15th October 2008

Press Release - Malta Internet Foundation 2009 Prize

Although most access to Internet is still made using wired connections from fixed locations, technologies such as WiMAX, and increasingly sophisticated GPS-equipped handheld devices, are poised to yield a new generation of personalised services that are based on data that is spatially organised using Geographic Information Systems (GISs).

The Malta Internet Foundation is offering an annual prize in favour of academic work making a significant contribution to Internet technologies.

The prize in 2009 will be awarded to students submitting work describing or demonstrating the deployment of systems that (i) involve GISs, (ii) make use of the Internet and (iii) addresses a need that is particularly relevant to the Maltese context.

The submission must have academic merit as reflected by an official assessment in the context of a recognised university degree course. The two categories of submission are (i) a final year project or (ii) assessed coursework that is a significant component of a course carrying at least 4 ECTS credits.

A cash prize of €600 will be offered for the best final year project. A second prize of €300 will be offered for best assessed coursework.

Eligibility

Students reading for a university degree who are resident in Malta.

Submission Procedure

A copy of the final year project report, or of the coursework, together with any software, as submitted towards the award of Bachelor’s degree, should be submitted in softcopy on CD indicating clearly which category of submission is intended and contact details of the student, to: Malta Internet Foundation, University Campus, MSD 2080 - Msida

Deadlines

Deadline for Submission: extended to 30th June 2009

Announcement of Winner: August 2009

Award of Prize: October 2009

Queries about this initiative should be addressed to info@nic.org.mt with subject line ‘2009 Prize’.

About the Malta Internet Foundation

The Malta Internet Foundation, also known as NIC(Malta), was officially inaugurated in January 1999 and is responsible for managing the .mt top-level domain for Malta. The mission of the Malta Internet Foundation also includes activities to promote use of the Internet in Malta. The Foundation was responsible for the setting up of the Malta Internet eXchange (MIX) to facilitate local IP traffic between local ISPs. Current activities also include supporting IPv6 and offering annual prizes for outstanding projects on Internet-related themes. The Foundation is a member of the Maltese IPv6 Task Force and, together with University of Malta, coordinates the Malta IPv6 national test-bed (M6ix).

Website: www.nic.org.mt

15th October 2008