No brain to drain in Malta

Human Resources is not my field of expertise. But I thought somebody who is researching in this area might be able to make good use of some data collected in February 2017. We conducted a discussion on the undersupplied talent situation in Malta among and with industry representatives of the island state. This was in the context of a Business Forum hosted by the Faculty of Economics, Business, and Accounting of the University of Malta (FEMA). To have a starting point for the conversation, I polled opinions and assessments among 58 forum members. They represent indigenous Maltese commercial activities which are hiring University graduates. Main customers of these companies are Maltese end customer (46 %), foreign end customers (28 %), followed by Maltese B-B (11 %) and international B-B (9 %). 6 % are the supplier of an international mother company. Above 60 % of companies generate more than 50 % of their revenue in Malta. The results were confirming the views that there is a shortage of talent and that graduates are ill-equipped with the skills, capabilities, and characteristics required when they come to the job market. For those who are interested in this field, please feel free to download and use the summary presentation, the original data (sanitized from participant identities) , and the survey. Perhaps it is useful to compliment own research, or as a point of reference. In this context, there is also an interesting paper which shows that the situation is not new in Malta, but becomes more obviously a bottleneck now, during a sustained strong economic growth period. It is by Andrew Triganza Scott and Vincent Cassar (2005): The voyage from M.C.A.S.T. to industry. A perceived gap analysis of the critical competencies' evaluative dimensions in the manufacturing technical sector. Journal of Maltese Education Research. Vol. 3, Nr. 1, 43-60. I opened the comment function to this blog post. If you have any questions, please get in touch. 

Die Becher-Klasse (The Becher Class)

The first class of photography of Bernd and Hilla Becher defined photography as a form of art. Without it, today there would be literally no photography in a fine art museum. It was the foundation of the Düsseldorfer Schule (Duesseldorf School). The class was composed by Volker Döhne, Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Axel Hütte, Tata Ronkholz, Thomas Ruff, Jörg Sasse, Thomas Struth and Petra Wunderlich. A selection of their work is exhibited in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt Main under the title: Fotografien werden Bilder (Photographies become pictures). The exhibition is on until August 13th. I really liked it and I spent three hours there, taking a lot of ideas with me - some of them related to photography, and others on how such a class brought it into not just mastering, but shaping a new dimension in arts. 

Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

Campus Navigator

The University of Dresden would not be a Technical University if the campus navigation did not go beyond a map. And it does. I found my way around very well, with the Android Version of the Campus Navigator (click here to download).  I had the privilege of visiting the School of International Studies (ZIS) at the University for a guest lecture. It was also the first time for me, to get an on site impression of the University itself. It has quite some good vibes, and I really like the spirit. 

Dresden and "Der schönste Milchladen der Welt"

Some time ago I was at one of these at one of these startup events. It is where they bore the professionals and "business angels" get excited by elevator pitches and some other kind of nonsense. I was bored, of course. Never understood, why somebody with a good business idea would share it in public in this way. But anyway, what do I know? And I supported a friend who is in this "startups talking people dizzy business". I have seen many startups, which mostly were never called startup because the word hadn't been invented. And also then an "entrepreneur" was still somebody who "takes from between", and not somebody founding a decent company.

A nice personal story though was the (re-)start of The World's most Beautiful Dairy Shop in the World. Back then, I was working for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), we had a venture capital conference in the Taschenbergpalais. The dairy founder received no attention at our conference, as he and his idea, was not fitting into what later became the first dot-com bubble. But he took me to his shop and it was really beautiful, and the food was amazing. Now, some decades later, I assumed, he is the only one who's former startup made it into something. I guess most of the others from our conference, did not even survive the following 20 years, if any of them. I arrived in Dresden today. And yes, here it is. A friend and I first had a snack at the restaurant first, as the main shop was very busy. Then we had a closer look. All good, and beautiful as always.

Dresdener Molkerei, Gebrüder Pfund. Der schönste Milchladen der Welt.

Swimmers only

Swimming season has begun. Given the strong wind we had the last few days, when I jump into my pool in Xgħajra, there are just two options: stay away from the rocks or break a few bones. The currents here are really strong here and it is better to have a pair of fins and jump into the deep water as far as possible. The waves can submerse you along the underwater cliff. The waves are a bit like day-trading at the stock market: rather unpredictable, but you get a feeling for the movement. But it can go still terribly wrong. And there is no "loss threshold" at which you can decide to get out. The good thing about this kind of coast is, that there are no beach tourists. They drown somewhere else in a Sangria bucket.

