The name of the game is: selling EU accreditation for ‘colleges’ that can’t get it elsewhere

There is an article on Times of Malta today called ‘Study by the sea’. The title had “Suspect new pseudo-college accredited by Martin Scicluna’s outfit in league with Joseph’s government” yelling out from it, so I had to take a look.

The article is in fact a press release issued by something called Global College Malta. See below. And – surprise, surprise – the words which leapt out at me immediately were “a highly experienced mother company in Dubai”.

Global College Malta strives to provide students with the best educational experience on the island by welcoming them to a professional and inspirational setting especially designed to enhance learning.

This, coupled with industry experienced lecturers, vetted by local and British higher educational institutions and a highly experienced mother company in Dubai, make Global College an educational institution like no other.

Global College Malta believes that investing in human resources will boost business. Therefore, it is offering a number of courses in management, engineering, health, emotional intelligence and IT, primarily Word Press fundamentals, Adobe Photoshop, and interactive publishing using Adobe InDesign. Global College Malta brings students to the heart of Smart City and gives them the opportunity to study in state-of-the-art classrooms while enjoying breathtaking sea views.

Recreational time can be spent having a stroll along the Laguna walk or in one of the coffee shops and restaurants close by.

As from this September, new students will join Global College Malta to obtain University of Chester Master degrees and other undergraduate degrees, all accredited by the NCFHE. Anyone interested in enrolling this September is urged to apply by July 31 and benefit from discounted prices. Courses offered by Global College Malta include MBA degrees, MSc degrees in management with specialisations, foundation courses in management and BA degrees in management. For more information contact Global College Malta on 2180 1252 or [email protected].

It’s too late to ring the information line now – I tried, and instead of a company or college answering machine, I got an anonymous message telling me that the person at extension 113 is unavailable – so I went to the website instead.

ABOUT US

Global College Malta (GCM) is a cutting-edge institution of higher education based in Malta, offering internationally recognised degree courses, specialist short courses and English language tuition in partnership with leading industry professionals and academic institutions, including the University of Chester.

GCM prides itself on its commitment to providing students with the practical skills to succeed in their day-to-day professional lives. Students learn on a level with people who understand how their industry works. Everything at GCM – from the courses, to the culture, to the building is as close to a real company as it’s possible to get.

Although technology and innovation are central to everything we do at GCM, we recognise that people are what ultimately make the business world tick, which is why we have chosen to retain our commitment to the long-standing, proven value of face-to-face tuition.

Global College Malta is a part of the Study World Education Holding Ltd.

Study World is a dynamic organization, with a growing presence across the globe. Through its wide network in different countries, Study World is engaged in a variety of education management activities ranging from K-12 schools to universities.

Since 2005, Study World has also been operating as the Academic Infrastructure Provider for Heriot-Watt University Dubai Campus which currently has about 4000 students from over 100+ countries. For more information about our parent company Study World please visit www.swehg.com.

Why Malta?

An unspoiled yet dynamic Mediterranean island at the gateway to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, Malta is also an exceptional higher education location. Offering a vibrant, international, English-speaking business community, safe environment, pleasant climate and relatively low cost of living, students in Malta enjoy a lifestyle that wouldn’t be impossible almost anywhere else in Europe.

Study World Education Holding Ltd is not incorporated in Malta. It is a Dubai company. I did as instructed and visited the SWEHG website for more information about Study World (the name alone told me what I wanted to know) and found that its sole contact details are:

Contact Address
Address
P. O. Box 294565
Dubai, UAE
Phone Number
+971 4 4358700 / 01
Email:
[email protected]

Exploring the website further, I found that the only countries in which Study World operates are Dubai, India, Malaysia, Qatar and Sri Lanka – and now, Malta.

Aside from the fact that Malta has joined this not-exactly-prestigious list, if you had played those ‘spot the odd one out’ games when you were a child, you will immediately notice that Malta is the glaring oddity in that list.

This is for several reasons, but the only one we need to be looking at right now is the fact that it is an EU member state.

Through Malta, it can claim ‘EU accreditation’.

There was another obscure college doing that a couple of days ago – the European Graduate School. This is where my antennae begin flipping around and I begin to get some idea of what the game is: lowering accreditation standards and allowing all kinds of odd commercial colleges which can’t get accreditation anywhere else in the European Union to come to Malta and get accreditation here, which they can then use as a selling-point.

It’s a variation on the theme of using Malta’s EU membership to sell Maltese citizenship.