The 23rd Edition of the Malta Engineering Excellence Awards, organised by the Chamber of Engineers was held on Friday 29 November 2024, under the patronage of H.E. Myriam Spiteri Debono, President of Malta.
The University of Malta is proud to announce that the Transdisciplinary Research and Knowledge Exchange (TRAKE) project, spearheaded by the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Inġ. Andrew Sammut as Project Lead and Prof. Inġ. Glenn Cassar as Deputy Lead, has been honoured with the Industrial Excellence Award for Projects of National Impact - Special Recognition as Innovation Catalyst - by the Chamber of Engineers and Xjenza Malta.
During the award ceremony, Prof. Inġ. Sammut had the opportunity to outline the TRAKE project and the key challenges it sought to address in Malta’s research and innovation landscape. With a €39 million investment, partially funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), TRAKE has established a state-of-the-art research hub at the University of Malta, bringing together fields such as robotics, product development, electronics manufacturing, and surface engineering and others, while elevating Malta’s capacity for high-impact, interdisciplinary research.
Over the last two years, the project has led to the inauguration of two main laboratory sites – the new Materials Engineering Laboratories (MATLABS) and Engineering Research & Innovation Laboratories (ERIL) – encompassing more than 7000m2 of advanced laboratories and facilities, along with over 150 cutting-edge equipment units, enabling ground-breaking innovation. Furthermore, the project was able to fund 20 research projects, led by Faculty academics who have already achieved remarkable outcomes.
Since its inception, TRAKE has already led to the filing of 17 patents, the publication of over 400 peer-reviewed articles, and the securing of more than €10 million in additional funding.
“This award recognises TRAKE’s pivotal role in advancing Malta’s engineering and industrial sectors, the commitment of the staff to foster innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and impactful research that is set to transform the country’s research landscape for many years to come. I encourage recent graduates as well as seasoned engineers who aspire to deepen their knowledge or explore new areas of inquiry, to seize this opportunity”, commented Prof. Inġ. Andrew Sammut.
The President of the Chamber, Inġ. Malcolm Zammit added that “the Chamber of Engineers is honoured to have recognised the remarkable TRAKE project given its significant influence on the local research and innovation ecosystem. It was with great pleasure that the Chamber partnered with Xjenza Malta to award this prestigious honour to the Faculty of Engineering in view of the clear national impact of TRAKE as an enabler of developments in engineering excellence in Malta.”
