Anyone from the University of Malta, including staff, students, or others planning to conduct research under the University's authority, must complete the application on URECA.
Before filling out the form on URECA, please review the relevant Frequently Asked Questions.
Note: A full version of the form is available for download. We recommend using this to familiarize yourself with the format and requirements before starting your application.
The URECA form is divided into three sections:
In section 2, the detailed evaluation questions will only appear for applicants who identify an issue in the self-assessment checklist. If an issue is flagged, applicants must provide an explanation and obtain FREC approval before proceeding with data collection. In all other cases, applicants can submit the form to FREC for record-keeping and audit purposes, and may begin their research immediately.
Once a form is submitted, the Supervisor will receive notification of the form and will be required to review and endorse it before it can be processed further by FREC. The system automatically reminds the Supervisor about the need to review and endorse a URECA form. If the applicant sees that the URECA form has stalled and remained pending for a long period of time, it is the applicant’s duty to approach the Supervisor and remind them about the pending application.
Applicants who have submitted their URECA forms for Record may progress with their research project as soon as they receive acknowledgement of their form by the FREC Committee. Forms submitted for records are archived but may be subject to an audit at a later time.
URECA forms submitted for Review need to wait for FREC to review and approve their form before they can proceed with their data collection.
Attachments uploaded with URECA forms should be in PDF format.
Supervisors are responsible for the documents they endorse as indicated in the Research Ethics Review Procedures. Supervisors should ensure that URECA forms and related documents are clear, informative and up to the required standard before they proceed to endorse the forms.
For any questions regarding any issue/s related to FREC-ENG please contact us on: research-ethics.eng@um.edu.mt
Applications that are submitted for review will be discussed during the FREC Committee meeting below:
The FREC-ENG Board members are listed below:
FREC-ENG Board secretary:
All correspondence with FREC-ENG should be done by sending an email to research-ethics.eng@um.edu.mt