Located near a hospital and university, Malta’s new Life Science Centre will cover 13 500 square metres and form a part of a proposed biotechnology park which is expected to be finished towards the end of 2012.
- 02 September 2011
Projects such as this are helping the EU to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy by 2020, as set out in the EU 2020 growth strategy. The EU is facing some tough challenges, including an ageing population, an insufficiently qualified workforce, the need for greater innovation, striking a balance between economic growth and environmental degradation, and ensuring secure, clean energy supplies. Regional policy projects across the EU are playing an active role in dealing with these and many other challenges, by undertaking projects designed to generate employment, raise educational achievement, develop renewable energy sources, boost productivity and give all citizens access to opportunities. The projects and the regions play a pivotal role in this, as they generate real results that contribute to achieving the strategy’s key goals.
It will focus on life sciences and associated technologies and will incorporate pharmaceutical/biotech laboratories and research facilities aimed at supporting knowledge-based companies.
Generating employment
The Maltese Government and Malta Enterprise, the agency responsible for promoting foreign investment and industrial development in Malta, want to use this project to provide an added boost to the growing life sciences industry, as it did with the expansion of the pharmaceutical industry.
The new Life Sciences Centre will offer 10 000 square metres of space for laboratories and offices as well as common areas, including meeting rooms and conference facilities. A further 3 500 square metres will be used for business incubation purposes.
It is expected to result in an increase in RTDi expenditure of around 0.45% of GDP and has an employment potential of 138 people (mostly scientists and lab technicians). This will possibly lead to further expansion of the centre to approach the size of a science park. The availability of suitably qualified and skilled personnel is one of the most important assets in setting up a life sciences cluster.
Growing a knowledge-based economy
The state-of-the-art Life Sciences Centre is a key factor in sustaining the local industrial base. In order to become more competitive and sustain a growing knowledge-based economy, local enterprises need facilities to support both their current operations and their needs for R&D and innovation. The Life Sciences Centre will encompass the whole innovation life cycle. The Centre’s location is also of strategic importance, being within walking distance of Mater Dei Hospital and the University of Malta, both potential sources of future cooperation and offering opportunities for shared resources.
From the development of innovation and the start-up of new business, entrepreneurship will be active throughout the Centre’s growth. The Life Sciences Centre will represent a focal point connecting university students, researchers, lecturers, hospital professional staff and industry to interact and establish new technology and research-based firms as well as clusters.