The Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) provides a real opportunity for students to develop leadership, social and ethical skills. “The college wants to build on the capabilities of the nation,” MCAST principal and chief executive officer Frank Edwards said yesterday.

He was speaking at the launch of MCAST’s strategic plan for the next two years and said the college – with its nine institutes and the Gozo Centre, its 4,000 full-time and 5,000 part-time students, 400 full-time employees, and its commitment to engage all stakeholders, including NGOs and the private sector – is witness to the holistic education it wants to offer.

In line with Mr Edwards’ concept of the college, Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said a holistic education is of the utmost importance, since “knowledge can never be dissociated from ethics”.

MCAST’s strategic plan, launched yesterday, includes a draft master-plan for the development of a college campus that incorporates all of its nine institutes in Paola.

Minister Galea said it is important for students to receive academic training, but it is just as important for them to be skilled socially and ethically: “At the college, students are offered opportunities for them to develop as human beings, in order to receive skills they will need in everyday life”.

The government’s vision to build on the success of the college, is to offer best-

possible quality courses, as well as to insist on the need for cross-curricular specialisation.

“Quality needs to be seen in the context of graduates who will have received training in their areas of specialisation, but at the same time will have gained knowledge of other areas that are indirectly or directly linked to the main area,” said Dr Galea.

MCAST’s basic challenge is to double the number of part-time students to over 8,000 by 2009 and increase the number of full-time students by 1,800. This should bring the total student population of MCAST to around 14,000 in 2008-9.

The principle of a holistic education remains extremely important, he said, adding that the country’s success in the Mediterranean region lies strongly in the correlation of work being carried out at university and at MCAST.

In his address at yesterday’s launch, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the college’s vision and strategy for MCAST fits in perfectly with the government’s vision for the country.

He said the government has been investing millions of liri, including a substantial amount of money from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund.

The private sector is an important resource that needs to continue to develop, said Dr Gonzi, adding that while ensuring quality, one must have a more comprehensive view of the learning opportunities that exist in Malta and the ways by which the private sector can contribute.

“We want to create a strong link between education and technology, in order to make the country a centre of excellence in these two vital sectors,” said Dr Gonzi.

Mr Edwards, who gave a presentation of the strategic plan, spoke about the mission statement – to provide a “universally accessible vocational and professional education, with an internation- al dimension, responsive to the needs of the individual and the economy”.

He said MCAST wants to continue earning the respect of all stakeholders, by being responsive and delivering promises.

During his presentation, Mr Edwards spoke about a “community college”, the principle upon which the master-plan is also based.

“The strategic plan does not simply include a set of aims, but targets we will achieve together and which we also hope to surpass,” he enthused.

Driving towards national and Lisbon targets, and the concepts of efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, quality and value for money are at the core of MCAST’s strategic plan, as is the intention to create a single cohesive and collaborative college, which will be an inheritance for future generations, he said.

“MCAST will establish itself as a unified, high quality multi-campus

college, committed to meeting the learning aspirations of the communities we serve. We will develop policies consistent with the diversity of our provision and of our learners,” said Mr Edwards, before concluding his presentation with a synthesis of the college’s vision statement in Maltese, much to the appreciation of the guests and members of the press alike.

The vision of further developing a community college and “placing students at the heart of all that we do” – the motto of the strategic plan – are concepts that architects Mangion Mangion and Partners, who are developing the college’s master-plan, are steadfastly keeping in mind.

The regeneration project of the MCAST campus in Paola, which will include the whole college with all of its institutes, places the student at the centre of the whole urban design.

The new MCAST complex will be developed in a manner that inspires learning by means of its diversity and use of space, also thanks to “the college site’s fantastic topography” according to architect Anthony McGuirk.

Mr McGuirk has participated in the development of a number of college campuses across the UK and is now also working on the development of the MCAST master-plan, the main aim of which is to consolidate the existing facilities and services and provide alternatives for expansion in order to satisfy the potential developments in vocational and educational training.