National Conference

The Innovation Exchange 2025: accelerating smart growth.

Name: The Innovation Exchange: Accelerating Smart Growth
Start: 2025-11-14T08:30:00+01:00
End: 2025-11-14
Location: Villa Arrigo Hall

A one-day national conference on innovation in Malta, held on Friday 14 November 2025 at Villa Arrigo Hall, Naxxar. Here you'll find a short film of the day, the full agenda, every speaker, photos, the workshops that led up to it, the press coverage and what we heard.

14 Nov 2025 Villa Arrigo Hall

See the Agenda

Watch the Film

At a Glance

One day, three parts.

Keynotes and Vision 2050 panels in the morning, urban mobility in the afternoon, deep tech and networking into the evening.

Conference The Innovation Exchange: Accelerating Smart Growth

Date Friday 14 November 2025

Venue Villa Arrigo Hall, San Pawl Tat-Targa, Naxxar

Watch the Day

The Innovation Exchange backdrop with four blue chairs set for a panel.

0:46 Play The Innovation Exchange Malta Conference 2025 (0:46) on YouTube, opens in a new tab

The Innovation Exchange 2025, in under a minute

Conference highlights · 0:46

speakers on the programme

parts across one day

panel discussions on Malta Vision 2050

live startup demos in urban mobility

Full Agenda

The 2025 agenda: every session, every speaker.

Speaker names and roles as listed on the day's programme. Choose a part to see its sessions.

Part One: Accelerating Smart Growth

Morning · Opening keynotes and three panels themed on Malta Vision 2050

08:30

Welcome Coffee & Registration

Networking Opportunity

09:00

Opening Ceremony

Welcome Keynotes

Ms. Diana MiceliEIT Community Officer, Welcome Address

Ms. Ilaria TagliaviniEIT Head of Operations, European Institute of Innovation & Technology

Dr. Jonathan SpiteriMalta Vision 2050 Team

Hon. Dr. Alex BorgLeader of the Opposition, Keynote

Hon. Keith Azzopardi TantiParliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research & Innovation

Hon. Roberta MetsolaPresident of the European Parliament, Recorded Message

09:30

Panel 1: Innovating for a Greener Future

Vision 2050: Low Carbon economy, Blue/Green Economies

Mr. Mark Lawrence ZammitModerator

Ms. Margaret CassarChief Policy and Strategy Officer, Climate Action Authority

Dr. Thanh-Tâm LêDirector for Impact & Performance, Climate KIC

Mr. Piotr PawelecRIS Manager – InnoEnergy

Dr. Mario BalzanDirector Ecostack Innovations & Senior Lecturer Institute of Applied Sciences, MCAST

Ing. Nicholas Borg CallejaFounder – ELM & Marinehound

10:30

Coffee Break

Networking

11:00

Panel 2: Empowering Communities through Social Wellness Innovation

Vision 2050: Healthy Society, Inclusive Society

Hon. Thomas BajadaMember of the European Parliament (Recorded Message)

Ms. Trudy KerrModerator

Ms. Anthea FabriNational Coordinator for Horizon Europe and Director for Framework Programmes

Mr. Juan ZafforaHead of Service Development, EIT Food

Ms. Barbara Vizhanyo-FogdenEIT Health InnoStars Collaboration Lead, EIT Health

Ing James Attard KingswellFounder – Kingswell Innovation

Mr. Mark CassarFounder – Mamori

12:00

Panel 3: Smart Growth through Innovation

Vision 2050: Knowledge-Intensive SMEs, Industry 4.0

Hon. Peter AgiusMember of the European Parliament (Recorded Message)

Mr. Jon MalliaModerator

Alessia MenduniBusiness Development & Innovation Manager, EIT Manufacturing

Ms. Rachel CamilleriManager – European Digital Innovation Hub Malta, MDIA

Mr. Alexander VellaHead of Outreach within the Business Development unit at Malta Enterprise

Dr. Dylan SeychellLecturer Department of AI & Co-Founder of SeyTravel Ltd

Ing. Joseph MicallefConsultant Innovation & Operational Excellence & Strategy

13:00

Lunch Break & Expo

Networking

Organisations

Institutions, companies and startups on one programme.

The organisations named in the speaker roles and startup demos of the 2025 agenda.

European Institutions and EIT

European Parliament European Institute of Innovation & Technology EIT Community Office EIT Urban Mobility EIT Food EIT Health EIT Manufacturing Climate KIC InnoEnergy

Maltese Institutions

Malta Enterprise MDIA European Digital Innovation Hub Malta Xjenza Malta Climate Action Authority MCAST

Companies and Partners

Deep Tech Foundry Malta Accelerate Caps Solutions Latvian Post MaltaPost StudjUrban Vefresh Fleevigo Ecostack Innovations ELM Marinehound Kingswell Innovation Mamori SeyTravel

Startups in the Live Demos

Bruntor Tomatiq WhereToPark Lane Patrol Technovator Ride & Stride

Exploratory Workshops

The exploratory workshops: where it started.

Step two ran before the conference. The EIT Community Office ran three exploratory workshops with BusinessLabs and HATCH, each with 15–20 participants from different sectors of the economy, to name the drivers and barriers of innovation most relevant to Malta.

Track 1: Innovating for a greener future

“What are the barriers and drivers of innovation for enterprises operating in key sectors that can promote green and blue economies?”

Led by Mark Lawrence Zammit

Participants 15–20, from sectors including energy, construction, waste, water treatment and urban design

Headline finding Long-term visions like 2050 feel distant against short political cycles, and solar uptake collapses without grants.

Malta Vision 2050 pillars Low-carbon economy, blue/green growth

EIT communities InnoEnergy, Climate KIC, EIT Urban Mobility

Track 2: Empowering communities through social wellness innovation

“What are the barriers and drivers of innovation for enterprises operating in key sectors that can improve health and social wellness?”

Led by Trudy Kerr

Participants 15–20, from sectors including health research, pharma and health tech, culture and creativity, and nutrition

Headline finding Good research is rarely commercialised, and cross-industry collaboration and safe spaces to fail were seen as the easiest wins.

Malta Vision 2050 pillars Healthy society, inclusive society

EIT communities EIT Health, EIT Food, EIT Culture & Creativity

Track 3: Smart growth through innovation

“What are the barriers and drivers of innovation for enterprises operating in key sectors pivotal to regional economic growth?”

Led by Jon Mallia

Participants 15–20, from sectors including manufacturing, software, retail and services, and health tech

Headline finding A risk-averse culture and slow funding hold growth back: a six-month wait for local funding is no use when innovation cycles are short.

Malta Vision 2050 pillars Knowledge-intensive SMEs, Industry 4.0

EIT communities EIT Digital, EIT Manufacturing, EIT Urban Mobility

Watch the Recaps

0:50 Play the Innovating for a Greener Future workshop recap (0:50) on YouTube, opens in a new tab

Innovating for a Greener Future

Workshop recap · 0:50 · Posted 12 Nov 2025

1:05 Play the Empowering Communities through Social Wellness Innovation workshop recap (1:05) on YouTube, opens in a new tab

Empowering Communities through Social Wellness Innovation

Workshop recap · 1:05 · Posted 12 Nov 2025

0:48 Play the Smart Growth through Innovation workshop recap (0:48) on YouTube, opens in a new tab

Smart Growth through Innovation

Workshop recap · 0:48 · Posted 12 Nov 2025

Read the Findings

The day in pictures.

From registration and the opening at Villa Arrigo Hall to the panels, the lunchtime expo and the conversations in between. Select a photo to view it full screen.