Malta to offer climate change scholarships to students from developing countries

University of Malta will provide six scholarships for Masters' courses on climate change to students from developing countries • Video by Ray Attard

The government, in collaboration with the University of Malta, will provide six scholarships for various Masters’ courses in climate change issues to students from developing countries.

Environment minister Leo Brincat said that the scheme forms part of Malta’s efforts to support the international drive against climate change as well as being an act of solidarity.

“We are trying to contribute to the system, despite our limited resources,” Brincat said at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the government and UOM for the launch of this programme.

University of Malta rector Juanito Camilleri said that each of the six scholarships will amount to around €18,000 and will also cover living expenses.

“Climate change has become a globally significant issue, with some speculating that Central African regions will not be habitable in as little as 30 to 35 years’ time,” Camilleri said.

He added that research programmes like this had become essential as people gradually began to understand how the phenomenon effects our every day lives and decisions to be taken.

Professor Simone Borg said that the two-year courses would cover subjects like climate change and sustainable development, resource management, sustainable energy, maritime resources as well as legal frameworks for climate governance. 

Borg explained that the University had also previously offered similar scholarships to students from Palestine in a different field.

“These experiences ultimately create permanent links between countries, which could result in better relations between the two countries in question,” Borg said.

She added that the scholarships aimed to create the necessary human resources that were essential to tackle this issue.

“A call for applications will be issued in the coming weeks and we look forward to further collaborations of the kind in the future,” she added

Brincat said that the government had identified the five main themes for research and that the prioritisation of climate change also looked forward to discussions at the CHOGM 2015 meetings in November.