Malta’s next phase of economic development will depend in part on how well its institutions prepare people to take on more demanding work. For higher education, that means paying close attention to what students can do with their knowledge and whether their education gives them the judgement to keep progressing as their responsibilities change.As Associate Dean at GBS Malta, Maria Mifsud sees that responsibility through academic oversight, faculty development and the choices made about curriculum and student support. Her view is that private higher education earns its place by making a credible contribution to the country it operates in. In Malta, that requires serving local students and families as thoughtfully as those who come here from overseas.Preparing people for a more productive economyThe IMF’s February 2026 assessment identifies the limits of Malta’s labour-intensive growth model and calls for greater productivity, investment in skills and innovation. [1] For education leaders, the implication is clear. Expanding enrolment has value only if the education students receive helps them contribute more effectively in the workplace.We should be asking whether graduates can interpret evidence, recognise the consequences of a decision and explain their reasoning to colleagues. A business may need someone who can assess an investment or improve an inefficient process. Those responsibilities require subject knowledge, but also the ability to use it when the answer is uncertain.Higher education shares this task with employers and policymakers. Our particular responsibility is to make sure that academic standards and practical relevance reinforce each other. Responding to industry should sharpen the intellectual demands of a programme, while giving students a clearer understanding of why those demands matter.Making an international classroom valuable for local studentsMalta’s National Statistics Office reports that foreign students represented 37% of tertiary enrolments in 2023–24. Their number increased by 27% over the previous academic year. [2] These figures describe a significant international presence, but diversity alone does not tell us what students gain from studying together.Consider a Maltese student working through a business case with classmates whose experience comes from different markets. The educational value lies in having to explain assumptions, consider another interpretation and reach a defensible decision together. For local students, this can provide international perspectives while they study in Malta. International classmates, in turn, can gain a better understanding of the local context.That exchange requires purposeful teaching. Group work should make each student accountable for their contribution and give them room to question one another respectfully. As academic leaders, we need to judge the quality of that interaction, rather than assume it happens because a classroom is diverse.Student support must reflect different starting pointsA student arriving from overseas may need help understanding an unfamiliar academic environment and settling into life in Malta. A local student may be adjusting to degree-level study, managing family expectations or returning to education with work and caring responsibilities. Familiarity with the country does not remove the need for support.At GBS Malta, academic mentoring and careers preparation form part of that support, alongside practical guidance on CVs and interviews. The purpose is to help students make informed choices while they are studying, with enough time to act on the advice they receive.Maria believes the quality of support is best judged by what happens when a student begins to struggle. Can they obtain useful feedback before the next assessment? Is the source of the difficulty understood? Effective support takes those questions seriously while maintaining the standard students must reach. This matters equally for someone who has moved countries and someone who travels to campus from home.The rationale for a business degree starts with the work aheadCurriculum design should begin with a clear account of the responsibilities graduates are being prepared to take on. A programme also needs to give them foundations that will remain useful when a particular tool or business practice changes.Maria sees the rationale for the BSc (Hons) Business Management at GBS Malta in those terms. Its curriculum brings management, finance and marketing together with data interpretation, digital technology and applied business work. Students progress towards strategic decision-making and a final research project. [3] The educational purpose is to help them understand how decisions in one part of an organisation affect the rest.For a Maltese student considering a role in a family business or a career with a larger employer, that breadth has a practical purpose. It provides a basis for questioning how a business operates and assessing where improvement is possible. International students can bring the same approach to the organisations and markets in which they eventually work.The standard Maria would apply is whether a graduate can use evidence to support a recommendation and explain its likely consequences. That is a more useful test of a business education than the number of management concepts a student can repeat.What students and parents should expect from their investmentFor Maltese parents helping to fund a degree, the investment includes tuition fees and the time their child commits to study. They are entitled to ask what makes that investment worthwhile, particularly when weighing a private institution against other available routes.The answer should be specific. Families should be able to understand the qualification’s recognition, the demands of the course, the academic support available and how students will demonstrate their developing abilities. Studying locally may avoid the additional costs of relocating overseas and allow students to maintain family connections. That is a practical consideration; the institution still has to demonstrate the value of the education itself.Return on investment also extends beyond the first appointment. A worthwhile education should give graduates the capacity to take on greater responsibility, assess new opportunities and adapt when their sector changes. Institutions should seek evidence of that progression and be clear about what their employment figures actually measure. No headline rate can establish the outcome for an individual student.Affordability deserves the same clarity. Malta’s Get Qualified scheme offers successful applicants a tax credit of up to 70% of eligible costs, subject to the scheme’s conditions. Eligibility includes being liable to tax in Malta. [4] Families need to understand the applicable rules and timing when planning expenditure; a tax credit should not be presented as an upfront reduction in fees.International students and their families deserve equally clear information about the cost and demands of studying here. In both cases, institutional trust depends on helping people make a considered decision and then delivering the academic experience they were led to expect.Keeping educational quality central to growthThe European Commission’s Education and Training Monitor 2025 records that 46.3% of Malta’s 25–34-year-olds held a tertiary qualification in 2024, above the EU average of 44.1%. It also identifies persistent shortages of STEM specialists. [5] Higher participation is welcome, but it does not by itself resolve the mismatch between qualifications and the capabilities a sector needs.For GBS Malta, this question extends across business, information technology management and public health. In technology, for example, academic preparation should help students assess how a technical decision affects an organisation. In public health, it should develop the ability to weigh evidence and understand how decisions affect communities. Specialist knowledge needs to hold up when it is applied.Over the next decade, Maria believes the strongest contribution private higher education can make to Malta is to earn confidence in the quality of its graduates. That requires sustained attention to teaching, assessment and the evidence used to improve programmes. It also requires treating the ambitions of local students and the investment of their families as central to the institution’s purpose.That is the responsibility Maria associates with academic leadership at GBS Malta: making decisions today that give students sound reasons to value their education long after they leave the classroom.Tag someone you know is interested•