Alfred Mizzi, a lecturer at MCAST, was presented with the City & Guilds Medal for Excellence, in recognition of his efforts and commitments to his students at the College’s Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
The award was presented by City & Guilds and MCAST officials at the MCAST Main Campus in Paola. Mr Mizzi is the first Maltese lecturer ever to receive this prestigious award from City & Guilds.
Through a network of 8,500 approved centres in 80 different countries, over two million learners register with City & Guilds to work towards one of its qualifications every year. These include Maltese students who complete City & Guilds courses through MCAST. The Medals for Excellence are awarded every year to recognise the dedication of learners and lecturers who achieve the best results or who go above and beyond what is expected of them. This year, 106 medals were awarded in the UK and Ireland and in other countries where City & Guilds courses are offered. Mr Mizzi is one of only 15 individuals outside the UK and Ireland who received this award.
He has also been shortlisted for the City & Guilds Lion Awards, the most prestigious accolade of this awarding body, which acknowledges the best performers among the Medal for Excellence awardees. The awards will be announced during a ceremony on 5 June, at the Roundhouse in London’s Camden. As a Medal for Excellence winner, Mr Mizzi is also nominated for the People’s Choice Award, the only City & Guilds awards based solely on an online public vote. Everyone is eligible to vote for Mr Mizzi’s nomination by visiting the People’s Choice section of the Lion Awards website www.lionawards2013.com/peopleschoice and look up his name under M.
With over 30 years’ experience in his field, Mr Mizzi has been teaching electrical installation at MCAST since 2003. Previously, he lectured at the Technical Institute.
In his modules, Mr Mizzi developed an innovative form of assessment, which combines practical experience in real work scenarios with community work. Every year, he collaborates with different charity organisations that may need different electrical installation services and includes their requirements as part of the students’ City & Guilds studies. Each project is first planned and discussed with the students at Mr Mizzi’s workshop at MCAST. Every student is then assigned to a specific task to collaborate with their colleagues in implementing the project under the lecturer’s supervision. The students’ work is finally evaluated and included as part of their City & Guilds final assignment. Through this method, Mr Mizzi’s students worked on the electrical installation of several community homes for disabled persons, crèches and other charitable institutions such as Dar il-Wens and Inspire.
“In this way,” Mr Mizzi explains, “my students acquire invaluable hands-on experience in their area of study, while learning how to be active, responsible and caring citizens. The same level of technical training can be achieved by practising on a training model. However, by applying their newly-acquired skills to a real project for a good cause, they are gaining full satisfaction out of their work – the satisfaction of knowing that their efforts and their skills can go a long way to helping people in need.”
The Medal for Excellence Award was presented to Mr Mizzi by Brid Healy, City & Guilds regional manager (Europe), Rónán Haughey, City & Guilds Development manager (Europe), Stephen Cachia, MCAST principal and CEO, Anthony Saliba, deputy principal and John Sciberras, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering director.
Ms Healy said that City & Guilds is delighted to have supported an educational institution as prestigious as MCAST over the past decade. “We very much value our partnership with MCAST and want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the valuable contribution this College has made to vocational education in Malta since its foundation,” she explained. “City & Guilds is very pleased to be awarding a Medal for Excellence to a member of MCAST’s lecturing team. This award has been won as a result of Alfred’s dedication, commitment and inspirational work. It is also a testament to the positive culture which Mr Cachia and the MCAST team have fostered to facilitate learning and encourage potential for excellence.”
Mr Cachia congratulated Mr Mizzi and praised this lecturer as an inspiring example of an experienced educator who combines high academic standards in the vocational area with a strong interest in the holistic development of his students. “Alfred’s hard work, dedication and commitment to his students are respected by all staff and students at MCAST. This award is a fitting recognition of his work. It also highlights the dedication and commitment found in our country’s teaching profession.”
Since 2004, the City & Guilds Medal for Excellence has also been awarded to 25 MCAST students. City & Guilds’ connection to Malta goes as far back as September 1942, when the country already offered the organisation’s syllabuses to its students. Since its establishment in 2001, MCAST continued this collaboration as a City & Guilds Approved Centre, with four of its Institutes currently offering courses leading to the awarding body’s qualifications.