MMJ editorial MMSCXI

Announcing MMSC XI

  • Simon Paul Attard Montalto

Abstract

The last Malta Medical School Conference, the Xth in this series, was held quite some time ago in 2018. Since then, there has been a lot of water under this particular bridge, not least because the COVID 19 pandemic effectively scuppered the projected schedule for the MMSC XI that was due sometime in 2021. The conference was eventually rescheduled for 2024 but these plans were seriously derailed by an inordinate increase in bureaucracy and regulations relating to events involving large sums of money. Despite having made significant progress toward ‘landing’ in 2024, the Organising Committee was instructed to re-issue tenders (twice!), resulting in lengthy delays. Unfortunately, the MMSC Organising Committee, as an entity within the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, was obliged to work within the rules pertaining to the UOM, and with all the bureaucracy that that entails. Ultimately, the Committee settled for a venue acceptable to the establishment, but this incurred a further 12-month delay and an-almost-doubling of the initial projected costs!

Following all these pre-conference tribulations, the Organising Committee is finally pleased to announce that the green light for the MMSC XI has now switched to ‘On’! This prestigious event will be held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta on the 4-6th December, 2025. The general format will be unchanged, with 5 main plenaries lectures followed by several breakout sessions over two and a half days. Given the long hiatus from the last conference, the Organising Committee anticipates an increased number of abstract submissions, and this can only enhance the quality of the science that will be accepted. Presentations will include oral and poster formats, and will be selected by peer review panels under the guidance of the MMSC Scientific Committee.

The conference is, by default, diverse in nature and will cover a plethora of disciplines and subspecialties. Some, like Medicine and Surgical specialities will require several break-out sessions whilst others such as O&G and Paediatrics always manage to submit enough suitable material to cover at least two breakouts. Nevertheless, the OC would welcome material from smaller disciplines and those that, traditionally, have been conspicuous by their absence. Certainly, the Scientific Committee will endeavour to populate the programme with as much quality material as possible. Furthermore, poster sessions will be run electronically on numerous designated poster stations, thereby increasing the number of presentations in this format considerably. The conference will be ‘green’ and, to this end, will do away with conference booklets, paper posters, etc.

The MMSConference series flies the flag of the Malta Medical School, and offers a platform whereby the work and research carried out by Maltese doctors and allied disciplines can be show-pieced. It is the largest, recurrent academic event of its kind organised within this University and has been a success in years gone by: we hope that the XIth in the series will continue where X left off and won’t disappoint. Nevertheless, the Organising Committee will rely heavily on the enthusiastic support of colleagues to register, participate and contribute to the Conference to ensure its success, and looks forward to welcoming all in Valletta in December.

The Conference website has just been launched and can be accessed on: https://event.fourwaves.com/mmsc2025/registration

References

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Issue
Vol. 37 No. 1 (2025)
Section
Editorial
Published
29-03-2025

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