From Mr M. Portelli

With reference to Professor Mallia’s recent statement about the government’s display at CERN, I cannot but agree completely.

Too much importance was given to Engineering and ICT but none to Physics. One might ask why nobody from the Department of Physics insisted on being part of the delegation that visited this state-of-the-art research centre.

As Professor Mallia pointed out, such a bad press could lead to dwindling number of students in the physical sciences.

I must say that there are other factors that might lead to this. An 18 year-old having A Levels in Mathematics and Physics aspiring to pursue his/her studies at tertiary level will easily grasp that a degree in Engineering is by far a much better option than a degree in Physics after going through the situation vacant section of the newspaper every Sunday.

One comes across jobs in engineering quite frequently. On the other hand, jobs requiring a bachelor’s or master’s degree in physics are non-existent. Unless one intends to pursue a teaching career or is willing to work abroad, there is not a single reason why one should choose Physics.

In foreign countries, salaries in the engineering field are better than those in the physics field. I have kept in touch with most of the students, who like me were studying Physics at university and I can assure you that they agree completely with me but hesitate to express their views on this matter.

When I started the B.Sc (Hons) back in 2002 I was determined to specialize in Physics. However, I soon realised that this wasn’t to be.

The presence of competent people in the Department of Physics at the Faculty of Science cannot be doubted. The issue is whether or not these people are in fact doing a good job. A minority of these lecturers are very professional and deserve credit. Without a doubt, the way that Physics is presented and taught by the majority of lecturers can and should be improved.

The Physics Department cannot expect students to embrace this subject unless much more emphasis is put on the practical side. Studying just the theory – sometimes by heart because of its complexity, without being properly exposed to the practical side of the same topic can be extremely boring.

To be fair, I feel I have the duty to mention the ironic fact that the department’s budget was drastically reduced in 2003 or so, which implied that no decent investment could be made on lab apparatus. Fortunately the government changed its mind last year and allocated more funds for science labs.

I urge sixth formers to do their homework properly before choosing a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Physics. What is the point of having a degree or postgraduate degree and then cannot use it because jobs requiring these are non-existent.

I am one of the unlucky students who are experiencing this harsh reality and no Physics lecturers from Tal Qroqq can deny this fact.

Michael Portelli

ATTARD