As part of its new strategy for Science, Technology, Research and Innovation in Malta, the Malta Council for Science and Technology is considering collaborating with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) - a Scientific International Organisation of world wide repute.
Scientific International Organisations are the world centres of advanced technology in various fields. Their infrastructure is so big that no single country can afford them moreover a small country like Malta. They attract the global scientific investment in terms of funding and scientific know-how.
In these organisations scientists operate in multicultural environments, bringing people together to focus on scientific problems without thinking about their political differences. The Malta Council for Science and Technology has recognised that twinning with scientific international organisations present excellent opportunities to leap to the forefront of advanced cutting edge science, technology and innovation. Only at the forefront can Malta ever hope to perform competitive research.
The European Molecular Biology is the largest Molecular Biology Laboratory in Europe and is known for its advanced research world wide. It was founded in 1974 based on the CERN (The European Organisation for Nuclear Research) model.
It is a non-profit international organisation funded by public research funds from 20 European member states and one associate member. Its budget is of about €150m per year. Research at EMBL is conducted by approximately 1400 specialists forming 85 independent groups covering the spectrum of molecular biology. 
The laboratory has five units: the main Laboratory in Heidelberg, and outstations in Hinxton (the European Bioinformatics Institute), Grenoble, Hamburg and Moterotondo near Rome.
The cornerstones of EMBL’s mission are: to perform basic research in molecular biology, to train scientists, students and visitors at all levels, to offer vital services to scientists in the member states and to develop new instruments and methods in the life sciences and technology transfer.
Research at EMBL emphasizes experimental analysis at multiple levels of biological organisation, from the molecule to the organism, as well as computational biology, functional genomics and systems biology. These therefore include several aspects of structural biology, biochemistry, developmental biology, cell biology etc.EMBL has a highly collaborative, uniquely international culture. It fosters top quality, interdisciplinary research by promoting a vibrant environment consisting of young independent research groups with access to outstanding graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The Heidelberg laboratory provides excellent shared facilities for high-throughput analysis including microarrays, protein production, mass spectrometry, DNA sequencing, advanced light and electron microscopy and small molecule screening.Its online services in structural biology service more than 3000 users per day whilst the bioinformatics services has more than 3 million hits per day. Over 1000 scientists visit the EMBL laboratories every year.
Contact persons:
Dr. Ing. Nicholas J. Sammut, Chairman MCST mob:7959 4696
Ms. Martina Castillo, Executive Science and Technology Officer tel: 23602 122