The Complete Guide to Using AI in the Education Industry in Malta in 2025

Malta's education scene in 2025 is moving from pilots to policy: the national Digital Education Strategy 2024–30 (adopted May 2024) puts AI literacy and transversal digital skills at the centre of schools, while local pilots and the Malta AI Readiness project have tested curriculum‑aligned tools such as the proposed S.U.S.A.N. / M.A.R.I.A. chatbot that promises tailored, bilingual tutoring, real‑time analytics and even voice tutoring to close homework gaps - read the S.U.S.A.N. AI-powered learning platform overview S.U.S.A.N. AI-powered learning platform overview.

Complementary initiatives (for example, EduAI puppets for literacy) show how conversational agents can make abstract concepts tangible, and CEDEFOP's summary of the strategy explains the four pillars guiding these changes CEDEFOP summary of Malta's Digital Education Strategy.

For educators and leaders needing practical upskilling, targeted courses like Nucamp's AI Essentials for Work bootcamp offer hands‑on prompt and tool training to help schools turn policy into classroom practice.

What this means for Maltese educators is practical and immediate: Malta implements the EU's risk‑based AI framework via the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA), so any AI tool used in classrooms must be checked against the Act's four risk levels (from prohibited to high‑risk) and its transparency, conformity and enforcement rules - while the national AI strategy explicitly pushes for AI literacy, teacher training and curriculum changes to support adoption MDIA Artificial Intelligence Regulatory Framework (Malta) and offers a roadmap for education actions and reskilling Malta National AI Strategy Report and Education Roadmap.

In plain terms: audit learning platforms and chatbots to see if they're “high‑risk” (which triggers extra documentation and checks), tighten data‑handling and consent processes now, and treat pilots as governed experiments with clear governance, procurement and training plans so schools stay on the right side of evolving rules and funding opportunities.

“preparing for this responsibility by ensuring that we introduce the necessary legislative amendments and build the required expertize.”

Malta's Digital Education Strategy 2024–2030 turns high-level EU goals into concrete action for schools: built around four pillars - digital access and inclusion, integrating digital literacy across subjects, strengthening teacher digital competence, and boosting cybersecurity - the plan formalises moves already underway, such as the “One Device Per Child” expansion (now extending tablets to secondary students and upgrading school connectivity) and an ambitious target to raise student digital literacy to 80% by 2030; the approach aligns with the EU's broader Digital Education Action Plan (2021–2027), which frames digital education as tools, content and teacher support to future‑proof learning Malta Digital Education Strategy 2024–2030 overview and podcast and the Commission's action plan EU Digital Education Action Plan 2021–2027 official page.

Practical features matter: digital skills are embedded across subjects rather than siloed, teachers receive ongoing in‑hour professional development (with University of Malta partnerships), cybersecurity and parental guidance are built into rollouts, and AI is explicitly positioned to support personalised and adaptive learning - giving schools a clear roadmap to move from pilots to scaled, inclusive classroom practice.

Malta's education strategy ties national goals - bridging the digital divide, embedding digital competence across subjects, strengthening teacher professional development and hardening school cybersecurity - directly to AI's classroom role, turning high‑level ambition into practical steps for schools; the Digital Education Strategy 2024–2030 sets concrete moves such as expanding the “One Device Per Child” scheme and an 80% student digital‑literacy target by 2030 to ensure access and readiness (Malta Digital Education Strategy 2024–2030 overview and podcast).

At the same time Malta's broader AI vision (Malta 2030) emphasises investment, public and private sector adoption, and governance - placing the Malta Digital Innovation Authority at the centre of oversight so pilots and procurement follow clear governance and ethical guardrails (Strategy and Vision for Artificial Intelligence in Malta 2030).

Practical classroom innovation is already underway: University of Malta's EduAI projects show how AI puppets, voice recognition and micro:bit robots are used in literacy and direction‑giving activities with children and parents, a vivid example of how policy becomes tangible learning experiences (EduAI Programme - University of Malta).

Together these strands map a clear route for leaders: invest in devices and connectivity, embed digital skills across curricula, train educators in‑hour, and pilot AI tools that prioritise inclusion and safety so adaptive learning supports every student.

