The National Hub Malta facilitates local and regional stakeholders by providing the WestMED Community with expertise on the Blue Economy, help project leaders find the right partners with their extensive network on both shores of the western Mediterranean, support project(idea) development, help draft tender applications and advise on the most applicable funding opportunities.
The National Hub (co)organises events to help lead discussions on different maritime topics and can be found at (online) Blue-Economy related meetings to share their expertise.
Contact the National Hub Malta for more information and see how they can help you.
Join Stephanie Vella – National Hub Malta
Blue Challenges in the Mediterranean
Joint National WestMED event Italy and Malta
4-6 October 2023 | Cantania, Italy (Hybrid)
Blue Economy News Malta
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National Hub Malta2025-04-28 10:36:302025-04-28 11:06:50WestMED featured at the Blue Economy Partnership Forum 2025 in Malta
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Communication team2025-03-13 10:06:402025-04-07 13:06:38UfM and Interreg NEXT MED renew commitment to tackle regional challenges together
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Communication team2025-03-10 16:20:282025-03-15 16:28:272nd Call for Experts: WestMED Technical Group on Sustainable Tourism | Deadline 31 March 2025 (EOB)Blue Economy Calls Malta
Representatives Malta
Dr Stephanie Vella
Stephanie Vella is an executive director in a leading economic consultancy firm and lectures part time at the University of Malta. As an economic consultant, she has worked on a number of projects and consultancy assignments with institutions including the EU Commission, Commonwealth Secretariat, Government ministries and authorities and private sector entities.
She has experience on various funding programmes including European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund, European Social Fund, Rural Development Programme and OP Fisheries.
Through her work experience she is also familiar with local funding programmes including those offered by the Malta Council for Science and Technology. She has worked on various maritime related projects including, albeit not limited to the economic and financial feasibility of onshore power supply at the Grand Harbour and Malta Freeport Terminal.
She has also worked on various cost benefit assessments on maritime infrastructure including the upgrading of the breakwater and extensions of quays in the Grand Harbour. She is currently developing and discussing with various stakeholders’ innovation within the maritime sector as part of a case study on Malta within the ESPON Bridges project.
Dr Vella has also developed various capacity events including training events on RDP evaluation as part of the services offered by the Evaluation Helpdesk. This entails the co-ordination of the event as well as the delivery of the material. She is fluent in English and Maltese.
Maria Cini
Maria Cini graduated with an MSc degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh, with a dissertation research focused on alternative approaches to estimate undeclared economic activity, and holds a B.Com (Hons) degree in Economics from the University of Malta. Her dissertation addressed climate change issues, focusing on the European Emission Trading Scheme within the Maltese context.
She began her career as a statistician at the National Statistics Office (NSO), where she contributed to the Public Finance Unit and the National Accounts Unit within the Economics Directorate.
In 2014, Maria transitioned to E-Cubed Consultants Limited, where she has since been involved in a diverse array of economic projects. As an economic consultant, she has undertaken cost-benefit assessments, economic impact studies, macroeconomic research, and sectoral analyses across various domains, including the maritime sector.
Maria has contributed to numerous projects within the maritime industry, ranging from comprehensive studies of the sector to more targeted analyses, such as evaluating the economic contribution of Freeport to the Maltese economy and examining the superyacht industry. Her work includes economic impact assessments of the blue economy and the shipping industry. Recently, she has been involved in projects related to the European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) for the maritime sector.
She has actively participated in number of events some of which were related to the maritime sector, including a seminar organised by Malta Freeport for the MedPorts Association, where she presented on data requirements for port activity studies. Additionally, she assisted in planning and executing various capacity-building events, including training on RDP evaluation as part of the services offered by the Evaluation Helpdesk.
In addition, she is also a visiting assistant lecturer at the University of Malta, where she teaches both Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.