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FiftySix Design Talks: Design to Market1 July 2026 • 18:30
Valletta Design Cluster, Il-Biċċerija l-Antika, Valletta
This July, we gather at the Valletta Design Cluster to confront a fundamental question shaping the local product design industry: Why do great design ideas in Malta struggle to move from prototype to market? Design to Market marks a critical public discussion and a defining milestone for the first 2026 cycle of FiftySix Design Talks. This session transitions the current cycle from identifying systemic problems into an active dialogue on real-world industry action. Over the past six months, practitioners, institutional leaders, and educators have worked together to bridge the practical gaps that stand between a working product prototype and the retail shelf.
The forum will map the progress made so far, outlining the specific operational bottlenecks tackled and the day-to-day friction dismantled along the way. To discuss these findings and evaluate the next steps for the industry, a dedicated panel will bring together key perspectives from across education, manufacturing, institutional funding, and practice.
Discussion Panel:
Ing. David Sciberras, Invent 3D
Prof. Philip Farrugia, University of Malta
Becky Grech, MCAST
Marika Tonna, Business 1st
Joeaby Vassallo, I+A
Raphael Attard, Design Student
Moderated by Joanne Attard Mallia, Valletta Design Cluster
The centerpiece of the evening will be the public introduction of design2market.mt—a new digital resource tool and interactive roadmap currently in development, designed to structure product commercialization around Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) and sequential Intellectual Property (IP) milestones.
Following the public discussion, the evening transitions to the Valletta Design Cluster Roof Garden for an open networking session. Set against the panoramic backdrop of the capital, this curated gathering serves as the cycle’s signature event, allowing designers, manufacturing partners, and institutional leaders to connect over the newly unveiled framework.
We invite designers, manufacturing partners, inventors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to join the conversation, explore the new tool, and establish the immediate next steps for local industry adoption.
RSVP here to secure your place: https://vallettadesigncluster.wildapricot.org/event-6711668/
FiftySix Design Talks is a collaboration between I+A and the Valletta Design Cluster, uniting practitioners and institutions in structured cycles of action that deliver tangible, practical assets to Malta's creative and industrial sectors.
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Event Venue
Valletta Design Cluster, Valletta, Malta
Tickets
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