Organizational Structure

1. The Academic Council (AC) appoints the Faculty Recruitment Committee (FRC), which provides its advice to the AC on the recruitment of teachers and other academic positions. The AC approves and adopts, or further discusses any recommendations made by the FRC.
2. All members of the FRC are selected from the academic staff and top executives, according to individual experience and to the needs of the Institut
3. As for the recruitment of teachers, the FRC ensures that the best candidates are selected in a fair and transparent process, in line with the established criter
4. Whenever there is a vacancy for an academic position, the FRC draws up a brief description of the position, including the minimum requirements candidates should meet and selects the interview board. A “Call for Application” will be posted on the website and possibly through other channels, the selected candidates will be interviewed and classified by the interview committee (based on points obtained according to published criteria – qualifications, experience, aptitude, etc.). Once the recommendations of the FRC for selection are approved by the AC, candidates will be individually notified in written form of the outcome of the interview
5. The name of the selected candidate, through a recruitment procedure, must be published – within the limits of the provisions of national data protection legislation – on the Institute’s website, no later than one week after the completion of the procedur
6. The new teachers will be initially recruited on a part-time basis and, when possible, will be employed as co-teachers on related topic Guidelines will also be provided on the procedures established by the Institute.
7. All teaching staff who hold the position of Lecturer or superior must have the following minimum requirements:

• i) an academic qualification equivalent to the level of Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) level 7, in the case of those who teach in Bachelor’s Degree Programs, or a higher level than that of the study program in question, in other cases;
• ii) at least three years of teaching, regardless of the level of education (secondary, tertiary, etc.) in which this experience was obtained;
• iii)        at least three years of experience in industry, in a sector related to the module taught, as well as a good knowledge of the software used in the course;
• iv) a good level of knowledge of the language – English or Italian, depending on the campus where the professor teache Candidates applying for any academic position at the Institute must demonstrate an excellent knowledge of the English language. The interview board must ensure that the selected candidate has a professional knowledge of the language equivalent to level C of the Common European Framework of Reference for Knowledge of Languages (CEFR). The same applies to Italian.

8. The employment conditions of the teaching staff should comply with all current legislation and be widely comparable (taking into account some initial adjustments) to similar academic positions in the higher education sector of the two hosting count The Management Board (MB) reviews these conditions following the recommendations of the FRC (generally every three years), in order to ensure fairness of treatment and to allow the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of the faculty.
9. All academic staff are encouraged to carry out research, community awareness and any other beneficial activities for the Institute and its employee This will be done through three main incentives, namely:

• i) specific resources, financial or  otherwise,  will be provided for these activit  The allocation of the resources will be decided by the AC, in the case of research activities and by the MB in all other cases, following the receipt of a request describing the initiative/research activity and the necessary resources. This may also include reducing teaching tasks to allow the teacher to carry out research or other approved activities.
• ii) These activities will be considered positively when the professors concerned apply for promotion to a higher academic position, whenever there is a vacancy for that position.
• iii) The professors will be assisted with the assignment of internal or external staff, to request participation in EU-funded projects.

10. Initially, the Institute will rely on the European programs it has access to, to finance its research activit Through its partners and staff, the Institute has considerable experience in EU-funded research projects and industrial networks, which it will leverage to initiate its participation in European projects and undertake research activities in its fields of interest.
11. The AC will strive to promote innovation as a cornerstone of the Institute’s activities, including the teaching methods of its staff. It must ensure that all teaching staff stay abreast of the latest developments in the industry, and therefore will specifically organize CPD seminars for these purpose
12. The AC may also invite experts or specialists in their field as visiting lecturer All the external parties contributing to the Institute’s academic program – visiting lecturers or the companies hosting internships for students – must be informed with written instructions provided to them prior to recruitment and they are required to follow the Institute’s QA policies.

All members of the Academy inspire their behavior on principles of honesty, fairness, loyalty and transparency towards stakeholders. It is forbidden to use the name of the Academy to obtain private and personal benefits and therefore make use of the position held to obtain utility or benefits in external relations, mainly of a private nature.

All the members of the Academy undertake to keep the information learned in the exercise of their functions confidential, using every possible measure to prevent any loss of data and keeping the documents with which, they are entrusted with great care. They are also required to: respect the right to privacy of persons or entities of which the Academy holds protected information; not to divulge confidential data or information relating to participation on academic boards, to consult only authorized documents and files, making use of them in compliance with official duties and protecting their privacy.

