feedback System • Gave €4,000 to RIDT • University Futsal Team • Feedback on new Medical School in Gozo • More vending machines • More halal food at canteen • Organizations Fund • Gateway Water Fountain • Website Updates • Outdoor Standing Posters • Futsal Team • Organisations’ Meeting • Malta première of the film documentary ‘The Competition’
MARCH • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Junior College contact hours KSU Public Consultation Meeting Feedback on the Education Act Reform KSU Students’ Fest 2014 Research & Opportunity Fund - €20,000 Online Complaint System promotion Student rights campaign Debate Society League Spotlight on your MEP Candidates PR: KSU Brings University Students and MEP Candidates Together KSU Pizza Day in JC Culture Fund - €5,000 KSU Video Update #2 KE/KPS Seminar Feedback to Senate PR: Recommendations for the Education Act Review PR: Calls for Clarification on the New Medical School ECTS accreditation for work within student organizations Diversity Days Cultural internship scheme Diversity Infographic Campaign Health Days Promotes and participates in Erasmus Talks AED Installation in Students’ House Cat Welfare Campaign Free First Aid Courses for students Transport Fund - €10,000 European parliament trainee-ship
APRIL • • • • • • • • •
Culture Card One-time Workshops Art-in-Action Gallery Space Opening Science and Technology event Immigration report Cyber harassment policy Whisky Tasting Kokka Night KSU Gourmet Trip
@KSU MAR 2014
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