The 2024 EMB Bursary is being awarded to Ms Perla Galatolo to carry out an investigation on the state of Posidonia oceanica meadows in Maltese bays subjected to anthropogenic disturbance and pollution and shall form part of a Master of Science in Cross-Disciplinary Science [Mainly by Research] with the Faculty of Science at the University of Malta. The study aims to assess the status of P. oceanica meadows in Maltese bays subjected to anthropogenic disturbance and pollution, compared to meadows in pristine coastal areas. The EMB Bursary funds shall be utilised to enhance current research work by supporting the purchase of specialised equipment and financing fieldwork.
The 2023 EMB Bursary awarded to Mr Jake Bonello to carry out an investigation on the antifouling performance of a novel PMMA/TiO2 nanocomposite coating, forming part of a Master of Science with the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Malta, has now come to a fruitful end. The EMB Bursary funds were utilised to enhance and extend planned research by supporting a research trip to Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, materials and consumables necessary for the research trip as well as open-access publications.
The award ceremony for this year’s Bursary was held on the 15th October at IOI HQ. Present at the Ceremony were Pro-Rector Professor Joseph Cacciattolo, Professor Louis Cassar, representing the EMB Bursary Selection Board, IOI Managing Director Antonella Vassallo, Perla Galatolo (EMB2024 awardee) and Jake Bonello (EMB2023 awardee).
The Elisabeth Mann Borgese [i] (EMB) Bursary of the IOI was established as a means of demonstrating recognition to the host country of the IOI – Malta – for hosting the IOI Headquarters and for providing facilities for staff and offices at the University of Malta’s Msida Campus. The Bursary is financed through the IOI and constitutes a further recognition and acknowledgement of the role of Prof. E. Mann Borgese, founder of IOI, and of her considerable achievements.
For further information about the IOI and its programmes please contact ioihq@ioihq.org.mt or view the IOI HQ website http://www.ioinst.org/.
[i] Elisabeth Mann Borgese (April 24, 1918 - February 8, 2002), founded the IOI in 1972 as a knowledge-based non-governmental, non-profit international organisation devoted to the sustainable development of the oceans. IOI works to uphold and expand the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for the benefit of humankind as a whole, with particular consideration of the poor. The mission of the International Ocean Institute is to promote education, training and research to enhance the peaceful uses of ocean space and its resources, their management and regulation as well as the protection and conservation of the marine environment, guided by the principle of the Common Heritage of Mankind.
Malta is the host country of the International Ocean Institute Headquarters. As an island state straddling the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, it has a long history of dependence on the sea as well as a strong tradition of maritime, fishing and seafaring occupation. Its membership of the European Union confers on it an obligation to adhere to the European maritime and fishing policies as well as conventions and regulations which are global in scope.