Should Your child’s future
Depend on the outcome of a lottery?
The joy of success, and the dejection of failure.
These two emotions are felt by many parents and their children when results are received for their education. The stress that parents feel is all towards the understanding that the work-place is a rat race that awards only the best, and discards those that cannot make the grade.
Decisions are being made, but are they the right decisions?
The higher education sector in Malta is tethering on an edge. Whilst state institutions are still pumping out the traditional graduates, the constituted bodies representing employers keep saying these graduates are unfit for the jobs they are performing? Are these ready to take on the industry to new frontiers? Will the industry find them prepared to face the everyday challenges of the competitive global workplace?
Saint Martin’s Institute of Higher Education is in constant conversation with industry earmarking the immediate and future needs these companies and startups have to employ graduates from their respective programmes. This preparation is ensuring a parallel between industry needs and private institution curricula, that emanates from substantial international research.
At times parents, not from their own volition, fail to realise that some qualifications are exaggerated in a way to mislead the student. Claims of higher value than the actual value in ECTS to certain degrees, may lure the student into believing this ruse. Promises of no examinations may sound attractive but will end up in tragedy, with employers refusing employment.
Parents, especially those who are not graduates themselves, are made to believe that their child should be made to walk through the fire of hell to emerge as a graduate, purified through the experience. Students are expected to fend for themselves, with a survival of the fittest mentality.
How can you treat the choice of university so lightly?
It has always been a mystery how parents spend so much effort in their child’s schooling from a very young age. They do their very utmost to provide the very best education possible at private and church led schools, paying thousands over the years in private lessons fees. Consequently they seem to ignore all the signs when their child is of age to embark on an undergraduate degree. Is all the investment, therefore, like buying a lottery ticket?
Higher education is the crucial finishing to formal education of your child — delve carefully in what the prospects offer for the future.
Parents should be ready to listen and assist their child reach for the right decision. Here are some pointers that will help.
1. The joy of studying will only come if the child is interested and passionate about the field of study because a degree should ideally align with their passions, as this will motivate them to excel and persevere.
2. Reflect on what subjects or skills come naturally to the child. They may find more success and satisfaction in a field where they can utilize their innate talents, rather than chase after what is perceived to be a rewarding career.
3. Investigate the career opportunities that each degree can lead to in the future — not the past. Remember the child needs between 3 to 5 years to graduate, and then get set in a job. What will be the starting salaries, job demand, and long-term prospects in a decade’s time?
4. In some cases, students are being made to waste years of education simply in order for the university to get students with different backgrounds aligned for the undergraduate degree. An undergraduate degree based upon the European Qualification Framework requires 3 academic years of fulltime study, with a minimum of 300 hours of tuition over each academic year.
5. The opportunity to work as an intern can make a huge difference in terms of gaining practical experience and networking. Some universities or specific programs have stronger connections to industries or offer more opportunities for hands-on experience.
6. Investigate the culture and environment of the potential university. Does the school strive towards excellence, or is there a culture of anything goes? Class size, faculty qualifications, resources, and extracurricular offerings can all influence a student’s experience. Skilled academics are able to bring out the best from their students, and even weaker students at entry are able to excel in their degree classification.
7. Apart from the academic aspects, how does the program help in personal growth? Does it offer opportunities for leadership, networking, or global exposure? It may be helpful to connect with current students or recent graduates from the prospective programs to get first-hand feedback about their experiences.
The University of London offers undergraduate degrees through its Teaching Institution, Saint Martin’s Institute of Higher Education of Hamrun, in Business and Computer Science.
Saint Martin’s Institute of Higher Education, a University of London Teaching Institution, and licensed by the Malta Further & Higher Education Authority, proudly confirms the excellent results attained by its students and graduates conferred by the world-renowned University of London. It is the University of London examination boards who set the examination papers and mark students’ scripts. The role of the academics at Saint Martin’s Institute is to teach and support their students, relentlessly and continuously, to sit for the set examinations. These examinations are sat for by thousands of students from all over the world. University of London students are guaranteed their degree is being conferred by a highly ranked and respected University globally. Hence their programme cannot be questioned because their achievement is transparent and honest.
Equal opportunities for all motivated students
The above results have been attained by students of diverse abilities at entry. Whatever the academic background, once a student complies to the set admissions criteria, joining the Institute will mean a fresh chapter of student centered pedagogy that has been refined over the years to help a student develop academically. The one element that is sought from the student is motivation. The Institute is very insistent that students will get the very best internationally acclaimed education, with a diverse curriculum that apart from lecturing activities, an academic course will also include group work even competing in national and international competitions, the development of writing and presentation skills in English (with extracurricular classes for students whose English is not a natural language), and the honing of IT skills. Students also have the opportunity to participate in both local and European traineeships thus building confidence and bridging the learning taking place in the classroom to a workplace.
ACT NOW!
If you wish to have a one to one chat with regard to your choice of qualification, you may complete this online contact form call us on +356 2123 5451 for an appointment, or communicate with us through our website or Facebook or email us on infodesk@stmartins.edu
If you are already convinced that you want to join us for the upcoming academic year, then just complete this Application Form and email it to us on infodesk@stmartins.edu
