Michelle Cortis has become the first Maltese engineer to be elected to the Executive Board of Fédération Européenne d’Associations Nationales d’Ingénieurs (FEANI) as a member from the southern region, Inġiniera Malta has announced.
Ing. Cortis was elected with an overwhelming majority of 85 per cent of eligible votes at the FEANI General Assembly which was held online on Friday. This positive result follows her co-option into the Executive Board, which position needed to be confirmed through the election that was attended by 31 countries. She will serve in the executive board for three years.
Malta's Chamber of Engineers (CoE) has actively represented Malta at FEANI since 1981, yet it has never been represented at Executive Board level, so this election “opens up a new chapter in the international relations of the engineering profession in Malta,” it said.
It also congratulated Alain Jouanjus from Ingénieurs et Scientifiques de France, who has been elected Treasurer, while also thanking José A. Goicolea from Comite Nacional Espanol de la Feani, who participated in the election with Ing. Cortis.
Reacting to the result, Inġiniera Malta Chairperson and International Affairs Secretary on CoE’s Executive Council, Ing. Cortis said it was “humbling to see such a level of trust” from other European engineers.
“This encouraging result was possible only because of the support of both CoE and The Kamra tal-Periti, especially Malcolm, Robert, Andre and Jeanette. Through this role, Malta will continue to effectively contribute to the international engineering community from our country’s perspective,” she added.
Inġiniera Malta is a joint committee between the CoE and The Kamra tal-Periti, and is Malta’s national member within FEANI.
CoE President Ing. Malcolm Zammit expressed his “utmost satisfaction” at the result, before adding that the “past few years as active council member were sufficient to show me the strong relationship which the CoE had built throughout the years with our international engineering counterparts, especially through FEANI”.
“With the formation of Inġiniera Malta, I was certain that such relationships would only be fostered. Therefore, it came as a clear expression of trust when my colleague Michelle (Ing. Cortis) was proposed for co-option to the board. Her historic election is an honour for the engineering profession and for our country,” he said.
Ing. Zammit said he is “humbled” that as CoE President he had the opportunity to nominate the first Maltese engineer to FEANI’s Executive Board, and he looks forward to “an even brighter future for the profession”.
The Kamra tal-Periti President Andre Pizzuto also commented on this milestone in Inġiniera Malta’s first year, stating that: “The Kamra tal-Periti supports Inġ. Cortis in her post on the FEANI Executive Board and that as part of Inġiniera Malta we will ensure that the voice of engineers in Malta will be represented in Europe.”
Inġiniera Malta also expressed its continued support towards her and is “looking forward to the fulfilment of its mission with the additional driver” of having a member representing it. “This election to the FEANI Executive Board is expected to mutually benefit the engineering profession in Malta and the European engineering community,” it concluded.
Apart from her roles at FEANI, CoE and Inġiniera Malta, Ing. Cortis is also Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation Senior Executive Consultant at Imperial College London, and also Board of Studies Member at MCAST’s Institute of Engineering and Technology.
She holds a Master’s degree in Knowledge-based Entrepreneurship and a Master of Science degree in Engineering, both from University of Malta, among other qualifications.
Established in 1978, CoE is a professional organisation that caters for the interests of Maltese engineers and the engineering profession as a whole in Malta, “continuously discussing ways and means of both enhancing and safeguarding the profession”.
The Kamra tal-Periti, also known as Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers, traces its roots back to the former Chamber of Architects, which was founded in 1920 to act as a body for the profession’s self-regulation.
Main Image:Ing. Michelle Cortis