Kurstin Gatt finished his studies at St Martin’s College Sixth Form in 2010. He studied at the University of Malta and completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Arabic Studies. Kurstin achieved the highest overall average in the Faculty of Arts in 2013 and was robed by the Rector of the University.
Kurstin moved on to pursue his studies in Germany, for which he was granted a full scholarship. He completed a Master of Arts course in Arabic Studies and Islamic Law at the University of Leipzig. He has attended many conferences all over Germany related to his studies and was chosen to deliver a presentation about the Maltese language to an international audience in Halle, Germany. His presentation was entitled Maltese: A European language with Semitic roots: A linguistic Analysis.
He has also taken the opportunity to study German and sit for internationally recognised exams.
In the summer of 2014, Kurstin spent three months in Tunisia working on a project organised by AIESEC, a student organisation, where he taught English to Tunisian students. During his time there, he attended a short intensive course in Modern Standard Arabic and Tunisian dialect.
Kurstin has also travelled to Israel and Palestine where he took part in a study programme entitled Two Nations and Three Religions in Israel and Palestine. The purpose of the study programme was to investigate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the political situation, and delve into the three biggest religions that are present in this region.
Kurstin plans to return to Malta, work and travel to different Arab countries and volunteer among Arab refugees in Malta. He would also like to promote the importance of languages, particularly Arabic, as well as study the challenges of terrorism in modern times at Doctoral level.