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When a curious mother and seasoned AI researcher dipped her toes into the world of competitive swimming, she did not expect to launch one of the most comprehensive sports-tech initiatives Malta has ever seen. Now, through two intertwined projects – DIVE and SWIM-360 – Dr Vanessa Camilleri and her team at the University of Malta are capturing the full stroke of what makes swimmers fast, efficient, and injury-free
Although it is still before eight o’clock in the morning, the Mediterranean sun is already beating down on the open-air National Pool Complex in Msida – the heart chakra of swim sports in the island nation, nestled right beside the flyover separating the university and the pool.
A thin veil of heat shimmers above the turquoise, crystal lanes, and the black sun-kissed scoreboard reads 41°C, even though the air temperature hovers just under 30. The stone bleachers, still empty of spectators, radiate the warmth stored from yesterday’s sun as early summer hints at the upcoming heat waves, soon to reach the tiny Mediterranean island from the African continent. The silence is broken only by the rhythmic splashes of sportspeople engaging in early training sessions, the buzz of cicadas fending off the heat, and the soft click of sports cameras being prepped for the data collection.
Down by lanes eight and nine, a small team of researchers from the University of Malta is hunched over cables, monitors, and a makeshift camera rig. The researchers nod quietly to one another, adjusting their setups while swimmers sign consent forms for anonymised data storage, stretch by the pool, or bounce on their toes, as they chit-chat about swimming, their minds locked in ritual. One of them is being fitted with soft palm straps, the unassuming yet powerful wearables that will feed real-time motion data into the learning algorithm, one lap at a time.
This is where the work begins: in the heat, in the repetition, in the routine. But behind the familiar drills of dive-turn-finish lies something new. Every stroke today will be captured, annotated, and fed into an evolving AI model, part of two ambitious research projects called DIVE and SWIM-360. It is a collaboration of sweat, code, and curiosity, unfolding beneath the vast Maltese sky.
Continue reading this article by clicking the below link.
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“Digitalisation and Innovation for Resilient Marine Ecosystems Businesses, and Communities to Strengthen the EU Blue Economy’s Competitiveness.”
The Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership is a Horizon Europe co-funded partnership. It constitutes a network of 30 countries and the European Commission that enables an unprecedented effort to pool research and innovation investments and align national programmes at pan-European scale.
Xjenza Malta, as one of the Research Funding Organisations launching this Joint Transnational Co-Funded Call and will be financially supporting R&I projects addressing challenges on the following priority areas:
- Digital Twins- development and use
- Transitioning Blue Economy Sectors
- Managing Sea Uses
- Blue Bioresources
· Resilient Coastal Communities and Businesses
Malta-Based Entities are eligible for funding, with the option of requesting up to €500,000 to participate in a SBEP proposal consortium*.
Pre-proposal submission deadline – 17 November 2025, 15:00 CET
Apart from the pre-proposal submission by the Project Coordinator on the EPSS, each National applicant shall be required to submit a National Application Form to eusubmissions.xjenzamalta@gov.mt by 17th November 2025 at 23:59 CET.
Recording of the online information session held on 3rd of October can be viewed here below, or download presentation:
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Visit the below link to download application forms and guidelines.
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Organisation:
Xjenza Malta
Call Deadline:
Monday, November 17, 2025
Further Information:
External Link
Additional Financial Support for Malta-Based Researchers Requesting Ship Time on the Research Vessel Gaia Blu
Xjenza Malta is providing additional financial support to Malta-based entities collaborating with the Italian National Research Council (CNR) for access to ship time aboard the Research Vessel Gaia Blu in the two-year period 2026-2027.
The R/V Gaia Blu offers a platform for conducting advanced marine research, varying from oceanographic surveys, environmental monitoring, long-term data collection, and educational or outreach-focused cruises. Researchers can propose a variety of projects on several research fields as highlighted in the CNR Application Form. This ship time opportunity enables multidisciplinary studies that contribute to a deeper understanding of the Mediterranean’s marine environment, supporting a wide range of scientific and environmental goals. The deadline to submit proposals to CNR by the Principal Investigator is 15th October 2025, and selected projects will be able to conduct their research activities in the Mediterranean Sea in 2026 and 2027.
To participate, projects need to include a Principal Investigator from CNR, however further collaborations with Italian and international researchers is encouraged. Researchers with a project idea are encouraged to contact previous collaborators or reach out to potential new partners who may be interested in this call.
For full details on how to apply and to access the guidelines and additional documentation visit the official CNR webpage: CNR Gaia Blu Call.
Xjenza Malta’s additional funding is aimed to facilitate the active participation of Malta-based researchers in this international collaboration. Up to €6,000 per researcher with a maximum capping of €30,000 per entity is available to cover travel and other operating expenses that are not funded by CNR, within the scope of the Malta-based researchers’ involvement. To access these funds, Malta-based entities are requested to send to Xjenza Malta a national application form for financial assistance from Xjenza Malta, together with a copy of the submitted application form to CNR by the Principal Investigator. Malta-based entities collaborating with CNR must submit the application form to Xjenza Malta by 22nd October 2025, 23:59 CET at international.xjenzamalta@gov.mt.
Visit the below link to read further and download application forms and guidelines.
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Organisation:
Xjenza Malta and Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)
Call Deadline:
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Further Information:
External Link
The Market Discovery Plan Voucher is designed to help innovators strategically position their technology for investment and market entry. It supports FUSION beneficiaries who have reached Technology Readiness Level 5 or higher and already have a well-developed business plan.
Through this programme, beneficiaries receive expert guidance on:
- Identifying the most effective opportunities to present their innovation.
