The website also aspires to offer a platform for partner organisations, current members, local grants and seed funding, as well as a new resource in the form of open access, online curriculum that teaches the essentials of enterprise and entrepreneurship, the press statement sent to BM says.

“TAKEOFF is more than a coworking facility, it is a mentored pathway that walks members through a powerful business-building framework. We provide friendly support and expert guidance so members do not feel alone and they can see a clear route forward,” said Joseph Bartolo, Incubator Manager.   

The new website also carries further information about the recently-announced “MedFest Call” for entrepreneurs as part of the Medfest’19 “Invest in the Future” event to be held on 14 December. MedFest is organised as part of the Malta-Sicily I-KNOW project, aiming to stimulate investment in innovation.

The concept is based on a UK model called VentureFest, and is expected to provide “unprecedented” opportunity for selected innovators to develop, then pitch, their business idea to a live audience of VIP guests and invited “business angel” investors.

“We are encouraging anyone with an innovative business, or business idea, to apply for the MedFest Call. People do not need to be experts in business or equity finance because we will provide that education to everyone we select to move forward. MedFest will be a powerful platform for something incredible to happen here in Malta, and who knows where the opportunity might lead us,” said Russell Smith, one of the original forces behind VentureFest.

“Participants would also receive upwards of €15,000 worth of expert mentoring, coaching and business advice, plus membership at TAKEOFF,” Mr Smith added.    

The post UM’s business incubator CEBI launches new website first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The Ministry of Education has awarded Melita with a contract to connect all government-owned education institutions with dedicated fibre as part of a managed network. Melita expects the upgrade — covering more than 100 institutions — to future-proof Malta’s public schools, enabling them to leverage current and new digital technologies by removing bottlenecks associated with bandwidth, according to a press statement sent to Business Malta.

The contract award follows a public call to telecommunications operators issued last year which was won by Melita. More than half the schools will be connected as from the beginning of 2019-2020 academic year, with the rest of the schools being enabled by January 2020.

Melita CEO Mr Rösch tagged the day as an important one for Melita for being chosen as the service provider for supporting more than a hundred schools. “It is not only an investment in the infrastructure but also an investment in the future of the country,” Mr Rösch said.

“This project is important for Melita, not because of its scale but most importantly because of the impact, it will have on our children’s education. The new network will, in fact, allow the technology team within the Ministry of Education to manage and deliver services to all sites seamlessly and more efficiently, helping to make both teaching and learning more engaging and rewarding. As a forward-looking organisation which takes inspiration from the needs of our customers to invest in the right infrastructure to connect them to the services they need, being awarded this contract is very satisfying,” Mr Rösch added.

“As a small island in the big world, connectivity has always been crucial,” education minister Evarist Bartolo said. The minister also elaborated on the fact that traditionally speaking, maritime and aerospace connectivity has been important for Malta, being an island. However, as today sees immense digitalisation activities, internet connectivity is becoming more important than ever.

The minister also said that his ministry looks forward to further collaboration with Melita to enhance connectivity for both education and employment.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Business Malta’s morning report from the event has been updated with further details carried by the official press release issued in the afternoon. The cover picture of the article has also been changed to a photo of the Melita CEO speaking at the event.

The post Gov’t teams up with Melita on upgrading school connectivity first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.