“If we do not change we become irrelevant,” says Silvio De Bono, President of MCAST’s board of directors, summing up the reasoning behind the “evolutionary transformation project” announced last week. The college revamp will see the creation of three different colleges, including a university college, the realignment of MCAST’s ten institutes into six and the introduction of Masters Degrees.

The Foundation College will take in students with levels 1 to 3 of the qualifications criteria, the Technical College at level four and the University College at levels 5 to 7. Up till now MCAST has only offered courses up to level 6. These colleges will work in conjunction with the six institutes, which will be providing different courses, at different levels. All will fall under the MCAST umbrella. “We did not want to create ten MCASTs,” Mr De Bono says. “This structure will help ensure we have one MCAST with structures that can focus on different levels of education while working hand in hand.

MCAST Principal Stephen Cachia says this is a part of the college’s natural evolution process that is being built on the successes of the past. “MCAST is a unique educational system in Malta because it provides education and training in a wide range of levels; from level 1 to 6 of the Malta Qualifications Framework. We have the remit to give a second chance to students that finished secondary school without any formal qualifications, the remit to prepare students for higher education and to enter the job market and also the remit to give diplomas and degrees. The idea behind this development is to create a structure to lead these three different levels in a better way, one which reaches the needs of students better.  All three levels are crucial for us but they present different challenges. We are creating a structure that serves as a driver for the continuous development of these three areas. These colleges will work hand in hand with the institutes, which are being realigned into six from the current ten. This will help us increase the synergy in areas that make more sense by being grouped together. That is the idea in a nutshell – this is the next step for MCAST to keep improving and provide courses that make more sense to students.”

Changes ‘mainly conceptual’

In physical terms there will be no major changes, Mr Cachia says. “The format of the new campus will help increase the synergy between different institutes. The fact that the buildings, such as those that will be housing the transport and engineering institutes will be next to each other will help in this regard.” The fact that the campus will not only house the six institutes but also the three colleges is beneficial in that it might attract students to pursue higher level qualifications. “If a student sees that his friends are reading for degrees at the same campus he or she might decide to do the same. This is a very positive kind of interaction that we should be seeing here.”

Mr De Bono says the major changes are conceptual. “Many times we think about physical terms when we speak about change management. In education, change management goes beyond physical terms – it is about building concepts. This does not mean that the concept would not need a physical structure but the concept is the critical part,” according to Mr De Bono.  

 

Delving deeper into tertiary education

The fact that MCAST now has a University College does not mean that it is transforming into a fully-fledged university like the University of Malta. MCAST cannot do that because it still has a remit to provide courses at lower levels and catering for students who leave secondary education with no qualifications. It also has to respect its vocational education nature. It is, however, strengthening its place in the tertiary education sector.

“MCAST already offers degrees and has been offering them for some years now. MCAST is not second choice. The second choice is being given to students of the foundation college. Students can do their O Levels and, instead of going to sixth form, remain here and move up to the Technical College. Once there, they can climb the next rung to the University College. Students also have the option to start at the University College if they have already obtained their qualifications from elsewhere. They can study here instead of at the University of Malta,” Mr De Bono says.

“Ideally we would not have a foundation college because that would mean that all students leave secondary school with qualifications but that is a utopian dream. As long as that need remains we will have a foundation college. The role of that college is to work directly with secondary education. On the other hand the role of the technical college is to work directly with industry, because we provide high-calibre technical people there. The role of the university college is to work with industry and in technical applied research. There are three different strategies within one holistic strategy.

 

Same qualification levels, different teaching methods

So what is the difference between sitting for a degree at MCAST and University? “The difference between MCAST and the University of Malta is purely pedagogic. There is no difference in the standard or the level,” according to Mr De Bono.

Mr Cachia added: “Both would be level six qualifications and both are accepted abroad. The difference is that our students are probably much more hands-on prepared to start immediately working. That is feedback we receive on a regular basis from the industry. I think that is the strength of MCAST.”

The MCAST Principal says the only hitch concerns engineering warrants. “The engineering warranting board is still not giving warrants to our B.Eng students. These people graduated two years ago and still do not have a warrant. We feel that this impasse is very unfair on our students. It does not make sense that a state institution like us, which has been given the right to grant qualified degrees to be denied warrants by another state institution. We have given out all the information about our courses to the warranting board and have always been very open with them. I feel that things should get a move on. Our students are on the other hand being accepted for master’s courses by universities abroad.’  Mr Cachia points out that, as a testament to MCAST’s teaching methods, UoM engineering students have been attending summer courses at the college to get a more hands-on approach.

