There is no discussion or consultation taking place on the eve of the election for the University of Malta Rector and his team, the Dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing (FSW) Professor Andrew Azzopardi told The Malta Independent.

The election is set to take place on 25 March, 2021 – in just over two weeks. A candidate will be chosen, who is usually tasked with deciding on a set of proposals and on implementing his/her vision for the university. However, there is complete silence while the election continues to loom, Azzopardi said.

Azzopardi explained that the rector is elected by the Council of the University of Malta, whereby the majority of representatives are nominated by the Government whilst the rest are representatives of the various university sectors, including the academic body, administrators and students.

There is also the Chancellor, who is chosen by the Government. “So, in reality, the majority is in the hands of the representatives of the Government. The Government representatives have a strong role in the direction that the university takes.” 

Azzopardi said that it is the role of the council to put this important election on the agenda. “This should be done not only within the University precincts, but also nationally.” 

“The council should contact the students, staff, administrators, academics and so forth, and ask what type of rectorate we need for the next 5 years. There was no consultation,” he remarked. Azzopardi said that in the election five years ago there were a lot of debates going on prior to the election, with the involvement of all the university community, the minister and the prime minister. “When I spoke to other colleagues, everyone told me that they don't recall so much silence surrounding an election.” 

“They are supposed to be our representatives, yet the academics, administrators, researchers and any employees from all strata at the university don't have a say in what they think about how the university should move forward.” Azzopardi reiterated that his Faculty proposed a Memorandum to the Council on what the Faculty for Social Wellbeing would like to see in the next rector administration cycle. 

This is an alarming factor, Azzopardi noted, as the university is one of the most important and influential entities that should help provide expert advice to the Government – “that is why this is such an important election for all of Malta.” 

“This is beyond who the rector is or the people that form part of his office – that is not what bothers me. What bothers me is that the university is funded by the state – and that is why the university should be at the forefront to respond to the problems this country is encountering; whether it’s in areas of governance, artificial intelligence, social issues and so forth,” Azzopardi said. 

“We should be the empirical research arm of the state, yet we have an election for a rector that is not even being mentioned on the national agenda. We don't even know if there is a candidate, and the only candidate is probably the incumbent rector because he declared this publicly. But we don't even know if he was nominated, if he is interested, and so forth.” 

Azzopardi noted that it is within the University Council's remit to communicate and consult. 

"In my opinion, it had to be the Council's initiative to open up and organise this crucial debate and forum regarding the forthcoming vision for the university for the coming years." 

The alarm is being raised as a change of rectorship is literally about shaping the future of the university, Azzopardi said. 

"So we are not asking if we want a new rector or not, that is a different matter altogether. We want to discuss the proposals for the way forward. Just to mention one example, how is the university going to respond to post-Covid-19 in the years to come?" 

Communication between experts and society in general is known to be a common issue within academia around the world, as publicity of findings and research that is being conducted still remains rather muted. This is a challenge the University of Malta also faces, even though the university is undertaking ground-breaking research week in, week out, he added. 

The Dean noted that the university has numerous stories which merit coverage. "We have stories at the university happening all the time that deserve to be mentioned."  

He lamented that the university should do more to communicate about its research and findings so that they disperse through the public sphere as well. “This would help nurture a society that is more informed, especially by experts in the respected fields of study that the university research is on. We have a responsibility to communicate, it isn't a question of choice," Azzopardi said.  

The FSW published a memorandum with regard to the election that is going to take place. In the memorandum, it is highlighted that the faculty supports a rectorship that “strengthens links with society at large” in order to democratise knowledge. The memorandum deals with various other topics which the FSW believes to be of governmental, national, and academic importance.