Lino Bianco, the Labour EP candidate appointed ambassador to Romania even as he campaigns for election, is a false professor
This comment was sent in by Snoopy. Snoopy is an academic/researcher at the University of Malta.
Lino Bianco is a ‘made up’ professor. His University of Malta bio has him down as ‘doctor’. He is a ‘professor’ with the International Academy of Architecture, based in Sofia and that IS NOT a university.
Its membership is categorised into ‘academicians’ and ‘professors’, with 75 of the former and 83 of the latter.
This is a private organisation and not an academic institute. The title ‘professor’ has nothing to do with the actual meaning of a professor in academia. So Lino Bianco is actually ideal for Labour’s skip.
Labour EP candidate Lino Bianco receives his letter of appointment as ambassador to Romania from President Coleiro
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They think of everything but the truth: even the art in the shot with Merilweez is in Byzantine representation style.
I knew there was something fishy. With Bianco’s level of competence, there is no way that he would be made professor by any university.
Another example of how PL operate – using deceit to impress.
He was an arrogant shit at university. Instead of trying to encourage us students he always seized the opportunity to put us down.
He has no clue as to the meaning of the term ‘education’. As you say – he deserves to be in the Labour Party skip.
I fully agree. He should be ashamed of how he treated his students.
Mhux xorta..’.Ic-certifikati jiswew daqs karta tal-incova..’…qal darba Mintoff.
Seems our whole government is a lie…in one way or another.
‘Fifty-four hunters were apprehended for alleged violation of hunting regulations during the open season, the government said today.
They are being charged with a total of 63 offences of which 52 offences were of minor nature as follows..’ Times of Malta 3/5/2014
Based on past experience I would say they are too many to take to court and so a fine would be more appropriate.
We cannot do that to fifty-four people who broke the law – it would be wrong…and in any case it would hold up the court’s work unnecessarily.
Glad to have played my part in unmasking another fraud.
Let’s not deviate from the number one issue : his appointment involved corrupt practices.
That’s it. And there is a chief “other” dishonest piece of work more major than this masking that he must have done to endear himself to Joseph Muscat.
Masking and distortion is the norm with Labour – all in a day’s work type of stuff – so digging deeper should reveal the worse action.
Most of the professors at the University of Malta are not professors in the academic sense, having either never published or having only published one or two papers.
Many of their publications aren’t even peer reviewed – look at some of their publication lists, peppered with University of Malta press – that’s not peer reviewed and can’t be considered a publication in the academic sense.
Among those who have published most, their publication record equals that (if at all) of an early career researcher in the UK.
Professors in the UK often have publication lists of over 300 papers.
The criteria for promotion to professor at the University of Malta are extremely questionable. But then this case is just fraudulent. There’s also someone at the University of Malta I know of who calls herself doctor, implying she a PhD, when in fact she has a degree from an Italian university, where you get called “dottoressa” upon graduation.
I know what you mean, but you didn’t explain yourself well.
The “professors” at the University of Malta are real professors (excepting frauds like Lino Bianco) because they have been appointed to that position by the University of Malta.
Your point is that very few of them deserve a professorship. Aye, there’s the rub.
And don’t go thinking this is a Labour thing. It’s a Maltese Inner Circle thing. Once you’re in, you have it made.
At the University of Malta there are two different kinds of professors. One type is the ‘associate professor,’ who, after 10 years of lecturing and holding a PhD gets tenure and the title (I know a few of those) and the other is the ‘full professor,’ who after getting tenure and the ‘associate’ is actually productive and hence through many peer-reviewed publications gets the highest honour of the faculty by being promoted ‘full professor.’
any of the former sit in (or clog up) the Humanities; the latter are mainly found in the Sciences.
Both types are addressed the same way: Professor. But they don’t stand for the same. Ask any full professor.
Katrin,
Yes, there are some who are called ‘professor’ but who have very little, if any, academic output. Their professorships were mostly obtained during the golden 80s.
In the last 15 years or so, obtaining a promotion to associate professor or professor requires a foreign (Commonwealth) peer reviewed process.
For promotion to associate professor one needs to have published at least 16 peer-reviewed papers, while for full professor the publication list usually includes at least two papers in very high-impact-factor journals (I.F. over 20), contribution to national and international academic processes, and an international standing.
While publishing over 300 papers is a dream to most of us, unfortunately, in the field of science, with the ridiculous level of research funds available (this year this ranged from 500 to 1000 Euro per year per researcher) and with all the academic and administrative load, publishing three to four peer-reviewed papers in international journals of repute per year is a great feat.
“Melita Historica”, “Xjenza” and “The Maltese Medical Journal” are all peer-reviewed publications. Are they high-impact?
See my point?
And do not for a minute think that the cronyism and the lavishing of professorships was confined to the Golden Years.
Snoopy, still very poor standards. Way below lecturers’ publication records in the UK.
And how do you gain and maintain international standing if you don’t publish and attend conferences? Granted, there is substantially less funding in Malta, but still. And don’t forget that research in some disciplines doesn’t require the substantial funding required in science.
