The effect of Brexit on Maltese who are studying, or who want to study, at a UK university is unlikely to be significant. Maltese students are valued and made welcome in the UK, for there is a mutual understanding and cultural closeness due to Malta’s long standing relationship with Britain.

Previously, all Maltese candidates for admission to the University of Warwick were required to take an English language test.  As the University of Warwick Alumni Ambassador to Malta, I have just negotiated the removal of this requirement for graduates of the University of Malta.

My submission to Warwick included an analysis of the MATSEC English Language and English Literature syllabi, requirements and results. I also collated the views of some Warwick academics and found great enthusiasm for Maltese students. Sadly a great deal of British cultural knowledge is being lost in a multicultural England and it appears that this cultural tradition is often better preserved in Maltese students.

Graduates of non-UK universities, even though taught and examined in English, will not necessarily have internalised the language so after graduation may soon lose fluency. In consequence a post-graduation time limit of two years is normally imposed on any language exemption. It is significant that Warwick, a university with exceptionally high entry standards, has decided to accept University of Malta graduates without any such time limit.  

The appointment of the President of Malta as an Honorary Professor at Warwick has led to joint research initiatives, which should soon be extended. Such research projects could include historical developments in which Malta is internationally recognised as having  played a major role, such as Arvid Pardo’s 1967 initiative that led to the new Law of the Sea, Malta’s 1968 UN resolution on the global phenomenon of population ageing and Malta’s 1988 initiative on Global Warming.
 Warwick is recognised as a global university with a broad spread of funding and so is possibly less affected by European events. It is significant that the Vice-Chancellor of Warwick was not among the 100 or so UK Vice-Chancellors who signed the letter in support of the UK remaining part of the EU and I do not anticipate Brexit significantly affecting any of these Warwick exemptions or initiatives for Malta.  

Dr Martin G. Spillane

Sliema