University of Malta

A student in the current B.A. in Communications Studies and English programme offered by the University of Malta, Mr Benjamin Portelli, has recently written and published a children’s book about the environment, with the name ‘The Land of Fairy Fails’, which has also been translated into Maltese, ‘Ħerba f'Art il-Ħrejjef’, by Martina Oliva.   The story was penned by Benjamin when he was 17 as part of his Systems of Knowledge project.   The book, aimed towards children aged seven to 11, follows Wizard Willy as he embarks on a journey to clear the seabed from the plastic suffocating marine life, plant trees for cleaner air, and ditch his aero/car/marine for a greener mode of transport — his magic broom — so that we can all see the stars once the traffic smog clears. It is intended to encourage children to get lost in the world of reading and motivate them to use their powers and talents to protect planet Earth, while making them interested in the concept of creativity in an engaging way.    10,000 copies of the book (in both Maltese and English) will be distributed to primary schools across Malta and Gozo as part of the 7th national Readathon initiative, titled 'Any Time, Any Place', thanks to the National Literacy Agency, the Malta Trust Foundation and the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society.      On 11 April 2024, Education Minister, Hon. Clifton Grima, together with the Chairperson of the Malta Trust Foundation, President Emeritus, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, attended the launch of the Readathon, where they commended Benjamin's creativity and encouraged school children to read more to boost their imagination.    The readathon — whose mascot is Ben il-Ballottra; the weasel is a fast disappearing species in Malta — will continue throughout schools until May. After reading the book, parents and children are invited to send in their feedback on how they can drive the environmental change to this email address.

Event: A New Breath for Cities  Date: Tuesday 7 May 2024 Time: 19:00 Venue: Studio B at Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta   A breath of fresh air is harder and harder to get in urban areas. Many of us already appreciate seeing greenery in our urban environments, but what if nature could also provide a solution for the growing issue of air pollution we’re facing in our cities? Join the talk from Prof. Ing. Daniel Micallef and Mr Jeremy Sacco from the Faculty for the Built Environment at the University of Malta who will present his research on air quality barriers using urban greenery on Tuesday 7 May 2024 at 19:00 hosted by the Malta Café Scientifique in Studio B at Spazju Kreattiv, in Valletta. Booking is available online. Malta Café Scientifique thanks the STEAM project and Spazju Kreattiv, for hosting this event, the University of Malta, and Malta Chamber of Scientists (of which the Café forms part of).

Photo: Ruben Paul Borg – 3D Concrete Additive Manufacturing using the first Concrete Printer at the University of Malta, constructed by the Construction Materials group at the Faculty for the Built Environment     Additive Manufacturing – 3D printing of concrete elements has the potential to produce smart construction elements which can be applied in different applications in advanced construction systems, improving efficiency. The objective of the SMACORT project (3D manufacturing of sustainable components for building retrofitting and energy efficiency) is to address energy efficiency and provide sustainable solutions to satisfy ever-increasing building energy demands. Energy efficiency measures are considered in general as more cost-effective than producing energy through renewable sources. Thermal insulation in the building envelope is important to improve building performance and energy efficiency. The project focuses on a passive solution, by providing thermal insulation products based on novel, eco-friendly geopolymer mortars. The mortars are produced entirely from Construction and Demolition Waste-based materials, incorporated with stable phase change materials (PCMs) and fillers for ultimate optimized performance. The product is developed for existing and new buildings which will significantly benefit from the advantages of smart 3D-Additive Manufacturing processing technology. The goal of the research is to leverage additive manufacturing (AM) technologies with a view to enable production of innovative concrete mixtures for custom applications. 3D printing is a smart manufacturing method, which often involves a layer-by-layer deposition of material to build 3D structures. Additive Manufacturing in concrete element production has the potential to reduce material waste and labour intensity, with lower costs in production, higher safety and increased construction efficiency and greater flexibility. The products developed in the project are intended to improve thermal, mechanical and acoustic properties of concrete structures, in a Mediterranean environment. The overall objective is to optimise the 3D printing process, in manufacturing cladding elements based on green sustainable concrete based on recycled materials with reduced embodied carbon.  The Project is financed through the Malta Council for Science and Technology, TUBITAK Programme and includes a collaboration between researchers in Concrete and Advanced Materials Engineering, in Malta and Turkey. For further information contact the project Principal Investigator Prof. Ruben Paul Borg, Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta.

Additive Manufacturing – 3D printing of concrete elements has the potential to produce smart construction elements which can be applied in different applications in advanced construction systems, improving efficiency. The objective of the SMACORT project (3D manufacturing of sustainable components for building retrofitting and energy efficiency) is to address energy efficiency and provide sustainable solutions to satisfy ever-increasing building energy demands. Energy efficiency measures are considered in general as more cost-effective than producing energy through renewable sources. Thermal insulation in the building envelope is important to improve building performance and energy efficiency. The project focuses on a passive solution, by providing thermal insulation products based on novel, eco-friendly geopolymer mortars. The mortars are produced entirely from Construction and Demolition Waste-based materials, incorporated with stable phase change materials (PCMs) and fillers for ultimate optimized performance. The product is developed for existing and new buildings which will significantly benefit from the advantages of smart 3D-Additive Manufacturing processing technology. The goal of the research is to leverage additive manufacturing (AM) technologies with a view to enable production of innovative concrete mixtures for custom applications. 3D printing is a smart manufacturing method, which often involves a layer-by-layer deposition of material to build 3D structures. Additive Manufacturing in concrete element production has the potential to reduce material waste and labour intensity, with lower costs in production, higher safety and increased construction efficiency and greater flexibility. The products developed in the project are intended to improve thermal, mechanical and acoustic properties of concrete structures, in a Mediterranean environment. The overall objective is to optimise the 3D printing process, in manufacturing cladding elements based on green sustainable concrete based on recycled materials with reduced embodied carbon.  The Project is financed through the Malta Council for Science and Technology, TUBITAK Programme and includes a collaboration between researchers in Concrete and Advanced Materials Engineering, in Malta and Turkey. For further information contact the project Principal Investigator Prof. Ruben Paul Borg, Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta. Figure: 3D Concrete Additive Manufacturing using the first Concrete Printer at the University of Malta, constructed by the Construction Materials group at the Faculty for the Built Environment. (Photo: Ruben Paul Borg)