Baxxter, sorry I was a bit confusing, I’m very tired, as my UK uni is working me to death. Should have stayed in Malta, because I’d be a professor by now.
Baxxter, they are internally peer reviewed. Peer reviewed journals have processes of independent peer review and editorial boards who’ll have your knackers sooner than publish you.
I was merely pointing out that the mantra about publishing in peer-reviewed journals means nothing if the journals are just “local” (their word, not mine) publications.
And I’m sure they could find you a comfortable berth at the University of Malta. You say you’re a researcher at a British university. That makes you one of Gonzi’s Generazzjoni Rebbieha ta’ Opportunitajiet Straordinarji fl-Ewropa.
Sorry for the vitriol but it is a Saturday night, and we’ve been over this a million times. The only thing that’s changed since 1987 are the salaries.
On the University of Malta website he’s listed as Dr. and as a Prof, though his profile doesn’t show any publication of papers. Reference: https://www.um.edu.mt/profile/linobianco.
Do not put everyone in the same bag. Some in the fields of science and medicine publish in journals such as Nature Genetics, GUT and similar high impact journals, again trying to make ends meet on research funds of 500 euros a year and no post docs.
Most of us attend at least two international meetings per year (paying all expenses ourselves) and some of us have held or hold positions in other universities, mostly in the UK, collaborate with foreign institutions and hold senior positions in international associations.
So, yes there are those who have been given iced buns, but there are others who work diligently, quietly and without fanfare, and who have either formed part of international centres of excellence or are themselves considered to be international experts in their fields.
OOPS – my last comment was meant to be a reply under Catherine.
That’s true, I didn’t mean to say that everyone is like that.
This is a storm in a tea cup. Prof. or Dr. Bianco is a lecturer at the University of Malta. Lecturers and professors do essentially the same work at University.
Besides according to the UOM website he is “visiting professor in history and theory of urban design at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Sofia”. https://www.um.edu.mt/profile/linobianco
The term professor has different meanings in different contexts. In Italy and France teachers are called the equivalent term meaning professor. In Malta medical specialists are called “professur”.
What rubbish!
Just because (usually uneducated) lay people call medical specialists “professur”, it doesn’t mean that these specialists are entitled to use the title “professor” before their names.
‘Lecturers and professors do essentially the same work at University.’
Yes. So do bishops and cardinals, but you do not call them by the same name and you would (I hope) be appalled if a bishop who was not a cardinal called himself Cardinal.
‘The term professor has different meanings in different contexts.’
That’s exactly the point. He is transplanting the term from the Bulgarian context in order to mislead in Malta.
When I teach on American university programmes, I am called professor by my students. That is fine because that is the American term for anybody who teaches at a university.
However, I do not run around calling myself professor at the UK university where I work because I have not been promoted yet and cannot claim that status.
Similarly, I was awarded a degree that is called a ‘doctorate’ by the University of Malta, but I did not call myself Dr in the UK until I had a PhD because I did not wish to mislead.
Do these things really need to be explained?
Sorry to go on about myself, but I am obviously the first example that pops into my own head.
You’re an anal idiot, and soon you will get your degree. Keep up the fine tradition of the University of Malta.
David, in Malta and the UK the title professor is acquired after many years, even decades, of dedicated research and academic work.
Whoever abusively uses it is by definition a fraud. It is immoral and reflects lack of values because that person is giving himself something which is not rightfully his.
David, your comment is an insult to people who are professors as well as to people who have a doctorate. It devalues the effort and sacrifices that people put in for their professorships and doctorates.
Bianco’s attitude reflects PL’s propensity to deceive people.
No, no and a million times no! Lecturers and professors do not do ‘essentially the same work’ at a university. Both the title Lecturer and Professor are academic honorifics that should identify your contribution to the field of academia you are interested in. It has absolutely nothing to do with the colloquial use of the word.
In other countries where European values are present, attaining lecturer status requires you to have a decent publication record (>20-50 medium to high impact peer-reviewed journals) and the ability to secure funding. Attaining professor status requires substantially more than that.
Even University of Malta professorships are a joke, let alone professorships from a non-certified private organisation in Bulgaria.
‘a storm in a teacup’
That, my dear, exposes you for what you really are: a Joseph-adoring, Labour-voting, gullible fool.
Anyone with a 2 cents worth of brain would do their utmost to avoid that idiom at the moment, lest they are branded as a Labour voter.
Lino Bianco was a classmate of mine at the Archbishop’s Seminary and I can tell you that he definitely wasn’t the brightest of students.
Imma he is intelligent right? Isn’t that what matters?
You gotta be smart to pass yourself off as a professor for so many years.
We need smart people.
Anke Alfred Sant “intelligenti.” Izda ma hux professur. Tghid ghaliex?
OH MY ZOMFG!
Ejja naghmluh profssss issa!
I found it strange that Bianco should be made ambassador to Romania, of all countries. His connection with this obscure Sofia organisation explains a lot.
