This year’s Science in the City has been a great success whereby it is estimated that 20,000 persons visited the science and technology booths, which were installed throughout the prime sites of our heritage city of Valletta.

Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport, Stefan Buontempo, was shown around some of the exhibits by Prof. Alex Felice, Mr. Conrad Attard and Dr Edward Duca, who are the prime promoters of Science in the City.

Dr Buontempo said that both the public and the private sectors should continue to invest in research. Speaking after his return from the European Research and Innovation Council of Ministers’ meeting in Brussels, he stressed about the need that educational, research and government institutions work together in raising awareness about the importance of science in our daily lives. “Students are to be encouraged to focus on research at our tertiary institutions, becuase the sustainability of our economic future lies in investment in research and innovation sectors.”

Parliamentary Secretary Buontempo stated that the Government, by participating in such events, wants to convey the importance of research and innovation. He continued saying that his Secretariat will be consulting all the stakeholders for closer collaboration to assure that individual talents will have their innovative ideas materialise in a new innovative industry for economic growth of the country.

Part of an EU-wide initiative, Researchers’ Night, organised in over 30 countries and 300 cities, Science in the City aims to bring researchers and the public, closer to each other.

Science-inspired installations, art exhibitions, music, dance, carnival parades, theatre, children’s shows, live experiments, talks, and tech areas, were displayed along Valletta’s streets and squares. This memorable night gave exposure to scientists and their research. This event also featured Malta’s leading artists and entertainers.

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