?? Introducing the SELBI Project - Supporting Early Childhood Education in Blue Skills with AI. With funding of €80,000 from Xjenza Malta through the RESEARCH EXCELLENCE PROGRAMME (REP), a team of academics from MCAST, are combining expertise in early childhood education, marine biology, AI, and research to empower ECEC educators in Malta. The SELBI project aims to integrate blue skills key knowledge for sustainable maritime practices into early childhood education using a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) platform. This includes: assessing educators' knowledge of blue skills, creating a resource repository with experts, developing an AI-powered platform, offering tailored training for educators and validating the platform for broader use. This initiative bridges gaps in maritime skills, supports global sustainability goals and contributes to Malta's innovation ecosystem. Shirley Ann Gauci PhD|Francis Delicata|Alan Gatt|Frankie Inguanez|Heathcliff Schembri|Kimberly Terribile #SELBI #BlueSkills #AIinEducation #XjenzaMalta #Innovation #Sustainability #EarlyChildhoodEducation
?? Introducing the SELBI project - Supporting Early chiLdhood education in Blue skills with generative artificial Intelligence We are a team of six academics at MCAST. We combine expertise in early childhood education, marine biology, artificial intelligence, and research. With funding from Xjenza Malta, our #SELBI project aims to revolutionise Early Childhood Education and Care by integrating "blue skills" - essential knowledge for sustainable maritime practices with AI technology. ?? Why Blue Skills Matter The blue economy generates $1.5 trillion annually and is expected to double by 2030. Malta’s strategic location contributes 15% of its GDP through maritime industries. However, a shortage of maritime skills exists due to gaps in education and training starting from a young age. ?? Our Mission Using a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) platform, we aim to empower ECEC educators with tailored resources and training to nurture blue skills in children. The project includes: 1) Assessing blue skills knowledge among ECEC educators. 2) Creating a resource repository with experts. 3) Developing a web-based AI platform to support ECEC educators. 4) Providing training sessions for educators. 5) Testing and validating the platform for broader implementation. ? The Impact Our work bridges the gap in maritime skills, aligns with global sustainability goals, and contributes to Malta's innovation ecosystem. ?? Led by Dr Shirley Ann Gauci PhD, the team includes Dr Francis Delicata, Mr Alan Gatt, Mr Frankie Inguanez, Dr Heathcliff Schembri, and Ms Kimberly Terribile. Stay tuned for updates as we shape a sustainable future for #Malta! ?? ?? ???? Check out our website https://selbi.education/ #BlueSkills #Sustainability #AIInEducation #MCAST #Innovation