Betting companies, banks and consultancy firms take up prime spots in the University of Malta’s quad area during Freshers’ Week.

While they lure students to their corporate tents with freebies, arcade games and competitions, another area offers much less favourable conditions.

Squeezed into a single tent, set away from the central quad, are more than 20 student organisations, activist groups and sport societies, all operating without functional fans.

“There are only six fans and not one of them is connected,” noted Matthias Zahra, a 21-year-old European and contemporary Mediterranean studies student.

“Imagine being part of an organisation, having to stay here for six plus hours and there’s no fan and all these people here.”

Nearby, Maya and Natalya, both 20-year-old representatives of Betapsi, The Psychology Students Organisation, feel they have been squirrelled away from the buzz of the main event.

“If I were coming in as a new student, I would rather see more of the organisations than the companies,” Maya said.

Both representatives agreed they had “unfortunately become accustomed to” the commercialisation of Freshers’ Week.

There has been growing criticism that the event, organised by Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (KSU), is prioritising corporate interests over students’ needs.

But many of the new students who spoke to Times of Malta during a visit were unconcerned, seeing it as an opportunity to explore career options and collect freebies.

Students walking in the quadrangle.

Antonella Bonanno, a 19-year-old law student, said she liked seeing what jobs might be on offer for her future and disagreed with the over-commercialisation argument.

“It’s just a week and I think it’s a great opportunity… And we get freebies,” she said.

Free food, ring lights, tote bags and branded bottles were all on offer.

Joseph Mario Grech, 20, a master’s student in accountancy and a former member of GUG (Gozitan University Group), had conflicting views.

“I have mixed feelings,” he said. “There are good reasons why the student organisations aren’t on the quad but you need to respect KSU’s need to generate finances.

"I personally believe having commercial interests on quad can help students meet their employer as well.”

For the corporate stalls, Freshers’ Week remains an invaluable platform for engaging directly with students.

Deloitte, which has participated for over 10 years, continues to see the event as an opportunity to reach potential recruits.

Martina Camilleri, who now works for Deloitte, first encountered the company at Freshers’ Week when she was a student.

“So, I did my interview, I joined and I’m still an employee there, eight years later,” she said.

Nationalist MEP Peter Agius also made an appearance at Freshers’ Week, launching a “Study Visits” programme for youths at the European Parliament.

Agius, who had been active in student law organisations such as ELSA and GĦSL, commented on the growing debate around commercialisation.

“It is important that there are many people and students. That there is a vibe and good feeling as well as the organisations. Now, whether they are in the pride of place in the quad or over here (between the library and old humanities), the students need to decide,” he said.

Financial realities 

The KSU, the body responsible for organising the event, defended the presence of corporate stalls, explaining the financial realities behind the decision.

Standing between a betting company’s stand and an accountancy firm’s stand, Adriel Camilleri, a KSU member, said: “I think it’s a bit of a difficult situation.

"As KSU, obviously, we strongly endorsed the organisations. We do a lot to promote our student organisations but, obviously, we do need to support ourselves financially.”

He pointed out that, initially, student organisations were located in car park four but were moved closer after negative feedback.