University celebrates 10th anniversary with time capsule 

The University of Gibraltar celebrated its 10th anniversary looking back on years of growth and achievement with messages for the future planted in a time capsule to be opened in 90 years’ time. 

In the courtyard of the University’s Europa Point campus, past and present staff and alumni, government ministers and dignitaries came together to mark the occasion. 

The anniversary is this Sunday, on September 21, with the university celebrating the event this week. 

The time capsule will be opened on the university’s 100th anniversary in 2115. 

Within the capsule is an edition of this newspaper and messages from former university ministers Gilbert Licudi and John Cortes, current university minister Pat Orfila, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, Chancellor Sir Lindsay Hoyle, his predecessor Lord Luce, and Vice Chancellor Prof Catherine Bachleda. 

Prof Bachleda told attendees the university has grown from a handful of students to educating over 700. 

“In the last four years alone, we have seen the number of those completing either undergraduate or postgraduate degrees grow from just 21 to 100 last December,” she said. 

“The success of our students is the true measure of our success as a university.” 

“The fact that over 94% of our graduates are employed or in further studies within six months of graduating is a testament to the quality and to the relevance of our programmes. This is further evidenced by our graduates' remarkable success in their careers, as well as by our own global accreditation by the UK Quality Assurance Agency of Higher Education.” 

She told the Chronicle that what the university had been able to achieve in just a decade was incredible 

“We started off with nothing,” she said. 

“We had no academic regulations, we had no programmes, we had no, what I would call, academic governance structure. We built all of that.” 

“It's really down to the team I have and every single team member in this organisation gets it. They feel privileged to be part of growing a university.” 

The added challenge for the University of Gibraltar is that typically new universities would rely on the domestic undergraduate market but, from the offset, the university knew it had to compete internationally. 

“But every single year we see increasing numbers of local students saying ‘actually the provision that's being provided by the University of Gibraltar is as good as, and in many cases far, far better, than what we would get in the UK so we would like to stay here’,” she said. 

“For me, that's a real stamp of social approval.” 

Over the next ten years, Ms Bachleda sees the university continuing with incremental growth in a very competitive market. 

She said the university is very focused on making sure graduates come out with skills that the industry want. 

Ms Bachleda said some 94% of graduates are in jobs within six months, in comparison to the UK where the figure is around 60% within 15 months. 

“That's an enormous achievement that we have,” she said. 

Mr Picardo said he was determined to make this project a reality and seeing the university operating for ten years is justification for the faith he had of what would be achieved. 

“It’s incredible to see the reach the university has international and locally,” he said. 

“This year I was very pleased a very close family friend make the decision at 18, having been successful in his A-levels, to continue his tertiary education in the University of Gibraltar although he could have gone anywhere in the UK.” 

“His subject choice was here and, for personal reasons, he wanted to remain here. That really touched me that ten years on, that is now a live option for our compatriots.”  

“That speaks volumes for the work being done in the university and I am so grateful to them for having taken the baby that we gave them and nurtured it into this now decade old university.” 

Ms Orfila said her message highlighted how education is independence and freedom. 

“The university makes us a university city, and secondly it offers us an opportunity to everyone to be able to embark on any career they want,” she said. 

“Education does set you free and a degree will give you opportunities. A huge thank you to the university for being part of Gibraltar.” 

Mr Licudi is regularly in touch with the university as a lecturer in the law course, after being the first minister for the university. 

He described how creating the university was a “huge challenge” at the time. 

“I think it’s not just stood the test of time, but it’s shown the vision that we had has come to reality in terms of expansion and international recognition,” he said. 

Dr Cortes also left a message for future generations in the time capsule. 

“Really pleased to have contributed to this initiative as former Minister for the University and as Professor of the university,” Dr Cortes said. 

“Incredible how ten years have passed and very pleased to have been and be a part of it.” 

“I sent a message of hope to the future - the process has made me think a great deal about the issues facing the world today, especially environmental issues, and the hope that by the time the capsule is opened in 90 years these will have been resolved.” 

For the university, former students like Nell Cava are a testament to the creation of the university. 

Ms Cava completed her MSc Marine Science and Climate Change in 2024 and now works at the university as a project officer in the library. 

She is currently working on the Gibraltar biodiversity portal, a finding aid of resources. 

Ms Cava from New York found the university while searching for courses then, after completing her course, she decided to stay and continue living in Gibraltar. 

“It’s incredible, I’ve only been around for a couple of years but it seems like it’s grown a lot and there’s so much room for creating something incredible,” she said.