09/10/2026
On 11 September 2026, Master's and DBA graduates, researchers and industry leaders gathered at the Salini Resort for the IDEA College Research Symposium, "Safe by Design: Bridging Research, Leadership, Education and Healthcare for Equity, Quality and Organisational Excellence."
Nine studies were presented, each grounded in a problem drawn from professional practice. Among them:
- Ing. Paul Bezzina examined patient safety culture and communication practices in a radiotherapy department in Malta.
- Graziella Santillo explored the frequency, types and sources of pre-analytical error in blood sampling, at a critical stage of the diagnostic pathway.
- Shelley Galea Spiteri investigated the role of emotional intelligence in effective leadership within Malta's social sector.
- Claudine Balzan analysed how organisational culture influences job satisfaction across generational cohorts in healthcare.
- Rebecca Gaffarena identified the structural obstacles to women's career progression in Malta's finance industry.
- Sandra Ebejer critically examined participatory curriculum governance reforms in a Maltese state college context.
- Ruth Sant assessed the influence of eCommerce on brand loyalty from the perspective of Maltese consumers.
Each study follows rigorous review, ethical approval and supervised analysis; the strongest are peer reviewed and published in The IDEA Journal of Applied Research.
An academia-industry panel of healthcare, disability and social care leaders, organised with IDEA Care, IDEA Consulting and Sidroc, tested the evidence against practice. Key conclusions highlighted that skills must be deployed, not just acquired; communication is a core competency; staff and patient wellbeing are interdependent; services should be co-designed; evaluation must capture what matters.
Thank you to our presenters and visiting academics: Prof. Oleksandr Dluhopolskyi, who opened with his study of labour markets, inequality and digital access, and Dr Luca Nguyen, whose work on skills and employment in Malta's health sector led into the panel.
IDEA College. Research with impact.
Full studies: https://mt.ideaeducation.com/journal/