 

‘We never intended to change the MCAST brand’

The PN media has criticized the latest developments at MCAST, even the new logo, insisting that this was a political move aimed at making people forget that the college was a PN project. Mr De Bono and Mr Cachia were quick to dismiss these claims. “Both Dr De Debono and I always start our speeches by praising the previous administration for the good work done at MCAST. This administration is building on the positive work done her by others before. There are no mixed messages here. We are very clear about that and this is absolutely not true,” Mr Cachia says. He also denied the claims that there were plans to change the MCAST name. “On the contrary, we always insisted that the name should remain because the MCAST brand has become a strong one. The idea was always to strengthen the existing brand.”

 

‘No one will be made redundant’

Asked to comment on the concerns expressed by the Malta Union of Teachers, which said it would now allow redundancies or changes in job descriptions, Mr De Bono said the MUT was the first entity approached by MCAST on the new plans. “We met them and told them all about the decisions we were taking and the plans we were drafting.” He admitted that the plans were at an advanced stage at the time but the role of the administration is to take this institution forward. “We are building on the success story of the past but it is also our role and duty to look forward. If we stop changing we become irrelevant. But this is not change just for the sake of changing. We are developing the needs of education of industry. We told the MUT this and we gave them our assurances that no one will be made redundant or lose any perks – not even if we have to move some people around. However we will not do this just for the sake of it. No one will be made redundant, be downgraded or be moved around for no valid reason – this will not happen under my stewardship or the principal’s. There is no mission to cast people aside.”

“These are people who have given much to MCAST and we appreciate their hard work. The roles we are envisaging for them are important ones and I have no doubt that they will keep contributing to MCAST,” Mr Cachia added.  

 

Progress on the new campus

Turning to the progress on the development of the new campus, Mr Cachia said the current phase is almost complete. “Next October we will be inaugurating the new student house. This will be a recreation and meeting area for students. There will be the canteen, counsellors and student support services. The building will also house the offices of the heads of colleges, who will be closer to the students. There will be a floor dedicated to the Pathway Independent Living Programme, which helps students with disabilities enter the mainstream education system or the job world. There will be new facilities for them. We will also be completing the car park and some sports facilities. That will close phase 1 of the project.”

The next phase after that will include the development of the ICT institute and a new library and learning resource centre. This will be done with EU funds. The college will use national funds, on the other hand, to build a new block in which to relocate the Institute of Building and Construction Engineering, currently housed at Naxxar.

Mr Cachia clarified that the Maritime Institute will not be moved to Haywharf. Originally it was planned to be part of the Paola campus, right down at the water’s edge in Marsa. The Maritime Institute, which will be integrated in the Engineering and Transport Institute, currently operates out Kalkara. It has for the past years used a property in Haywharf to carry out practical boat work. However that area has since been taken up by the Armed Forces of Malta, which are currently building a new maritime squadron base there. “We are currently using the slipway in Kalkara Bay and Rinella Bay and we have solved the problem in this way. At this stage Haywharf does not figure in our plans. However we have a good working relationship with the army and we might be looking at possible collaboration and shared use of their facilities in the future.”

Other slight changes to the original plan involve the Institute for the Creative Arts, which will remain in Mosta. MCAST will also retain its agribusiness facilities in Luqa which, for obvious reasons cannot be relocated to Paola.

 

Performing Arts from September

Mr De Bono revealed with this newspaper that MCAST will start offering courses in the Performing Arts as from September. At first courses will be offered at level 3 of the MQF but these will evolve into higher qualifications with time. Other new subjects will also be announced in the 2015 prospectus, which will be launched in the MCAST Expo held between Wednesday and Saturday. The Expo will be held at the Paola campus.

“We are already working on new academic programmes for the following year, which will include two to three new areas of study. We are looking well ahead,” says Mr De Bono.

 

64,000 students since 2001

Talk aside, the ever growing popularity of MCAST is clearly shown through official statistics. 64,455 full-students enrolled at the college since it first opened its gates in 2001. 38% of students were female.

6,500 students enrolled in full-time courses in the current academic year. Apart from these, another 4,000 are taking part in part-time courses. The college currently offers 185 full-time and 200-part time programmes offered by 10 institutes and two centres.

Female participation has increased over the years, starting at 31% I 2001 and rising consistently year after year to 41% last year. Female students outnumber males at the Institutes for Community Services, Applied Science and Business and Commerce, but the institutes for Building and Construction, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, ICT and Mechanical Engineering remain predominantly a male choice.

The Gozo centre has also increased in popularity. 87 students enrolled when it opened in 2003. 263 applied in 2014. The most popular institutes are ICT, Community Services and Business & Commerce, which saw 1,139, 1,151 and 1,081 enrolments respectively last year. The Maritime Institute may be the smallest but it has also experienced a consistent increase in student enrolment. 17 applied in 2001 while last year 93 applied for a course.

MCAST has also registered successes in the Pathway Programme for Independent Living for people with disabilities. This year 48 persons are taking part in the programme in Malta while another 9 are taking part in Gozo. Mr De Bono described the Pathway programme as “the jewel in our crown.” MCAST currently employs 848 full-time staff and 153 part-time staff.