Reincarnation of Sony NEX-7

Zut alors! I wanted to update my Mathematica 10 installation, and realized that I forgot my laptop charger yesterday's meeting room. Never mind, I took the Sony NEX-7 and though: should the Valletta campus be closed, at least I can test the camera. I bought it in 2011 in Osaka to replace my Nikon full frame SLR, which was robbed in Peru, with a lighter alternative. Since then it was among other drowned in a lake in Cambridge, from which it recovered remarkably well. Last week, I cleaned the camera and mounted a 18-200 mm lens. I took two photos on the way, and I am quite happy with it.

View on Fort Saint Angelo, Kalkara and Rinella Bay

Kalkara in the later afternoon sun.

Malta habitat

Last night we had an information session for our EMBA Programme at the old University of Malta Campus in Valletta. Together with the National Library, these are my favorite academic "hang outs" in Malta. After that, a few went to The Bridge Jazz Bar down to the Grand Harbour, and enjoyed, over a drink, the lively atmosphere of an early summer Friday evening in Valletta. My habitat in Malta became the Grand Harbour area, the Three Cities and Valletta. The only transportation needed here is the Ferry from Cospicua to the Valletta Waterside. Of course, beside this, life in Malta is directed to the sea. 

Mendelssohn, Brahms, Edwards (?)

Yesterday night I took the opportunity to go to a small performance by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in the Robert Sammut Hall in Floriana. Nice programme, well performed, and I enjoyed also the information and guidance by Melanie Waite, who was leading through the evening. I had a little new discovery, which was a composition of the contemporary composer Ross Edwards. It was very Australian, in the sense that I could well imagine the vast space of the country. And also it became a bit repetitive in the end, which reminded me of the long drives through the Australian outback. I have to go back one day.

Southwestern winds and Sahara dust

The winds are blowing Southwesterly towards Malta and are bringing warm and humid aIr, along with dust from the Sahara. Cars are covered under a fine layer of yellow silt. The weather is easy to make me feel a bit dizzy. Some people also report they are getting mild headaches. To clear up my mind, I went out and take some photos in the morning. But they show not much of a sign of the haze. My eyes must have been spoiled by the vibrancy of the Maltese light.

Early view from the base rock of Fort Saint Angelo over to the Valletta Waterfront. Old canons are here often used for the more civil use of fixing ships.

Good restaurants are rare in Malta, but Etienne's is one of them. Even with free parking (for boats). Anyway land based transport is not recommended in on the Maltese Island. All you can do, is travel by water or by air. 

Caper season in Malta

Capers are flower buds of caparis spinosa, which are pickled in sea salt and vinegar for the use of seasoning of traditional Mediterrainan dishes, salads, fish and even pizzas. The season for picking them in Malta started mid April and now you very often see people with a bag or bowl standing in the bushes to pick their little harvest. The pickling in salt water (about 2 table spoons per 100 ml of water in a covered bowl) induces a fermentation process which produces mustard oil and a strong taste within 3-5 days. Then rinse the capers and store them in salt water. At later stage you can pick the caper berries, which are also etible and used in Mediterranan cuisine.

Caper bush flower and flower buds

The flower of the caper bush is also caller Flinders' rose, named after the explorer Matthew Flinders (1774 - 1814).

Sea salt is in Malta harvested in traditional salt pans which are carved into the limestone rock. Even I get my salt there and grind it in a Peugeot mill for use in the kitchen.

Time does not fly

When I still had to do these dull corporate performance appraisals, staff often complained about working too long hours. I sometimes wanted to crack a joke by saying: "If time is an illusion, so what is overtime?" Quite often this resulted in a complaint to the Human Resource Department or even the Worker's Council, claiming that their manager (me) does not take them seriously. Of course, I do. But can they please first do some basic research on time before talking to me about overtime?

The same I think when I hear people say that "time flies". I know what they mean: they use "flying" as a metaphor for some object changing its location over a large distance in a very short time interval.

But time is not an object, or is that too much Newton? Time is the denominator in the equation: speed = distance/time. It's not speed = time/time ... because then ... pfff ... ! So, what are they talking about?

The clue came from a student who said recently: "I want to use my time to gain experience and not just to have meaningless activities. Then time stands still." He was referring to his meaningless use of social media in this context. Gotcha! Let's translate this into something we can understand:

time / (meaning x activity)  =  experience / time    (Eq. 1)

And derive a very simple formula for nothing less than the meaning of life by eliminating time from Eq. 1:

meaning = experience / activity                            (Eq. 2)

Time can't fly in this equation because it's gone anyway. Time management does not make sense either. Time Based Competition (a management classic by one of my former employers, The Boston Consulting Group) is not applicable. It's just about experiencing more per activity, no matter how long it takes.