Lino Bianco, full name Angelo Emmanuel Bianco, was a physics/maths/maths student at St. Aloysius College in 1982/83 and 1983/84. Some students abandoned principle in second year and left to go to the New Lyceum to get the 20 points. His abandonment of principle and leap into the Labour skip seems to have come later.
Not quite sure why calling himself Lino Bianco was preferable to Angelo Bianco. We used to call him Biancolino. Not sure if it was a teddy bear or a detergent. Maybe we permanently scarred his psyche?
Angelo Bianco? White Angel. Love it.
http://biancolino.com/2013/01/14/screen-shot-2013-01-14-at-3-23-46-pm-png/
Scroll down – #Lace#Love#BiancoLino
So he’s an architect. Let’s have his portfolio.
Top notch.
His leap into the Labour skip was back before 1996.
He was appointed to several posts at the expense of the taxpayer in 1997-98 and since 2013.
One one looks at the grades at the University of Malta web page, these are in ascending order
Assistant Lecturer
Lecturer
Senior Lecturer
Associate Professor
Professor
The web page of the University of Malta’s academic department where Lino Bianco works lists him as a lecturer, not a professor. See http://www.um.edu.mt/ben/archdesign/staff
On an unrelated note, Jason Micallef, looking oh so fashionable:
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-05-03/news/valletta-to-host-malta-fashion-week-2014-4840161281/
Ah, so Piano turned out useful after all.
“Malta Fashion Week”, eh, Jozef.
I take it they intend to use the two staircases to do a Donna soto le stelle, twenty years on.
As for the event, with all due respect to admirers of the three pointed star; judging by the wayward styling, iterated to a degree beyond any brand recognition, call it a hotchpotch of cliches with intelligent concepts abandoned for bling, the bundestank lost the market to Qatari money.
Even the A class has been lost in translation, it’s now some racy offroader, the Smart concept given up to Renault.
BMW on the other hand, have finally embraced work as pure value.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt1k3BLN7pw
Notice how they improvise their jigs from standard profiles and off the shelf components. There’s a fresh sincerity in those videos.
I’ve been to a few fashion weeks myself. Even made it on to the red carpet. And I don’t know where to start with the wrongness that is Malta Fashion Week.
For a start, it’s never about the event enhancing the attraction of a site. Speci majtezwel we show off Valletta, heqq? It’s so Women’s Institute. I mean these people don’t know the first thing (surely, “thong”. Ed.) about fashion.
Then there’s Jason. And the chubby cherubic Owen ‘Varist’ Bonnici. They are so UNATTRACTIVE. And yet they stand before the world (well, before half a dozen journalists furiously typing away on their ipads) and they announce FASHION.
Paris is no longer the fashion capital of Europe. Paris, where the very concept of the catwalk was invented. London and Berlin are. And they fight to stay on the bleeding edge.
And we presume to butt in with our risible little provincial Mediterranean Malta.
Don’t make me larf.
I don’t know if Jason’s and Owen’s models will be the sort who use it (I presume not – not rangy enough), but if they do provide complimentary cocaine, courtesy of the locals, I might help myself to a very long line. Just to deaden the pain.
Fashionista? Le, ma tistax.
Not as fashionable as Michelle Muscat.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=294341704048538&set=a.294343120715063&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=294341550715220&set=a.294343120715063&type=1&theater
Absolutely hideous. That woman does not possess an ounce of fashion sense.
Maybe it’s a nickname, I know at least two men who are nicknamed Profs and they can’t even read a newspaper.
Mill-Bulgarija ghal mitt euro riedu jbieghuli certifikat tal-filosofija.
Gvern dilittant u inferjuri.
If I recall correctly, he failed first year law before moving on to other academic endeavours.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Lino_Bianco.pdf
In his portfolio he also presents a washroom.
Biex tehel mill-kors ta’ avukat u ssir perit, hemm xi haga stramba.
Il-kors ta’ perit huwa hafna aktar difficli minn ta’ avukat. Almenu nista’ nara minn uliedi – incidentalment mghallem mill- “Profs” Bianco.
“Lino bianco. Passa la parola.”
Nuovo?
No, lavato con Lino Bianco.
Now that Bianco has shown himself to be a fraud, it is pertinent to ask a few questions about his doctorate. In his bio on the Malta university website, he claims that he obtained his doctorate from a university in Bulgaria but he is very sparse on details.
Carrying out serious research in a language other than English is difficult because the most important research sources are in English (or in a major language). Bianco did his masters in the UK. He would have made enough contacts to do his doctorate in the UK. Instead he chose to go to Sofia. He chose a university which is not reputable, especially back then, and where the main language was not English. Why?
What was the subject of his research? How long did it take him to complete his PhD? Who was his tutor? Presumably his tutor spoke English. Did he also publish in English?
Could it be that what for the Bulgarian university is a PhD would be equivalent to a masters in Malta and the UK? Could it be that he chose to do his doctorate in a Bulgarian university because it was less demanding in terms of the research work required?
Is his doctorate recognised by reputable universities?
If he deceived with the abusive use of the title of professor, he would be just as willing to cheat and deceive in other ways.