Legal and compliance essentials for Maltese schools start with the GDPR baseline implemented locally through the Data Protection Act 2018 (Cap. 586), so school leaders must treat any AI or edtech rollout as a privacy project as much as a pedagogical one: keep up‑to‑date records of processing activities, appoint and notify a Data Protection Officer where required (and ensure the DPO can assist with impact assessments), and publish clear privacy notices that explain purposes, legal bases and rights; the DLA Piper guide to Data Protection in Malta summarises these duties and explains breach rules, security expectations (pseudonymisation, encryption, resilience) and the 72‑hour supervisory notification window for incidents.

Schools running device schemes should follow Ministry guidance on what personal data are collected for programs such as the One Tablet Per Child project - ID, student and guardian details, school and contact numbers - and make that collection transparent with lawful bases and opt‑in/explainable consent where needed (Malta Ministry of Education GDPR and One Tablet Per Child guidance).

Sector‑specific rules also apply: the Processing of Personal Data (Education Sector) Regulations - Malta legislation set tailored obligations for education bodies and should frame procurement and vendor contracts so that processors meet Maltese standards (including transfer safeguards and adequacy checks).

Practical priorities are simple and immediate - treat each tablet registration (ID, school, guardian mobile) like a digital fingerprint that follows the child into cloud services, run Data Protection Impact Assessments for AI tools, log decisions and consent, tighten security controls, and be ready to notify the Office of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner if risks materialise - doing this reduces regulatory exposure (fines can reach the GDPR ceiling) and protects learners' rights while enabling responsible AI in classrooms.

Managing generative AI, IP and liability in Malta's schools means treating creative content and datasets with the same legal care used for textbooks and films: copyright protection vests automatically under the Copyright Act (Cap.

415), with authors holding exclusive economic rights (reproduction, adaptation, distribution) and inalienable moral rights, so any lesson content, pupil work or dataset fed into an LLM needs clear ownership or licences - think of a chatbot answer that reproduces a textbook paragraph as close to a photocopied page, not a harmless shortcut.

Practical steps for leaders include using written assignment or licence clauses for staff and contractors (as highlighted in a practical legal overview for creatives), conducting rights clearance for third‑party material and school databases (which can attract sui generis protection), and building indemnities and IP warranties into vendor contracts so procurement shifts potential liability to suppliers.

Remember enforcement is real in Malta - copyright infringement can trigger civil and criminal remedies and the Copyright Board handles remuneration and disputes - so document decisions, keep licences and obtain express transfers or permissions before scaling AI tools in classrooms; when in doubt, rely on the statutory text of the Copyright Act and specialist advice to avoid exposure.

Copyright Act (Cap. 415) - Malta and a Practical IP guide for filmmakers and content creators in Malta are essential starting points.

Turn classroom pilots into defensible practice by treating governance, procurement and pilots as a single project: map each tool to the EU AI Act risk rules, log decisions and DPIAs, and insist that contracts shift IP and safety warranties to suppliers while requiring evidence of conformity assessments for any high‑risk system (the Malta Digital Innovation Authority is central to that process - see MDIA guidance on AI implementation and conformity assessments).

Build a simple governance checklist for boards and headteachers (lead contact, DPO liaison, procurement sign‑offs, parent communication), use national and EU support when testing (AI regulatory sandboxes and regional TEFs/EDIHs offer supervised testbeds and regulatory guidance and can lower compliance risk for pilots EU AI regulatory sandboxes overview and member-state approaches), and coordinate with the Office of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner now that it has been empowered to act as a national market‑surveillance and fundamental‑rights authority - this ensures your evidence and paperwork line up with enforcement expectations (Malta IDPC/MDIA oversight update on AI governance).

Practical rule of thumb: treat each issued tablet or cloud account as a “digital fingerprint” that must be tracked, consented and secured from day one, and run small, time‑boxed pilots with clear stop/go criteria so lessons scale safely into classrooms.

“preparing for this responsibility by ensuring that we introduce the necessary legislative amendments and build the required expertize.”

