Honourable Ministers and Members of Parliament President of the Chamber of Engineers
It is a pleasure to be here with you today to give recognition to engineers and companies that have achieved astounding accomplishments in the field of engineering which significantly impacted the Maltese society.
Much has been achieved since holding the first Engineering Excellence Awards. We should give due credit to Ing. Maurice Debono who was instrumental in professionalising the engineering profession in Malta.
Your profession works hand in hand with the socio-economic development of our country. Through your diversified projects, you do not just develop the industry and infrastructure. You are providing a service by ensuring the well-being of our society.
Whichever sector of society one focuses on, there was for sure an engineer who through hard work has developed means to facilitate our daily lives. This of course comes with a lot of responsibility and the Engineering Act and Code of Ethics provide you with a solid framework and safe framework to work in.
In this regard, I encourage all of you in the profession to be as creative as you can, do not limit yourselves to what you already know, but think beyond of what has already been achieved. You are the creators and innovators of all that is around us.
As Isaac Asimov famously said, “Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world.” This is by no means lacking respect to scientists, to contrary, I encourage you to continue working with other professions as you have the ability to transform ideas into working realties. As a medical doctor, I can personally attest the huge advances in the medical field that took place since I started practicing, and this is owed very often to engineers like yourselves.
With this in mind, one should also give recognition to the Faculty of Engineering within the University of Malta, as I am sure the majority of you have graduated from there. One also has to mention, the importance that the University but also our country in general, is giving to research and development in the field of engineering. I am proud to say that notwithstanding our country’s small size, we are to be proud of the achievements by Maltese nationals in the field of engineering.
In conclusion, whilst congratulating the winners of the awards, I commend the Chamber of Engineers for holding the Engineering Excellence Awards for another year and thank you all in the profession for the positive impact you are leaving on our lives.
Thank you.
