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THE ISLANDS AND SMALL STATES
INSTITUTE
at the University of Malta
Prepared by
LINO BRIGUGLIO
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International Reputation
The Institute has acquired an international reputation as a
centre of excellence in islands and small states studies.
The Institute offers three courses:
 Course leading to the degree of Masters in Islands and
Small Studies,
 Course leading to the Diploma in Lace Studies.
 Course leading to the Diploma in Gozo Studies, and the
proposal is currently being assessed by APQRU.
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A World Bank Meeting on Small States
This meeting was held in in Malta in 2011 and was
facilitated by the ISSI.
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A Good Quality Master’s Course
The course leading to the Master’s degree in island and
small states studies, which has been offered by the
Institute as from the year 2000, has been considered as a
high-quality course by the external examiners.
The reports of the external examiners praise the high
quality of the dissertations and commend the structure of
the course, as it contains a good combination of a taught
component and a research component.
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MA (ISSS) Students at their Graduation
Ceremony
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MA (ISSS) Students
attending a fieldwork session in Gozo
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Diploma in Lace Studies
Lace studies students with their mentor, Ms Consiglia
Azzopardi
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Good quality dissertations
Dissertations produced by students in part fulfilment of the
Master’s course have often been cited in the literature on
islands and small states.
Some students have also published papers based on their
dissertations, with some carried in peer reviewed
publications, including a recent study on the governance of
small states by Ms Liliana Curmi and another on the
valuation of a national park by Mr Luciano Pace
Parascandalo.
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Dissertation of an MA(ISSS) student,
Published in a peer-reviewed journal
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Good quality publications
The Institute has also published various studies which are
frequently quoted in the literature on small states, including
an article on the economic vulnerability of small states,
published in World Development in 1995, and an article on
economic resilience of small states, published in Oxford
Economic Studies in 2009. The Institute also publishes, online, a series of occasional papers on islands and small
states (6 papers annually).
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Initiatives relating to climate change
The Institute has also been involved in climate change
research with a focus on small islands. As a result of my work
on the effect of climate change on small islands, I have been
appointed lead author for the IPCC third, fourth and fifth
assessment report on “Climate Change Impacts and
Vulnerabilities”.
In addition, the research officer engaged by the Institute, Dr
Eman Calleja, has joined a COST (European Cooperation in
Science and Technology) research programme on climate
change impacts on water use, and he forms part of the
management committee of that project. Also, in my capacity
as Director of the Institute, I form part of the Malta Climate
Change Consultative Committee. The Institute plans to
contribute a number of research initiatives to this Committee
through the University of Malta Climate Change Platform. 13
Lead Author Meeting of the IPCC
Lead authors of the IPCC 4th Assessment Report received
a Nobel Price Award, shared between all lead authors
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International meetings organised by the ISSI
The Institute has oganised various international meetings,
including the training workshops on “Competitiveness
Strategies for Small States” and on “Banking and Finance in
Small States” for public officials operating in small states of the
Commonwealth and international conferences on various
issues of interest to small states. In addition, the Institute often
participates in international and regional expert meetings on
small states.
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International meetings organised by the ISSI
Participants attending a recent international workshop on
Banking and Finance in Small States
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Collaboration with International Organisations
The Institute has collaborated with various international and
regional organisations, including the United Nations (mostly
the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UNDP,
UNEP and UNCTAD), the World Bank, the Commonwealth
Secretariat, the World Trade Organisation, the International
Organisation of the Francophonie, the International Small
Island Studies Association, the Pacific Forum Secretariat,
the Caribbean Community Secretariat and the Indian
Ocean Commission.
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The ISSI is represented at many meetings of
International Organisations
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Collaboration with other Universities
The Institute has also established relations with various
universities of small states, including the University of the
West Indies, the University of the South Pacific, the
University of Mauritius and the University of Las Palmas de
Gran Canaria.
These universities have established a consortium
(University Consortium of Small Island States) which has
recently received United Nations funds to offer a joint
Masters degree on the Sustainable Development of Small
Island States.
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UCSIS
The ISSI forms part of the University Consortium of Small
Island States which was established in 2005 during a United
Nations Global Meeting on Small Island Developing States
held in Mauritius in 2005.
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Climate Change Platform
The Institute, in collaboration with the Institute for
Sustainable Development and Climate Change has set up
a climate change platform (CCP) to coordinate research on
climate change produced by University of Malta scholars.
The CCP’s main objectives are:
 to facilitate collaboration between UoM entities and
individual UoM academics interested in climate change
issues and
 to promote research and teaching initiatives relating to
climate change at the University of Malta and elsewhere.
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The Climate Change Platform
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The ISSI as a WHO Collaborating Centre
The Islands and Small States Institute has been designated
as a candidate collaborating centre on health systems in
small states for the World Health Organisation. The
implementation of the WHO’s flagship policy document
‘Health 2020’ requires a multisectoral inter disciplinary
approach.
A the end of a two year period, the ISSI will be invited to
submit an application to become a WHO Collaborating
Centre on Health Policy and Health Systems in Islands and
Small States. This will indirectly strengthen national health
policy development and promote health in all policies
approach from a research and capacity building
perspective.
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Health Research Group
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Vision for the Future and Plan of Action
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