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ICT FeatureThe Malta Independent | Thursday 27 January 2011

At a time where information andcommunication technologies (ICT)have penetrated every aspect of ourlife, The Malta Independent and thelargest ICT organisation on the is-land, the Malta Information Technol-ogy Agency (MITA), have joinedforces to provide a weekly featureabout this vast and ever growingtopic.

This weekly feature intends to pro-mote ICT and its application in new

and innovative ways. In the comingweeks we will also look at the localICT industry and provide informa-tion about foreign players operatingfrom Malta. We will also featureleading and relevant internationalnews. From time to time we will alsohave exclusive interviews withprominent figures in the field.

I therefore welcome you to this firstedition of The Malta Independent ICTFeature. In this week’s edition you

can read on how ICT is being appliedin education and in public procure-ment. We are also putting forward aninvitation to get a diploma in ICTthrough the Second Step training pro-gramme. I’m also pleased to share forthe first time our recent experiencewith Puttinu Cares and how with thesupport of a number of companies,we managed to leave a positive andlong-lasting effect in the children’slife.

The Malta IndependentICT Feature

RoderickSpiteri

ClintMintoff

JoannaAzzopardi

John Deguara

NadineGatt

Children who are diagnosed with can-cer have to temporarily give up manythings while undergoing treatment,including going to school and meetingtheir friends. Treatment can take fromseveral months to a couple of years.Children need to visit the hospital sev-eral times a week and often have to en-dure long stays at the hospital locally,or abroad. Angele Cuschieri whoworks for Puttinu Cares explainedthat “Families and their children faceadded tension and stress as they haveto tackle the problems of their childrenbeing isolated from their peers andlacking the necessary education.”

Technology nowadays can be a goodsolution for many things, including

keeping cancer-diagnosed childrenhappy by allowing them to keep intouch with family and friends. PuttinuCares and MITA realised that it is es-sential to ensure that the children un-dergoing treatment are able to keep intouch 24/7 if they need. To equip tech-nologically the Rainbow Ward atMater Dei where these children aretreated, MITA sought the support ofvarious public and private entities in-cluding the Infrastructure, Transportand Communications Ministry; Edu-cation, Employment and the FamilyMinistry; Malta Communications Au-thority; Cisco; Go plc. Jos Vincenti &Co Ltd; ICT Solutions; 2i; Smart Tech-nologies Ltd; and IMS Ltd.

State-of-the-art video-conferencingfacilities were installed at the RainbowWard, Mater Dei Hospital, as well asat the flats in the United Kingdomwhere families and children undergo-ing treatment abroad stay. Thanks tothese facilities, children can now speakand see in real time relatives, friends,and healthcare professionals when-ever they need to if they are in Maltaor the UK. PCs have also been pro-vided for the playroom at the Rain-bow Ward.

Wireless internet access has alsobeen set up at the ward so that thechildren can be mobile and remainconnected wherever they are in theWard. An interactive whiteboard has

been set up in the playroom which thechildren can use for group activitiesand learning activities that are fun andengaging. A WeDo Construction Setwas also provided for the children tobuild and programme simple LEGOmodels that are plugged into a PC. Amore attractive and interactive web-site for Puttinu Cares has also been de-veloped - www.puttinucares.org.

“The initiatives implemented willensure that children will be able tocommunicate online anytime duringthe day and enjoy the same environ-ment they may have at school or athome. Every child deserves to havethe best, and enabling children to re-main in close contact with their fami-

Connecting Puttinu Cares

The Malta Information TechnologyAgency (MITA) has launched a sec-ond call of applications for the SecondStep training programme.

Second Step is a training programmethat leads successful applicants to anICT vocational education and trainingDiploma. Upon successful completion,candidates will achieve a BTEC Na-tional Diploma for IT Practitionersthat is nationally and internationallyrecognised. The programme is part-fi-nanced by the European Unionthrough the European Social Fund.

Second Step offers three specialisa-

tions and applicants are asked tochoose one from:

Diploma in Information Systems;Diploma in Information Technology

and;Diploma in Computing and Infor-

mation Systems.Students currently doing the Second

Step Training Programme are verysatisfied with the way the course isprogressing and are confident that thiscourse will prove to be that vital stepfor success in their career progression.

The Second Step training pro-gramme is available on a full or part-

time basis. The course will start inMarch 2011 and ends in June 2012, in-cluding the summer period. Studentshave the possibility to cover 40% of thematerial through an online trainingsystem – a system that enables stu-dents to study from the comfort oftheir home.

For further information, course con-tent, entry requirements and to applyonline, visit www.mita.gov.mt. Appli-cations are open until tomorrow Fri-day 28 January. Placements arelimited and subject to pre-defined se-lection criteria.

It’s not too late fora diploma in ICT

In the past, developments in varioustechnologies were considered to cateronly for the more privileged or tech-nologically minded people. Now, thattechnology is almost in everyone’spocket, developments are seen as ben-eficial for all citizens. The growingnumber of citizens who consider ac-cess to the Internet as a priority withintheir household has created an oppor-tunity for governments, academia, andthe private sector across the world toexplore the opportunities which ICTcan deliver in the education arena.

