Rector Luisa Lambertini opens the 2024-25 academic year

The inauguration of the 2024-2025 academic year, held on Tuesday, 10 September 2024 in the Aula Magna of the West Campus Lugano, took place in the presence of some 260 participants including professors, researchers and members of the administrative body. Rector Luisa Lambertini turned her gaze to the future, presenting the planning for the four-year period 25-28. Three Pro-Rectors, the General Secretary and the Director of Operations then briefly presented the projects currently underway and what is planned for 2024-2025.

During her address to employees and faculty representatives, USI Rector Luisa Lambertini emphasised that our university is modern, dynamic, and poised to further develop its strengths. She stated, "USI's vision is clear: we strive for continuous growth in strategically important areas and aspire to achieve excellence in the fields we specialise in. Our goal is to solidify our position and become a significant contributor to the region and its economic landscape." In this context, the pursuit and attainment of the objectives outlined in Planning 2025-2028 will play a crucial role. This plan results from a comprehensive bottom-up process that identified current opportunities and tailored them to available resources.

During her speech, the Rector presented USI's development objectives, which cover several strategic and cross-cutting themes. Firstly, the university aims to become younger, with a generational shift facilitated by the renewal of the faculty through the recruitment of assistant professors and tenure-track professors. This goal is closely tied to another important element of the university's planning: a focus on gender equality. As part of this, the university has set a target for 40-50% of new hires to be female candidates. The commitment to sustainability will remain fundamental for USI, as the Rector emphasised. "USI has long been a leader in environmental, social, and economic sustainability and aims to become a sustainable campus. The university is dedicated to promoting research, teaching, and activities focused on sustainability."

In the next four years, there will be a focus on transforming the campuses into vibrant community hubs, increasing private fundraising, and revitalising continuing education. The Rector's speech also highlighted two significant anniversaries: the 20th anniversary of the Faculty of Informatics and the 20th anniversary of L'ideatorio. Additionally, the Rector announced that the first Daccò Chair has been awarded to Professor Lonneke van der Plas, and an Open Day at USI is scheduled for 10 May 2025.

In addition to Rector Luisa Lambertini, the ceremony also featured Patrick Gagliardini (Pro-Rector for Research), Luca Maria Gambardella (Pro-Rector for Innovation and Corporate Relations), Gabriele Balbi (Pro-Rector for Education Students' Experience), Giovanni Zavaritt (General Secretary) and Marvin Blumer (Director of Operations). At the end of the ceremony, the Prize for scientific contributions on equal opportunities and/or diversity issues was awarded.