A group of student representatives at University of Malta has successfully negotiated lower prices for Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) software. This was led by Kris Bajada, a student representative on the UM Council and Chairperson of Vuci Kollettiva, whose aim is to ease the financial burden on students who rely on Adobe software for their studies. Faculty representatives and representatives from SACES, MKSA, KSU and The Third Eye were also involved in this initiative.
Up until now, a one-year subscription to Adobe CC cost €238.66 for the first year, going up to €431.78 in following years. The student representatives want to ease the challenges this posed for students, and successfully proposed a solution to make the software more affordable. The solution put forward involves the University of Malta buying 100 student licences and offering them at a discounted rate. This way, the university has been able to offer these licences to students for just €85 per year, meaning a 65% reduction.
Achieving this compromise between the students and the University shows that when students work together and the university supports them, positive changes can happen. Kris Bajada expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating, “This is a victory for students across all faculties. It demonstrates the power of collective action and the university’s commitment to supporting its students in their academic pursuits.”