The university says it will coordinate two projects focussed on digital training for higher education and continued professional development. 

On the one hand, the DIG-IT project is coordinated by Maria Cassar from the Department of Nursing and Prof Colla J. MacDonald from the rectorate while the ICARUS project is conducted by Emmanuel Francalanza from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. 

The DIG-IT project will deliver support related to training and resources academic staff at EU universities in order to adopt digital technologies and innovative approaches to their teaching. 

Furthermore, this project aims at creating an international learning community that shares and distributes innovative training and teaching resources in an open access repository. 

It also aims at reducing the redundancy, time and cost required to design digital education products and processes with a view to increasing uptake, and innovation in a knowledge-based economy. 

In addition, UM is also planning to collaborate with other stakeholders. For instance, the healthcare sector sees a large number of practitioners wishing to continue education while trying to maintain patient services, according to the press release sent to BM. 

DIG-IT will also explore how healthcare experts can collaborate with digital experts of universities EU-wide in order to pilot English and Italian bilingual online resources in a healthcare context. 

On the other hand, the ICARUS aims to bring together a number of experts and leaders in Industry 4.0 from European Higher Education Institutions (HEI), lead by the University of Malta in order to collaborate on developing specific training content and support HEI trainers and learners. 

The project supports the need for HEI trainers and learners to handle Industry 4.0 technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), 3D Printing, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Collaborative Robotics, Cybersecurity, Industrial Networking, Big Data Analysis and drones. 

Therefore, ICARUS focuses on the developing of an innovative digital training toolbox, which supports educators and learners in order to improve their skills.  

The post The University of Malta receives €740,000 funding first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The project was launched by Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri and Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds and Social Dialogue Aaron Farrugia.

The lack of women participation in the IT sector is a problem experienced all across the European Union, and the whole world, nowadays. In 2017, the employment rate for men in this sector in the European Union was 76.9%, while for women it was 65.3%. Therefore, the target for 2020 in the EU is to reach 75% for both genders.

The initiative will be implemented in many countries, like Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Spain with €2.7m as the total budget allocated for this purpose. Out of this fund, Malta can call for €346,672 between September 2018 and August 2021.

The project is hoped to develop digital competencies and employability of young women vulnerable of getting out of a job, as well as to provide innovative solutions to increase the numbers of young women in ICT careers and in the digital economy. Special focus will fall on unemployed young women, women returning to work after maternity leave and women coming from low income or disadvantaged families. The main tools used are awareness-raising, skills assessment, innovative partnerships with employers, development of a new online employability profiling tool and training in digital jobs, according to the DOI release.

“As a country, we have improved a lot within the digital space, now becoming a main point of reference, yet we are still lagging behind in women participation. If addressed now, the digital sector could be the first sector where we could see women on par with men”, said Mr Schembri.

“This is an exciting time for women. After registering a spike in the number of women elected to the European Parliament, I look forward to the next legislature to see the fruit of the positive measures being taken locally to increase the number of women in the Maltese Parliament”, said Mr Farrugia.

“It is encouraging to see the government fully committed to reducing the digital divide and organisations coming together today to support this collaborative framework. Thanks to this commitment we can ensure that women and young girls are truly allowed to decide their future and regain their destiny” said Dana Farrugia the CEO at Tech.MT, an organisation launched by the Malta Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the government, aiming to help support further growth of the local technology sector.

The post Malta launches EU-funded Women4IT project first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“We are proud to support Hospice Malta. We hope that our initiative will help support an institution that brings hope to patients and support to their families as they cope with terminal or life-limiting conditions,” said John Ghigo, the Head of Consumer Lending at HSBC Malta.

Hospice Malta is an organisation with a professional multidisciplinary team and motivated volunteers supporting patients and their families who have to deal with the challenges of a terminal illness. Hospice Malta offers its services as pro bono. Currently, the organisation supports around 900 patients and their families.

The post HSBC customers’ credit card payments support Hospice Malta in April first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

After the API keys have been removed in full, API users can choose to recreate their API keys now to receive the full functionality of API usage going forward, Binance said. These newly created API keys will not be removed, the press statement added.

Hackers withdrew 7,000+ bitcoin (BTC) — worth of more than €36m — and obtained a large number of user API keys, 2FA codes, and potentially other information through a large scale security breach on Malta-based digital asset exchange Binance’s platform.

Hacker(s) appear shuffling funds

After the hacker(s) stole the funds, 1,214 BTC was moved to new addresses, followed by another 1,337 BTC moved to two new addresses, according to the Twitter feed of blockchain services company Coinfirm that monitors the movement of the funds.

Given the transparent nature of the bitcoin blockchain, transactions are easy to follow, however it difficult to perform real forensics on the wallets in order to understand who — or what — created them, according to a report by online crypto daily Coindesk.

Citing crypto journalist Amy Castor, Coindesk writes that the compromised funds are most probably being broken up and transferred to several wallets in smaller amounts to make tracking of the transactions more difficult.

