As University of Gibraltar marks a decade, record number students set to graduate 

Today a record number of students will graduate from the University of Gibraltar as the institution marks a decade since it was established. 

Some 119 students will graduate, including the University’s first ever graduates BSc Computing, Master’s in Contemporary Healthcare and MBA Gaming courses. 

Professor Catherine Bachleda, Vice-Chancellor and CEO of the University of Gibraltar told the Chronicle that 63% of these graduates are local, including the 100th PGCE student. 

Ahead of the graduation, Prof Bachleda reflected on the achievements, challenges, and its journey from start-up to established educational provider. 

Creating a university degree is a long, rigorous process, especially under the UK system. It takes about a year to get a degree validated, plus 18 months to 2 years to develop the curriculum. 

“We had no academic structure,” she said. 

“We had no regulations, and I'm sure students would love not to have academic regulations, but they're there for a reason, and we had to develop all those degrees, so we literally started with a blank slate.” 

Prof Bachleda described how the University’s small size means it can also be very responsive to local needs. 

She pointed out how the University sat GHA Workforce Planning Committee where they were informed of the need for mental health nurses.  

In response, the university developed it’s undergraduate BSc in Mental Health and students are set to graduate next year.  

“They'll be graduating just as there's a shortage coming up in the GHA,” she said.  

Prof Bachleda added that studying for a degree is expensive, highlighted the importance of employability. 

“We spend a lot of time, with all of our degrees, talking to industry,” she said. 

“My counterparts in the UK say, ‘Look, you know, we would love to do a lot of what you're doing, but it's harder for us because we've already got all this, this history’.” 

“So, for me, that's what a modern university should be doing,” adding, “we're mindful that we cannot be all things to all people.” 

She also acknowledged that it is a very competitive market and the University has chosen areas they do well in, like maritime. 

“The ships’ tonnage that goes through the Strait is absolutely phenomenal, and we can be competitive with anywhere in the world,” she said. 

“We're one of the few jurisdictions and few universities that can guarantee a sea placement.” 

“If you want to do maritime, you have to spend 12 months at sea.” 

“The biggest problem that most students coming out of the UK face is, they get their degree, but then they haven't got the practical [experience] because they can't get their placements.” 

“We can guarantee them here because of our relationship with industry.” 

She added that Gibraltar is great because there are short lines of communication and there is an ability to engage with industry far more readily than other jurisdictions.  

The university also continuously consults industry to keep programmes relevant. 

She gave an example with the evolution of a computing-related degree: employers said graduates had strong technical skills but lacked ‘business nous’, so the university developed a business-and-computing programme combining technical and business components such as marketing, business planning and product development.  

They have also chosen degrees where they know there is a local requirement.  

The university does not advertise the nursing degree internationally and have never done so because it knows there is a need to continue to build local capacity. 

When the University started off, three quarters of all marine science students were local, and there were a couple from abroad. 

Now, fast forward two or three years, they are all international students.  

In contrast, all the current nursing students are locals.  

Overall, across all courses, the balance is about 50% local students and 50% international. 

The university also prizes the cultural exchange this provides as local students talk to the international students, passing on elements of Gibraltarian culture.  

“I think it's great, and, at the moment, we've got something like 43 different nationalities on campus, which is amazing,” she said, noting that some are from the USA, Canada and Guatemala. 

“There's really not too many spots in the globe that, at some point, we haven't had an international student on one of our programs, which I think is wonderful,” she added.  

All of the university’s degrees are widely recognised because they follow the UK validation system, which requires aligning all programmes with UK academic standards and undergoing rigorous review by UK experts on quality, pedagogy, and subject specialists at professor level. 

This lengthy process ensures high quality and includes annual external examiners, who review assessments, interview students and staff, and provide feedback. 

The university frequently receives praise. 

“I am very pleased to say that we get far, far, far more best practice and in a lot of cases, and I'll give an example of the PGCE, we consistently get told by external examiners that this qualification is as good as, if not better than, anything that they see in the UK,” she said.  

“So it makes you feel good when you hear that.” 

“A lot of that's to do with the way we operate. We have very much small classes, participative learning… predominantly, not only, but predominantly, face to face.” 

“One could almost say that's the old-fashioned way of teaching,” while, in the UK, many colleges are going online where they can educate hundreds of students at the same time. 

The benefits of small class sizes, of up to 30 students, allow lecturers to know students individually, give tailored support, and achieve strong outcomes. 

As a result, 93% of students say their studies support their career goals, and 90% of graduates are employed or in further education within six months, which is higher than the UK average of 40% at six months. 

Looking towards the next 10 years, she aims for the university to continue to grow incrementally.  

“If you grow too quickly, you risk quality dropping, and for us that's really important,” she said.  

“Currently we have 24 academic degrees, which is nine undergrad and 15 post-grad.” 

“I would say, in seven years on average, you will have one to two extra programs a year.” 

She also spoke about the impact of artificial intelligence, noting the debates within higher education. 

“We took the stance that right from the beginning with AI, [we asked], what will employers want graduates to do?” she said. 

“They want their graduates to be able to use AI to be more efficient in the workplace.” 

Rather than prohibiting these tools, the university teaches ethical and critical use. 

“I remember, about four years ago, I was asked to to speak at a conference where there was a lot of university heads, and AI was on the agenda. And it was just fascinating, the amount of people that were saying ‘we're going to ban AI’.” 

“This is an example of being sort of more responsive, more trying to reflect what industry wants.” 

“We took the stance right from the beginning with AI.” 

“What will employers want from graduates? And the reality is, when you talk to an employer, even some of them still a bit uncomfortable with AI, they want their graduates to be able to use AI to be more efficient in the workplace.” 

“So what does that mean? As a university, instead of us saying that we're going to ban it because we're worried that they're going to cheat and get their assignments written by AI… let's assume they're going to get their assignment written by AI, because now we're going to teach them how to use AI ethically and with a critical mind.” 

The university will not test a student on the actual writing but the presentation they will give on their writing, where questions will be asked of them, to ensure they understand it.  

“It's about changing that mindset to go with what's really required and needed in industry,” she said.  

International recognition is also growing.  

“We’re one of the few universities that managed to get all 10 [QAA] standards at the first go,” she said. 

“Most universities will get seven, eight and a big, long list of things to improve. We got it on the first attempt, which is phenomenal.” 

She added that she has a hard-working team who have helped build the University over the years.