- Targeting the right investor profiles and funding sources.
- Selecting high-impact platforms and events for exposure.
- Crafting a strong, investor-ready communication strategy.
Working closely with a pre-approved Xjenza Malta service provider, participants will develop an action plan to secure investment via investor events, direct outreach to angel investors or venture capitalists, and consultation with experienced fundraising advisors. Support also covers the creation of tailored investor presentations that highlight competitive advantage, financial potential, and exit strategies.
Visit the below link to read further and download application forms and guidelines.
Call Deadline:
The Voucher Programme will close once all funds have been allocated. Additionally, the programme will temporarily close during the following periods:
- 30 June to 31 August
- 1 December to 9 January
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Organisation:
Xjenza Malta
Call Deadline:
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Further Information:
External Link
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A Public Consultation is being launched on the future PRIMA Partnership (PRIMA 2). The consultation is live and will remain open until 31 October 2025. It is aimed at research centres and academia, private sector, practitioners, farmer associations, agro-food and water actors, and research and policy contacts who are central to ensuring the uptake and sustainability of results.
PRIMA (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area) is currently reflecting on its future. With the support of the Horizon Europe project FUTURE4PRIMA, preparations are underway for a possible new phase — PRIMA 2. Since 2018, PRIMA has mobilised nearly €600 million, funding over 260 cross-border projects in water, farming, food, and ecosystems.
It has created 127 demonstration sites, generated more than 170 exploitable results, and contributed to science diplomacy and trust-building across the region. At the same time, interim evaluations by the European Commission (1st in 2022 and the 2nd ongoing, to be concluded in December 2025) have highlighted persistent systemic gaps: many results remain confined to pilots, uptake across borders is uneven, procedures are fragmented, and Southern Mediterranean actors still have limited leadership roles. PRIMA 2 is conceived to consolidate what has worked while addressing these gaps.
Your views will directly feed into the Joint Programme proposal for PRIMA 2 and the European Commission’s Impact Assessment, ahead of decisions under the next EU Framework Programme (FP10, 2028–2034).
This consultation is a crucial step in shaping PRIMA 2. It seeks input from stakeholders across the Mediterranean on priorities, barriers to innovation, governance options, and ways to ensure adoption and impact.
The results will directly feed into the Joint Programme proposal and the European Commission’s Impact Assessment.
Thank you very much for your commitment and contribution.
Participation deadline: 31 October 2025
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The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, met our BlueMissionMed partners XjenzaMalta, for the presentation of “Our Blue Treasure“, the ocean and waters literacy educational book developed for young audiences by our project’s partners FVA – New Media Research.
The ad hoc meeting was a pivotal moment to underline the vital role of early education in shaping environmentally conscious citizens and supporting the broader objectives of the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2023”.
The discussion also provided an opportunity to present the progress and outcomes of BlueMissionMed, which brings together stakeholders across the Mediterranean to co-create sustainable solutions for the protection and restoration of marine and water ecosystems.
President Metsola’s support on our book for kids represents a strong political recognition of the role of education and citizen engagement in advancing Mission Ocean goals.
This Project will also be present at Science In the City event, being held between 26 - 27 September 2025.
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ASTROBEAT proposes for the first time the investigation of the cold-welding phenomenon for use in spacecraft hull repair following a hypervelocity impact by space debris. An experimental test rig will be tested and qualified, at TRL 6, on the International Space Station, thanks to an environment providing for an extended period of time micro-gravity conditions.
The project is led by Dr Leonardo Barilaro, Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Engineering a MCAST – The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology.
It has been shown that similar metallic materials can fuse or weld at ambient temperatures provided that there are sufficiently high contact forces. In the Space environment, this fusion is aided by the fact that the joint surfaces do not re-oxide after wear and, as a consequence, atomic diffusion of the metal occurs at lower contact forces. Cold-welding in the Space environment was first analyzed in the 1960s as an adverse reaction from wear and it was attributed to be the cause of failure of certain mechanisms. This research, however, will investigate the potential of cold-welding for use in spacecraft hull perforation repair.
Spacecraft shield and hull perforation may occur after a hypervelocity impact due to micrometeoroids or space debris. In-situ repair from inside the vehicle is preferable due to the pressure differences. Evaluating a paradigm shift in cold-welding adhesion, this project aims at developing a test apparatus to apply custom repair patches and will investigate its adhesion properties. The recovery of the payload will allow further metallurgical analysis of the cold-welded joint. After the terrestrial development and validation using a vacuum chamber (first phase), the core activity is the design and testing of the experimental setup and its integration as a payload to carry out the activity onboard the International Space Station. The test rig will be able to simulate the hull breach in terms of crack and opening and will be capable of applying the repair patch and monitoring its performance (second phase).
Dr Leonardo Barilaro is also coordinating the Space Art project that will send new music onboard the International Space Station. The main feature of this initiative is its interdisciplinary approach, utilizing music as a powerful language to transcend cultural barriers and reach diverse audiences beyond formal education systems.
The Department of Aviation at the Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology (MCAST) and the Aerospace, Mechanical and Electronic Department at South East Technological University (SETU) will collaborate with the Centre of Studies and Activities for Space (CISAS) “G. Colombo” of the University of Padova and the Skyup Academy, Italy for the second phase of this research project.
ASTROBEAT (SUP-2023-09) is a EUR 125,000 project financed by the Malta Council for Science & Technology through the Space Upstream Programme.The International Space Station payload opportunity is being made available by Nanoracks, through its Space Act Agreement with NASA’s U.S. National Lab.
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