A step towards inclUSIon

The Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), in June, was the winner of an important call for proposals promoted by Perspectives-Études to consolidate its support structure for talented refugee students. Thanks to this additional funding, it was able to launch the InclUSIone project for the two-year period 2024-2026, dedicated to improving access to higher education for people with a migratory background from particularly vulnerable contexts.     

Maurizia Ruinelli, collaborator of the International Relations and Mobility Service and responsible for the project, and Oleh, a future Bachelor's degree student in Communication offered by the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society, spoke about it to the microphones of Millevoci, broadcast on Rete Uno (RSI) last Thursday, 5 September.

Maurizia Ruinelli recalled that over the past four years, ten students from Syria, Turkey, Iran and Ukraine have had the opportunity to participate in language courses and to attend lectures as auditors while 35 students started regular university studies.

Together with to the project leader, Oleh also spoke on the programme and told his story starting with his arrival in Switzerland in 2023. The young student, who said to be passionate about journalism and communication, talked about his expectations on the university course he is about to start.

Maurizia Ruinelli emphasised how the project aims to create integration and inclusion, but also equal opportunities for the participants, who are accompanied in their entry into the academic world and the job market. Another key term of project InclUSIone is collaboration, carried out both with other universities (Swiss and non-Swiss), with cantonal authorities and with organisations that support refugees.

The main objective of this project is to expand the measures currently in place and formalise them for a long-term impact, integrating them into the university regulations so that the academic journey of these students may become as accessible as that of any other student. In accordance with USI's commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, project inclUSIone promotes equal opportunities and access to quality education. Moreover, this project also responds to one of the strategic objectives of the Cantonal Integration Programme (PIC), which encourages relevant institutions to support developing the potential of people with a migratory background in order to foster personal and professional growth in accordance with their abilities and aspirations. Finally, as part of this project, various initiatives and workshops are planned for academic staff, administrative staff and students to benefit the entire academic community and continue to promote debate and awareness on the issues of inclusion, migration and interculturality. In fact, as Murizia Ruinelli said during the radio interview: ‘opening up to these initiatives also allows us as administrative staff, but also the students, to face realities that are different from our own; with students coming from regions where there are conflicts or where freedom of expression is not guaranteed. We may read the news about these countries, but in this way we have the opportunity to have a direct knowledge of those who were born and have lived in these situations’.

In order to dedicate the necessary energies to achieving these goals, thanks to the support of Perspectives-Études, starting in September Mariaelena Biliato, a new employee of the International Relations and Mobility Service, will assist Maurizia Ruinelli and the team in the implementation of the project: ‘I am delighted to be able to work together with all of you on this important project that supports people from difficult situations in developing their full potential through concrete measures, removing obstacles that prevent them from accessing appropriate higher education. Last but not least, fostering the inclusion of this group of people enriches our community with new talents and creates great opportunities for intercultural dialogue.’

The team's hope is that the project, planned for now for a duration of two years, can be extended for the future.

A page dedicated to the project will soon be set up on the Relint website. In the meantime, as always, all feedback is welcome: Maurizia Ruinelli and Mariaelena Biliato are available for any curiosity or suggestion you might have for the success of project InclUSIone.

The interview at Millevoci is available at the following link.