Such a movement exists also in Maltaand in the coming three years Govern-

ment will be investing money, re-sources and its priorities to educationand create a virtual learning platform,or as it is also known, an eLearning So-lution.

The success of such solutions relieson the take-up of ICT amongst citizens.The latest statistics by Eurostat showthat 95% of Maltese households withchildren have access to the internet.Such coverage means that locally wehave a ubiquitous tool which can beused to enhance our children’s educa-tion experience. It also means that cut-ting edge development in ICT cantruly be available and cater for all.

The planned eLearning solution willallow parents, teachers and childrenwith access to one single port of callfrom any place and any time. eLearn-ing will provide facilities for directcommunication between all parties –teachers can communicate with theircolleagues, students and parents; par-ents will be able to communicate withthe children’s teachers; whilst studentswill be able to communicate with fel-low students and their teachers. In thecoming years, we will also witness theintroduction of interactive white-boards in classrooms.

It is not a coincidence that the EU has

now included eLearning in its DigitalAgenda for Europe. eLearning de-ployment with nation-wide coveragesuch as the one planned for Malta isstill considered relatively rare, andsuch forward thinking will reap re-wards. If we take into account chil-dren’s wonderful lack of‘conditioning’, we can be confidentthat providing access and opportunitywill bring significant and speedy re-wards.

Through eLearning, access (and ex-posure) to various technologies andthe internet will begin to offset the re-alities of a multi-speed society and of

ICT in education – One of the great equalisers

lies and friends can make a positivedifference in their lives,” said ClaudioGrech, Chairman of MITA.

Though the initiatives implementedare technology-related, in the end it isreally not about the technology, butabout the positive impact it leaves inthe life of these children who will beable to easily keep in touch with theirfamily and friends. With this interac-tion children will be less likely to ex-perience behavioural and socialproblems usually associated with iso-lation. It is through such projectswhere the help and support of severalcompanies can be combined togetherto really leave an impact on the livesof those in need.

digital divide. As always, there is moreto do. The 5% of households with chil-dren without internet access should begiven support and alternative optionsshould be explored. Parents, lackingthe exposure or confidence to fully im-merse themselves in this exciting tech-nology, need to be coached andencouraged.

Notwithstanding, ICT is becoming acost effective method of ensuing thatall citizens, irrespective of background,have access to its advantages. In otherwords, ICT can be seen as an equaliser,providing access and the opportunityto develop for all.

John Deguara is a Programme Manageron Education at MITA

Clint Mintoff is a Consultant on eGovernment

eProcurement explainedGovernment entities, like many pri-vate sector companies, require thepurchase of materials and servicesto support both regional and na-tional projects and also those fortheir daily operations. The purchas-ing department’s goal is to acquirethe goods and services at the lowestcost, in the desired quantity and ex-pected quality and at the right time.This ongoing and at times complexfunction is referred to as public pro-curement. Most of the processeswithin this function have tradition-ally been performed manually, withonly limited inclusion of electronicmeans, thus resulting in labour in-tensive and time consuming opera-tions, each entailing voluminousamounts of paperwork. Conductingprocurement using the latest Inter-net technologies, makes the processof buying goods and services moreefficient and transparent - this iscalled eProcurement.

What is governmenteProcurement?

Simply defined, Government ePro-curement is the use of electroniccommunications and transactionprocessing by public sector organi-sations when buying supplies and

services or tendering public works.The various stages of eProcurementinclude the identification of vendorsor suppliers, placing of orders andthe delivery of goods. eProcurementhelps increase the accessibility,transparency and efficiency of pub-lic procurement procedures,strengthens competition for govern-ment contracts and decreases thecost involved in traditional purchas-ing through functionalities such aseNotifications, eTendering, eAuc-tion, eCatalogues, eOrdering, eIn-voicing, and ePayments. Most of thepaper work is eliminated, hence re-ducing the cost and time required toprocess the virtual and physical pro-curement transaction.

eProcurement in MaltaIn November 2008, the Department

of Contracts within the Finance, theEconomy and Investment Ministrylaunched a number of eServiceswhich address tender alerts, previewof tender documents, online pur-chase of tenders, publication of ten-ders/clarification notes and tenderawards. Usage of these eServices in2009 was at 11,281 average monthlysessions, while in 2010 this figure in-creased by 28%.

As a member state of the EuropeanUnion, Malta is delivering on itscommitment to the eEurope ActionPlan by taking advantage of its ICTinfrastructure to further improve itspositive eGovernment environment,including the upgrade of the exist-ing departmental procurement noti-fication portals into a fully-fledgedeProcurement Solution which willfacilitate the business process forboth the government and the privatesector. This is being achievedthrough the acquisition of an ePro-curement solution, which is inprogress.

Implementation of the new ePro-curement Solution in all Govern-ment entities and other public sectororganisations in Malta is planned tocommence during the second quar-ter of 2011.

Benefits of eProcurementImprove efficiencyReduction in costs and processing

timeOnline submission of tenders and bidsEasy track of all transactionsBidding is easier and open for

everyoneIncreased transparency and fair-

ness