As easily seen, there are two ways of increasing the meaning of life in Eq. 2:

1. Increase the experience per activity (you can think about what that practically means, next time you go about your daily routines, do admin, or watch TV, stand in the traffic jam, etc.)
2. Reduce your activities towards zero (that might explain meditation)

Just for the few of you, who took this serious now: it's not. But finding the right denominator in the target function, is fun. And for those who divide their life by time, I wish you all the best. Same to those who divide it by money. And the worst of course, is to divide money by time. That's what the billing department calls a time sheet.

Summer colors

Beginning of April, on my way to the grocery behind the village, strolling through the secret gardens, there were yellow flowers covering large sports of rural Malta. Now summer is coming and the blossum is largely gone, making space for a hot and dry season. It is the time when life turns its focus from inland of the small island state towards the azur blue sea. Soon most vegetation which is not irrigated or a succulent will hibernate in a yellowish tone to welcome the next rain. This year, winter was quite generous with water and the spring was exceptionally colorful. But now the colors are changing.

Compare the colors with photos from the same location, not long ago by clicking here.

Hompesch gate in the background

Moscow is the new London

An appearance in the People's Friendship University of Russia gave me an opportunity to update my impressions of Moscow. The first time I visited the city was more than 20 years ago, and of course, a lot changed, since the start of the post-Soviet era. Moscow is a lively, pulsating, cosmopolitan city with amazing culture and very friendly people. A trip there is a serious alternative to a visit to London, and should the Brexit agony continue to drive smart people out of the UK, I will clearly give Moscow the preference. At the Universiy, we were extremely kindly welcomed and guided, and I am looking forward to making this exchange mutual. Among the students, you find extremely capable ones and even exotic figures like a Georgian who studies international trade in Russia and imports pharmaceuticals from China to Uzbekistan. Today I got myself a Russian language guide, to see how much of my Russian course from my student times I can still activate. As I am slowly scaling down my use of English, Russian is a good option to fill the appearing foreign language gap. 

There are two quick Lackmus tests for a city's cultural level: 1) a view at the library and 2) a scan through the FM band on the radio. In both indicators Moscow did extremely well.

Visit to the Kremlin

For those who wonder why Ivan the Terrible had this suffix in his name. He blinded the architect of this St. Basil Cathedral to protect the IP how to build it. 

Back then these were the big guns

View from the window of the faculty residence.

Slow motion Malta

A friend from the Netherlands visited over the Easter holidays, and it was a nice opportunity to stroll along Malta's beauty spots - of which there are many. Malta has a slow side, which is very nice. A good distraction from the little island state which is stretching itself and having Europe's fastest growing economy.

View on the Marsaxlokk fishing village

My favorite hiking landscape on Malta, just beside my favortite bay. As it is largely "undiscovered", let me keep it that way and not disclose the exact location.

Xlendi watchtower on Gozo

Rocky coastline flora

The Malta business model has actually not changed much over the centures. It just has been spread to other industries and services.

Gardens and markets

This year, thanks to ample rainfall in spring, local havests in Malta are good. There are two main farmer's market in Malta: one in Ta' Qali Attard (Tuesday 16:00 - 19:00, Saturday 9:00 - 17:00) and the other one at Birgu, St. Edward Street (Saturday, 7:00 - 12:00). This year's first local patatoes are available and grains will follow soon. Both markets have a decent supply of local vegetable and fruits. And of course such markets always teach you a lot about traditions and culture. It is good to see that the demand for such products is growing. The easy acess to junk food and degraded eating habits are already a public health issue in Malta. And also a success in local agriculture will return the value of agricultural and garden land, which otherwise turns too easy into a rubbish tip here.

Barley field, garden and fortress on the way to Rinella Bay.

View from the kitchen window.

The American University of Malta

The American University of Malta (AUM) is going to have two campuses in Malta: one in the Cospicua Docks and another in Marsaskala. This morning I saw the construction in the docks and I had a longer glimps on how it develops. I am sure it will become a major stepstone of further development of the Three Cities, the South of the island, and a major national milestone. There are debates about aspects of the institution and the construction, and some of them are constructive, but others not helpful. Too often good ideas have been grinded up between the parties in Malta, or by entry barriers with Maltese characteristics (like setting your car on fire). It reminds me of the words of David Martin, the former CEO of Arriva, who explained the failure of delivering a decent bus service in Malta with the words: “Incredibly bad drivers [and] parasitic consultants” who created a system that was “totally unworkable”. Formerly a British colony, Malta unfortunately has carried forward a culture of misusing "the system" into independence. Now, of course it is just self abuse.

