The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) was established in 2001 "to provide universally accessible vocational and professional education and training with an international dimension, responsive to the needs of the individual and the economy." MCAST is the leading further and higher education institution in Malta for the provision of vocational qualifications with over 10,000 students and 640 academics and corporate personnel and 6 Institutes namely Applied Sciences (IAS), Creative Arts, Engineering and Transport, Business Management & Commerce, Community Services, Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Since its inception, MCAST has encouraged a broader spectrum of students and alumni to follow its vocational qualifications with various entry and exit points, providing the optimal opportunity position to respond to current industrial trends and the corresponding vocational skills needs. In addition, MCAST has established national and international partners such as with Fraunhofer Institute among others.
MCAST is widening its portfolio and building solid grounds in Research and Innovation and is developing further internal research capacity to meet the demands of Government and added value industry. As the leading provider of vocational education in Malta, MCAST aims to create a dynamic environment that encourages an active knowledge transfer between academics and students. Through this process, academics, students, and very often industrial stakeholders identify real shortcomings and conduct research with the aim of developing tangible solutions.
MCAST has a highly competent academic staff with extensive industrial experience and consolidated academic standing, and state of the art facilities which includes renewable energy resources and energy efficient infrastructure. A new campus is currently under development which will host all the 6 Institutes into the largest-single campus in Malta. MCAST is highly experience in international cooperation research and study programmes within Europe and beyond.
The MCAST Institute of Engineering and Transport, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering has 40 academics. The Department has a multi-disciplinary approach in energy and power systems (including smart grids and micro grids), electrical machines and drives, renewables and alternative energy sources (including electric vehicles), transportation, energy efficiency, electronics and power electronics, biomedical engineering, telecommunications, computer engineering and embedded systems.
The Energy Research Group led by Dr Inġ. Brian Azzopardi is within the Department. The Energy Research Group has strong links with national and international partners including The University of Manchester, Imperial College London, Oxford Brookes University, Denmark Technical University and Kaunas University of Technology, industry and various Government of Malta Ministries such as the Ministry for Energy.