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The University of Malta (UM) is the highest teaching and research institution in Malta and was founded in 1769. It is a publicly funded institution and caters for 11,000 students which include over 1,000 international students from 92 different countries and comprises over 1,000 academics, and approximately 800 technical and administrative staff. The UM is made up of 14 Faculties and a number of interdisciplinary Institutes, Centres and Schools. The UM strives to create programmes of studies and research which are relevant and timely in response to the needs of the country.

Researchers at the UM conduct research in various fields, and as the sole University on the island, the UM has particular responsibility to cater for study areas on a national dimension. In September 2009, the UM has set up a Corporate Research and Knowledge Transfer Directorate so as to assist the UM to transform itself into a contemporary third-generation University built on three significant pillars, being teaching, corporate research, and direct and active participation in sustainable socio-economic development.

The UM Library is actively participating in OpenAIRE as well as contributing towards various Open Access initiatives both at the institutional and national level. To this end, in October 2014, the UM Library launched the first Open Access institutional repository (IR) on the island, OAR@UM. The scope of this endeavour is to enhance the visibility as well as preserve the intellectual output and research being carried out at the UM. This digital repository holds the research publications of scholars affiliated with the UM, together with digital items including audio visual material. Moreover, owing to the fact that OAR@UM is the sole Open Access repository on the Maltese Islands, the UM is providing the opportunity to non-UM researchers to upload their research output on its repository. Hence, the remit of OAR@UM has been extended to cater as a national Open Access repository for Malta.

The UM has also implemented an Open Access Policy whereby academics and researchers are encouraged to upload their research output in Open Access. The policy advocates in favour of Green Open Access – nevertheless, the UM will be supporting Gold Open Access when funds for Article Process Charges are available.

national overview