Type Education centre | Owner Government of Malta | |
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Location Cospicua and Marsaskala | ||
The American University of Malta (AUM), formerly referred to as the American Institute of Malta (AIM), is a planned private university in the Southern Region of Malta. It is planned that the campus be split between Cospicua and Marsaskala, and the project is meant to regenerate the South of Malta and give that area an economic and social boost. Since the proposal was announced in May 2015, it has generated considerable controversy, especially since part of it is to be built on Outside Development Zone (ODZ) land.
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Planning and controversies
On 5 May 2015, the Jordanian contracting company Sadeen Group and the Government of Malta signed an agreement at Auberge de Castille for the former to set up a private educational institution called the American University of Malta (AUM). The university was planned to be set up in Spain, but Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat persuaded the chairman of Sadeen, Hani Salah, to set it up in Malta. The university is to accommodate 4000 students, primarily from the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. It is to have colleges for engineering, arts, sciences, education and health. The project has an investment of over €115 million, and it is to create around 400 to 750 jobs. The project is to generate an increase of €48 to €85 million in economic growth.
The curricula of the AUM are to be provided by the DePaul University. The latter did not commit any financial resources for the construction of the AUM, and it was not involved in any discussions with the Government of Malta.
The proposed university is meant to create a social and economic boost to localities in the Southern Region of Malta, which is regarded as being less developed than the rest of the island. As of September 2016, demand for property in Cospicua has reportedly increased as a result of the university project.
The university originally planned to take in its first students in October 2016, with lectures at SmartCity Malta until the campuses are completed. The beginning of the first academic year has been moved to 28 August 2017, and the lectures are to be held at the Dock No. 1 campus in Cospicua.
In January 2016, John Ryder was named as the head of the American Institute of Malta, and it was announced that the National Commission for Further and Higher Education had also approved six lecturers to work with him.
Location of campus and use of ODZ land
When the university project was announced in May 2015, the government offered the Sadeen Group 90,000 m2 (970,000 sq ft) of Outside Development Zone (ODZ) land near Żonqor Point in Marsaskala on which to build the university. A natural park, partially funded by the university, would be set up nearby. The proposal to use ODZ land raised concerns among environmentalists, including the NGOs Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Ramblers Association, Din l-Art Ħelwa, NatureTrust Malta, Birdlife Malta, Malta Organic Agriculture Movement and Greenhouse. The Malta Developers Association also stated that a better site should be found, while the Church criticized the process used to select the land for the university. Meanwhile, some residence of Marsaskala and southern Malta supported the university project, and made a petition in its favour.
The government initially planned to include the 19th-century Fort Leonardo within the university campus. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat also stated that constructing the university in Marsaskala would pressure the owners of the former Jerma Palace Hotel to redevelop the site, which has fallen into disrepair since being closed in 2007.
Muscat responded to the environmentalists' criticism by stating that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority would consider other sites as long as they are located in the southern part of the island. A public consultation process was subsequently made in order to select an alternative site for the university campus.
On 23 May 2015, the Front Ħarsien ODZ (Maltese for Front for the Protection of ODZ) was set up in response to the proposed development at Żonqor Point. The group aims to protect all ODZ land in Malta, and it includes then-Labour MP Marlene Farrugia, government whip Godfrey Farrugia and Alternattiva Demokratika politician Michael Briguglio. On 20 June, the front held a protest in Valletta against the development, and it was attended by 3000 people.
On 20 August, Muscat announced that the government had reached an agreement with the Sadeen Group that the campus be split between the former Dock No. 1 in Cospicua and a reduced site at Żonqor Point. The campus at Żonqor is much smaller than the one originally planned, and it will occupy the site of the water polo pitch and 18,000 m2 (190,000 sq ft) of adjoining ODZ fields. This campus is to consist of three faculties and student dormitories, with a maximum height of five stories. A new water polo pitch is also to be built to replace the one that will be demolished to make way for the university. The campus at Cospicua will occupy two former warehouses at Dock No. 1 which were built during Hospitaller and British rule. Additional buildings are to be constructed, but they are to keep with the architectural style of the area. The government will rent out both campuses to Sadeen Group for around €200,000 a year, which is a very low price considering the historical value of the Dock No. 1 site and the sea views at Żonqor.
Front Ħarsien ODZ said that the proposal of splitting the campus was better than the original one, but said that it was still unacceptable to build on ODZ land. The University Students' Council also expressed its disappointment at the government building part of the campus at Żonqor Point. On the other hand, the move was welcomed by the Cospicua Heritage Society, who said that the Three Cities and Kalkara would greatly benefit from the project.
The government approved the granting of land for the AUM after a 15-hour long debate in parliament on 15 December 2015. Front Ħarsien ODZ called this parliamentary sitting "surreal" and said that it shows terrible governance.
On 25 August 2016, the Planning Authority approved the restoration of the British Building at Dock No. 1, and its conversion into a campus to house part of the AUM. Parts of the building which were destroyed during World War II will be rebuilt, while an intermediate level and a new second floor with a contemporary glass-and-steel design will be constructed. The renovation of the building is entrusted to the architect Edwin Mintoff, and it is expected to be complete by September 2017.
There are plans to restore the Knights' Building at Dock No. 1 and convert it into part of the campus, and this renovation is planned to be complete by 2017–18. The Marsaskala campus is to be ready by 2018–19.
Accreditation and licencing
In December 2015, Leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil stated that since the AUM applied for the licence of a "Higher Education Institution", its marketing of itself as a "University" is illegal. In January 2016, the National Commission for Further and Higher Education announced that Sadeen Education Investment Ltd had been given a licence to operate a Higher Education Institution under the name American Institute of Malta. This was the first step in the process to acquire a university licence. The commission has stated that a degree issued by the American Institute would have the same value as one issued by the University of Malta.
However, on 11 March 2016, Sadeen Education Investment Ltd was notified by a judicial letter that licensed higher education institutions are prohibited from using the word "university" in their advertising and publicity, unless they have been granted that status formally. On 6 May 2016, Economy Minister Christian Cardona said that he had "no doubt that this will be a University and not an institute. This is part of a process, but the project will result in a University".
The National Commission for Higher Education officially accredited the AUM on 30 June 2016, after a 14-month process which included financial and academic evaluations. The commission imposed a number of conditions on the AUM, including an annual audit by the Clemson University. Sadeen asked for a compromise on these conditions, but the commission insisted that they were not negotiable. After the conditions were accepted, the commission issued a 5-year university licence on 19 September 2016.
Other controversies
Apart from the controversies regarding the location of the campus and the university's accreditation, the AUM also generated disagreement as to whether it is actually American. Although its curricula are to be provided by the DePaul University, the AUM is not a branch of that university, and it is being set up by a Jordanian company. Articles in the Maltese media have questioned whether the new university is actually American, and the research professor Philip Altbach stated that he fears the amount of "business interests starting universities to make money using the American brand," including the American University of Malta. The AUM's provost John Ryder stated that the university is "not a brand or offshoot, or run by any American university ... [but it is] American in curriculum and organisation."
Muscat was accused of a lack of transparency with regards to how agreements on the AUM were made, but he responded by saying that the public was informed on the first occasion. NGOs have called for the publication of the agreement between the government and Sadeen Group.
The AUM has also generated controversy with regards to the practicality of having another university in the small country of Malta. The government stated that the AUM would end the monopoly that the University of Malta has on higher education, but university lecturers disagreed with the use of the term "monopoly", stating that the university already competes with other institutions such as MCAST.