Education could definitely be a major pillar in the Maltese economy. 4000 students and 750 jobs are anticipated. In a recent survey we conducted at FEMA's Business Forum at the University of Malta, 85% of local companies responded that they face or will face a talent shortage, specially when it comes to "higher order skills and competencies". There is a lot of room for improvement. I would not waste my time arguing that the AUM figures are wrong, but better spend it to make them become true. Because that's for the benefit of everybody.

The plans and rendering of the Dock 1 campus look really great and it fits well into the beautiful Cospicua. I can imagine that this will become an excellent learning environment and beyond that I am looking forward to see student life in Birgu, Isla and Bormla. Given that many of the students will come from the Middle East, I am expecting we will also get some excellent new food choices (which Malta needs darely). And it might well the critical step to return the Grand Harbour to its past cosmopolitan flair, which was sadly ended around 70 years ago by German bombardment. 

Dock 1 at Cospicua: The construction of one of the campuses of the American University of Malta.

Secret gardens

Malta is having the EU Presidency, and just now all the small country is doing its best hosting a series of events. Sometimes it paralyzes other parts of public life quite a bit. The EU Presidency has become one of the "P-Words". But that's how it goes, when you want to be a good host and honor your guests. I will get involved in a session on Foreign Direct Investment in the EU on Friday, and spent some time preparing for my speech on Chinese ODI (Outbound Direct Investment) with focus on the EU. 

After having done further research, the best way to think through the event, is to go for a stroll through my secret gardens in Is-Sabbara. It makes me forget the buzz on the island. 

Gate to fields behind between Kalkara and Zabbar, with view on Valletta in the background.

Dead Leopard snake (Maltese lifgħa), probably run over by a vehicle. No snake is venomous here. Shotgun shells you find everywhere in rural Malta. Shooting birds is something like a National sports. Don't know what kind of "hunting" this is, but I would not be surprised to see somebody standing in a field shooting grasshoppers. 

View on Kalkara and Valletta from the South.

Short trip to Milan

Feibai had a workshop and conference in Bocconi. So, I also took the opportunity to visit Milan and so we met half way between Malta and Frankfurt. I don’t fancy conferences and did not participate, but really enjoyed re-exploring the city. Just ahead of the coming art week a lot was in preparation. From the past, I remember Milan rather industrial. But a lot changed and the formerly abandoned industrial premises experienced gentrification, with small specialised shops (I hesitate to call them boutiques, as what you can see is beyond fashion), restaurants and bars. Also, Bocconi made impressive progress, and it was the first time I was on campus since the University was rising to the top of many rankings. A friend showed me also around the campus of the National University of Milan, which was lively with graduation celebrations, and has an outstanding flair of a traditional comprehensive institution. But the best, was the introduction to Cantina della Vetra (www.cantinadellavetra.it). Normally, I don’t try the Tiramisu in restaurants, but here it was one of the greatest surprises. 

Finally, I met Mr. Ray Ban on the Plazza Duomo.

Pets in a garden in Milan.

Path through the Is-Sabbara Woodland between Ħaż-Żabbar and Bormla

Behind the house there is a path leading along thick fortification walls to a small land of pines, olive trees and secret gardens. It is still the green season in Malta. Soon, the temperatures will rise into a Mediterranean summer, and the colors will be dominated by the yellowish limestone. It is said that the village name "Zabbar" derives from the Maltese 'tiżbor', which means pruning trees and goes back to the Middle Ages. I have my own paths through Malta, which keep me away from the noisy and congested traffic. This is one of them. In Malta you have to connect the dots in your own way. And that's not just when looking at the map. 

Path through the Is-Sabbara Woodland

A garden in the defense trench between Haz-Zabbar and Bormla.

Your jobs are too boring for the robots

A recent topic to whine about for undergraduate business students is, that robots could take their jobs in the near future. But let's think about it. Robots fly into space and land on Mars. They dive into the deep ocean and explore places on earth where no human has ever been. They repair leakages in nuclear power plants when no human can go there. Robots are adventurous and perhaps even "want" to make the world a better place. Why should a robot sit in a cubical, be a financial controller, a banker, a salesman or accountant? That's very boring for a robot. I guess, they have higher aspirations. So, you are perfectly safe. No contest. No worries.

Selfie of "Curiosity" at the Gale Crater, Sol 85, Mars (2012), (Photo in public domain under NASA image policy)