Building teacher AI skills in Malta is now a practical, funded priority: the national Digital Education Strategy frames ongoing professional development around digital literacy, and the Malta Digital Innovation Authority's May 30, 2025 call for proposals explicitly targets upskilling educators with themes such as multimedia creation, coding, gamification and computational thinking - an opportunity for schools and providers to design accredited in‑hour training and hands‑on workshops (MDIA call for proposals to enhance digital skills and literacy).

Local pilots already give shape to that training: the Malta AI Readiness project and the S.U.S.A.N./M.A.R.I.A. platforms demonstrate teacher-facing features - real‑time performance analytics, curriculum‑aligned content and dashboards that turn raw interaction data into actionable lesson plans - while accredited programmes (Lincoln School Oy's MQF Level 3 AI teaching accreditation, for example) show a route to formal qualifications and quality assurance (S.U.S.A.N. AI-powered learning platform overview).

Practical, classroom‑level examples make the case: tutors ran one‑hour sessions where learners used text‑to‑video tools and left the room with a one‑minute filmed report (with parental consent), a vivid reminder that short, scaffolded labs can convert abstract AI concepts into teachable moments.

Aligning local course design with EU‑level guidance on teacher support - the Digital Education Action Plan - helps ensure training is portable, evidence‑based and focused on classroom impact (EU Digital Education Action Plan).

The sensible next step for leaders is to commission bite‑sized accredited modules, embed practice‑based assessments tied to classroom analytics, and use MDIA funding windows to scale teacher CPD so every educator gains the tools to supervise safe, curriculum‑aligned AI in Malta's schools.

Looking at who's actually using AI in classrooms and inspections across Europe offers clear lessons for Malta: research on external school evaluators shows only moderate awareness and guarded optimism - adoption stalls where training, infrastructure and ethical safeguards are weak - so inspectors and school leaders need hands‑on CPD, not just policy briefs (Research: AI adoption among Europe's school evaluators (MJE)).

Parallel, continent‑wide surveys reveal a trust gap around generative AI that matters for schools: many Europeans see clear benefits but worry about privacy, transparency and unapproved tool use, so building guardrails, human oversight and data‑minimising workflows is essential (Deloitte report: European trust in generative AI (Jan 2025)).

Locally, Maltese businesses and public bodies are already on an AI journey - PwC's snapshot shows growing investment but flags skills shortages and privacy as top barriers - reminding education leaders that device programmes and curriculum change (eg.

One Tablet Per Child, DigComp alignment) must be matched by funding for connectivity, sandboxed pilots and clear procurement clauses (PwC Malta: The State of AI in Malta (skills shortages and privacy challenges)).

The memorable takeaway: policy without practical training is like handing teachers a tablet with no Wi‑Fi - promising, but unusable until systems, skills and trust are in place.

For Maltese education leaders the next steps are clear: treat AI rollouts as coordinated change projects that pair governance with hands‑on teacher support, start small with curriculum‑aligned pilots and robust DPIAs, and use existing national roadmaps to secure funding and scale - this aligns directly with Malta's AI vision and the Digital Decade priorities found in the OECD and EU reports, which stress strategic advantage, connectivity and skills investment (OECD STIP Compass - Malta National AI Strategy (2025); EU Digital Decade Country Report - Malta 2025).

Pilot curriculum‑specific S.U.S.A.N./M.A.R.I.A. deployments where teachers keep the pedagogical reins and data minimisation is enforced (S.U.S.A.N. / M.A.R.I.A. AI-powered learning platform overview), and fast‑track practical CPD so staff leave training with classroom-ready skills - short, scaffolded labs can turn abstract AI concepts into a one‑hour filmed lesson, not a policy memo.

For practical upskilling and prompt‑writing applied to school operations, consider targeted bootcamps like Nucamp's AI Essentials for Work to build prompt fluency and tool governance across leadership teams (Nucamp AI Essentials for Work syllabus - Prompt Writing and AI for Business) - because policy without practical training is like giving every teacher a tablet and no Wi‑Fi: frustrating instead of transformative.