The University of Malta (UoM) succeeded the Collegium Melitensis (1592) by decree of Grand Master Manoel Pinto de Fonseca in 1769. It is Malta’s highest teaching and leading scientific research institution, employing the largest number of researchers.

There are over 10,000 students, which include 750 foreign/exchange students from nearly 80 different countries, all following full or part-time degree and diploma courses. The University has been involved as coordinator and partner in numerous EU-funded projects under various Programmes including FP5/6/7, Lifelong Learning Programme, Culture 2000, Tempus and various other international and regional programmes and initiatives.  Since 2008, the University has attracted over €44 million from ERDF and ESF funding. This investment is a critical step towards Malta achieving its Europe 2020 goals. The University is also represented in a number of European and international University networks and groups. It is very eager to promote these achievements and associated researchers.

Edward Duca

Dr Edward Duca is the Publications Developer and Editor at the University of Malta for the research magazine Think that has reached three million online views. He is a PhD graduate in Genetics (University of Edinburgh) and a freelance science writer, editor and communicator. He has written for several local and international organisations including The Times of Malta,Science and Nature.

In Malta, he founded Malta Cafe Scientifique, which is the public outreach arm of the Malta Chamber of Scientists. By setting up the science and arts festival Science in the City (visited by over 20,000 per year), he aims to bridge the gap between the sciences and arts, that can benefit each other by providing inspiration, bringing new audiences to cultural events, pushing the boundaries of art into new fields, while shining a critical lens on science. He aims to continue setting up projects that communicate science to the public to create a scientifically literate society.

Specialties: Science Communication, Science Writing, Project Management, Science and Art, Genetics, Ideas, Editing

Silvia Verdolini
Silvia Verdolini is the EU Project Officer at the University of Malta responsible for Science Communication. She manages EU funded projects (CREATIONS, STEAM and NUCLEUS) aimed at public engagement, improving science literacy, and developing the next generation of scientists.

In February 2014 Dr Verdolini completed her PhD in Astrophysics at Leiden University (The Netherlands). She graduated at the University of Bologna (Italy) and spent the last year of the master degree at University of California Santa Cruz (United States) as part of an exchange project. She is an experienced programmer and numerical modeller.

Over the years of her studies, she has contributed and collaborated on a number of outreach events, conveying the beauty of physics through the vastness of our cosmos. She participated at a science and art festival – the Story of Light 2015 (Goa, India) – with an interactive installation. Currently she is a science project consultant for the Story of Space 2017 Festival.

Finally, in 2015 she changed career and worked as a visiting fellow at the International Astronomical Union at the Office of Astronomy for Development – Cape Town, South Africa – where she got training in management, monitoring, and evaluation of outreach projects.