The post Binance blocks APIs after breach while hacker(s) shuffle stolen funds first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“This fund is a clear example of how this Government is committed to strengthening our traditions and customs, which form an intrinsic part of our identity,” said Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government Owen Bonnici during the ceremony.

“Through such a project we are not only making this aspect of our culture more accessible, but we are also safeguarding this tradition, whilst also ensuring the safety of the volunteers who are creating these formidable works of art,” the minister added.

The fund provides each fireworks factory with the opportunity to improve its infrastructure so that volunteers are given a safe working environment both during manufacture and during the lighting up of the fireworks. Through this fund, the factories can also invest in resources which will aid them in improving the quality of the local pyrotechnic product and its security, the DOI press statement says.

“The Malta Arts Council is making a strong statement through this fund – that the Council believes in the safety and art of our firework workers and the safety of their workplace,” said Albert Marshall, the Chairman of Arts Council Malta.

Each fireworks factory will also receive a First Aid Box to install in the factory, and a member of the factory is to attend for a First Aid Course organised by the Malta Red Cross in collaboration with Arts Council Malta.

The post Fireworks factories receive €5,000 fund each first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The breach was discovered May 7, 2019 at 17:15:24 (UTC), caused by hackers using a variety of techniques, including phishing, viruses and other attacks.

Binance says all the 7,000+ bitcoin was compromised in one transaction, being the only affected transaction. “It impacted our BTC hot wallet only (which contained about 2% of our total BTC holdings). All of our other wallets are secure and unharmed,” the press statement says.

“The hackers had the patience to wait, and execute well-orchestrated actions through multiple seemingly independent accounts at the most opportune time. The transaction is structured in a way that passed our existing security checks. It was unfortunate that we were not able to block this withdrawal before it was executed. Once executed, the withdrawal triggered various alarms in our system. We stopped all withdrawals immediately after that,” the press statement adds.

Binance said after the incident that they will conduct a thorough security review, which will include all parts of their systems and data. The review should take a week, according to Binance’s estimates. During this period, deposits and withdrawals will need to remain suspended. “We beg for your understanding in this difficult situation,” Binance says. Trading remains enabled, though.

“Please also understand that the hackers may still control certain user accounts and may use those to influence prices in the meantime. We will monitor the situation closely. But we believe with withdrawals disabled, there isn’t much incentive for hackers to influence markets. In this difficult time, we strive to maintain transparency and would be appreciative of your support,” the Binance press release says.

The post Hackers steal BTC 7,000+ from Binance, exchange promises to recover lost funds first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“Today, speaking a second language is an undeniable asset, even a necessity in many professions. It is also a very personal way to open up to new cultures and iA Financial Group is very pleased to help young people, who impress with their earnestness, openness and hunger to learn, for the tenth year in a row,” said Denis Ricard, President and Chief Executive Officer of iA Financial Group, upon awarding the scholarships at the company’s head office in Quebec City.

In the current scheme, 22 students received CA$2,000 each for English immersion experiences around the world, including in San Diego, Honolulu and Malta. Two students from Cégep Sainte-Foy each received a CA$4,000 scholarship allowing them to complete a session at Humber College in Toronto. Fourteen students from Cégep Garneau will share CA$28,000 to finance an immersion trip to Summer Campus, in Mexico, to learn Spanish. Additionally, CA$30,000 was shared among 15 students from Cégep Limoilou to finance an English immersion trip to the Global Village Hawaii, in Honolulu.

With these scholarships, the foundation has awarded more than $800,000 since its establishment in 2010, with a total of 365 students from Cégeps de Sainte-Foy, Limoilou and Garneau having received financial support from iA Financial Group.

The post Canadian foundation sends language students to Malta with scholarship first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Kintaro Capital, a venture of the Konfidio blockchain studio, obtained formal approval of its PIF license from the MFSA, making it one of the first regulated crypto funds for qualifying investors under Maltese law. The licence allows Kintaro clients to invest in strategic alternatives to fiat based instruments.

Kintaro Capital has a crypto-economic experience of three years. Through its token research and data analytics expertise, the fund targets high yields in the blockchain sector. The fund is administered by SGGG Fexserv Fund Services Ltd in Malta, and is responsible for the administration of over 220 alternative strategy funds, together with Fexserv Financial Services.

“We’re thrilled to be one of the first crypto funds licensed by an EU financial services authority, with explicit investor protection. Our thorough approach to building a team with over 100 years of investment research and portfolio management experience has paid off. Kintaro Capital is uniquely located to service the investment needs of future-thinking investors with long-term plans,” says Dr Mervyn Maistry, CEO and Founder of Konfidio and Kintaro Capital.

As part of the Konfidio family, Kintaro aims to utilise the venture studio’s position within the Berlin ecosystem. Konfidio’s experience with governments and Fortune 500 companies adds to the blockchain knowledge base of the fund, the company says.

The post Crypto fund Kintaro receives MFSA licence first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.