Heritage Malta and the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) have signed a six-year agreement that will see the two state entities work closely together to develop academic degree courses, joint research initiatives and provide students with free access to cultural sites.

The memorandum of understanding will see MCAST develop Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in conservation, provide traineeship schemes and guarantee full-time jobs to a fixed number of students who complete the courses.

Under the terms of the MOU, the roughly 8,000 students who attend MCAST will also get free access to Heritage Malta sites and museums “where possible”, as well as discounts on its various publications.

Heritage Malta will also allow MCAST lecturers to use some of its locations as classroom extensions, provide MCAST students with access to data related to Heritage Malta sites for their studies and open Heritage Malta sites to fieldwork sessions for conservation and science students.

On its part, MCAST will consult with Heritage Malta to better tailor its courses to labour market needs, invite Heritage Malta staff to take part in lecturing and fieldwork and encourage students to focus their research work on projects that are relevant to the cultural agency. It is also pledging to help Heritage Malta publish and present research papers, if requested.

The MOU was signed by Heritage Malta CEO Noel Zammit and MCAST prinċipal Joachim James Calleja.