Conflict of interest.  Any action that, in the name of private or partisan interests, creates situations of conflict with the objectives and purposes of the Academy, will be avoided. Conflict of interest occurs when the private interests of the recipients of the Code actually or potentially conflict with those of the Academy. Conflicts of interest can be: external working relationships with training institutions or universities potentially competing with the Academy; the acceptance or giving of money, gifts, favors of any kind by people, companies or different institutions; the use of one’s position in the Academy, in order to favor personal interests; the use of information acquired in  carrying  out  one’s  work for  private  interest; participation  in  negotiations or  stipulation  of contracts, in the name of and on behalf of the Academy, in which the counterparty consists of family members or partners of the employee, companies or legal persons of which the same is the owner or interested in them. The employees of the Academy, before accepting remunerated consultancy, management, administration or other positions in favor of external parties, or when situations of conflict arise, must first inform the competent academic board or persons responsible or hierarchically superior. In the situations mentioned, the employee must opt for the defined time and resolve, in any case, the situation of conflict.

Abuse of on e’s role. The recipients of the Code are not allowed to abuse of the authority that derives from their academic position, specifically holding offices and positions in order to get personal advantages and induce other subjects to carry out services that do not fall within the normal performance of free didactic, academic and administrative activities. Professors, researchers and administrative and technical staff will not use their influence to grant favors and benefits or to condition the results of concourses or administrative procedures in order to facilitate relatives, family members, cohabitants or the like. Likewise, such influence will not be exercised to favor students beyond actual merits and abilities.  It also condemns and prosecutes any abuse or harassment of a sexual nature, as well as any illegal activity carried out against students or people who aspire to employment or academic or career promotion.

Enhancement of merit. The fundamental mission of the Academy is to produce and issue knowledge in the form of human capital, promoting free access to all levels of knowledge, intended as common, participatory and pervasive heritage, in the concept of the universality of knowledge itself. To achieve these goals, the Academy community will fulfil its commitment with honesty, impartiality and dedication, enhancing the merits and skills of all its members, without hindering their chances of insertion and promotion in the various stages of their career.

Academic freedom. Academic freedom and respect for the full autonomy of the individual are a prerequisite for ensuring adequate quality profiles in teaching and research activities.  In this respect, the members of the Academy are required to behave following the criteria of integrity and responsibility, also adopting specific self-regulatory codes. Since the teacher’s main duty is the conscientious fulfilment of his educational commitment aimed at encouraging the student’s growth, in  compliance  with  the  Academic  Regulations, teachers are required, among other things, to observe the following: carry out teaching activities on at least three separate days for each week of the academic period identified in the calendar, respecting deadlines and breaks; provide, in the timetable dedicated to activities, hours of reception and tutoring approved by the AC; personally give lessons of the courses and modules contained in the didactic regulations, promptly communicating to the respective Presidencies any exceptional absences and relative substitutions, limited to situations of proven necessity; compile, making it constantly available, the register of didactic activities which must be returned to the Didactic  Administration, immediately after their conclusion; fully respect the duty to follow the students in the preparation of the degree thesis, ensuring them all the necessary educational and cultural support. Furthermore, all the members of the Academy are required to maintain a collaborative and respectful conduct in the implementation of the organizational decisions adopted by the academic board, in order to improve the efficiency, impartiality and transparency of the academic administration.

Research enhancement. The Academy aims to contribute, in the most effective and incisive way, to the growth of the local community through the social effects of its research activities. It is the task of each teacher to stimulate, in young people, with dialogues and the development of critical, practical and methodological skills for study and research. Fraud and plagiarism are condemned, the latter understood as partial or total appropriation of ideas, themes or discoveries, regardless of the linguistic and cultural sources when the latter is not referred to. As regards the promotion of research and development of Video Game & Animation Culture, VHEI has also conceived, structured and produced a series of essays entitled “Warpzone”, published by Edizioni Paguro.

Use of the academy’s name. All recipients of the Code are required to protect the good name and reputation of the Academy. Unless expressly authorized, no one is allowed to misuse the name and logo of the Academy.

Use of the e Academy’s resources.  The Academy’s resources must be used according to criteria of responsibility and transparency: no equipment, spaces or resources will be granted to external persons or entities for personal reasons or in any case other than those indicated by the Academy, or for purposes that are not approved by the official board. The IT instruments will be used exclusively for work purposes, in compliance with current legislation and the Academy’s reference procedures.

Diffusion and promotion. The Academy promotes the diffusion of this Code to promote knowledge of the principles and ethical standards contained therein.

Violations of the Ethic Code and measures. The entire academic community is required to comply with the principles of this Code, consulting the Ethics Commission for clarification on the application or on individual situations envisaged by it. Once the violation of the Code has been ascertained, the competent boards may implement disciplinary measures, in compliance with the civil, criminal and administrative legislation in force. Reports of violation must be received, in written and non-anonymous form, by the Ethics Commission which will, in first instance, analyses the report, consulting its author, the person responsible for the alleged violation and any person potentially involved. The Commission will then transfer the documents relating to the preliminary investigation to the Academic Senate for possible legal measures. The Ethics Commission undertakes to ensure that the processing of personal data is carried out in compliance with fundamental rights and freedom, as well as the dignity of the interested party, with particular reference to privacy, personal identity and the right to the protection of personal data