FUSION Awards 2025: Celebrating Malta’s Trailblazers In Applied Research
The FUSION Awards 2025, organised by Xjenza Malta, celebrated the island’s brightest minds in applied research, bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, and academics to showcase innovation that is shaping Malta’s future.
Highlighting projects funded through the TDP LITE programme, the awards recognise research with real-world impact spanning health, engineering, sustainability, and digital technologies underscoring the vital role of science and innovation in driving Malta’s knowledge-based economy.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation, Keith Azzopardi Tanti, attended and addressed the FUSION Awards 2025, an event organised by Xjenza Malta. The ceremony brought together Maltese researchers, entrepreneurs, and academics to celebrate the nation’s most promising applied research projects, all funded through the TDP LITE programme.
The FUSION Awards were more than just a recognition ceremony; they served as a national platform highlighting the tangible impact of public investment in research, spanning fields from health and engineering to sustainability and digital technologies. A total of 19 innovative projects were showcased, nine led by industry and ten by the University of Malta, demonstrating the active contribution of both the private sector and academia in strengthening Malta’s research ecosystem.
In his address, Parliamentary Secretary Keith Azzopardi Tanti reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to keeping research and innovation as national priorities. “The projects recognised today are the building blocks of Malta’s journey towards a knowledge-based economy. Through the National R&I Strategic Plan 2023–2027, we are investing in curiosity, creativity, and excellence. Our researchers and innovators are the architects of tomorrow, and their work is essential for a future built on resilience, knowledge, and opportunity.”
Tonio Portughese, Chairman of the Consultative Committee of Xjenza Malta, praised the resilience and ingenuity of Malta’s scientific community. He highlighted that the projects presented reflect a growing, diverse, dynamic, and robust innovation ecosystem, emphasising Xjenza Malta’s continued commitment to supporting researchers and innovators who are shaping a smarter and more sustainable future.
The TDP LITE programme, designed to fund applied research with strong potential for commercialisation and societal benefit, continues to play a central role in transforming scientific ideas into real-world solutions. The projects presented this year once again demonstrated how scientific knowledge can be translated into products, services, and strategies that create both economic value and social impact.
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