The signs of the global challenges that society will face in the near future have already begun to appear. In this scenario, education and research will play an increasingly crucial role in providing concrete solutions to complex issues such as demographic ageing, climate change, public health and digitalisation, with their reverberations on the economic fabric and population. SUPSI intends to respond to these phenomena, in their local variations, through the further development of its mandates (Undergraduate and Graduate Studies, Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning, Research and Innovation). There are five major areas in which its contribution could prove significant and have a significant impact on Southern Switzerland: sustainable development, health and demographic ageing, baukultur, one health, collaborative robotics and web 4.0.
A political context between light and shadow
These development axes with a strong local impact, as well as other projects of national and international significance, are brought together in the 2025-2035 Strategy, which is divided into 5 Strategic Orientations for the decade, 17 Project Lines and the relative Action Plans for the four-year period. The SUPSI Strategy was shared with the State Council and the relevant cantonal offices during the drafting of the Cantonal University Politics Message for the four-year period 2025-2028. The proposal to be discussed by the Grand Council manifests the State Council's desire to invest in the education and research sector, recognised as an important driver of innovation and growth, as well as a strategic asset for the development of the Canton of Ticino.
If the indications coming from Bellinzona are reassuring, less so the recent news from Berne. Serious concerns are raised by the Task Review and Subsidy Review presented at the end of September. Among the proposals identified by the group of experts and considered by the Federal Council are measures that could have serious repercussions for the education and research sector.
As a member of swissuniversities, SUPSI has taken these intentions with a certain degree of dismay and hopes that, during the consultation in January 2025 and throughout the process that will follow, the Federal Council will reconsider its position with the political push of the parliament.
Switzerland makes education and research into one of its strengths. A reduction in funding in this area would jeopardise the quality of the established Swiss ecosystem and the country's leading position in research and innovation.
Strengthening synergies with the Università della Svizzera italiana
Within this complex framework, the Cantonal University Politics Message that will be debated in the Grand Council in the coming weeks is a confirmation of the confidence and expectations that the State Council places in the academic system of Southern Switzerland, with an invitation to further strengthen collaborations between SUPSI and USI.
There are already numerous joint activities at various levels. In the future, new efforts will be made to create synergies in research and knowledge transfer, thanks to the complementary profiles of SUPSI and USI.
Future collaborations have already been identified in the health sector, between the Competence Centres of the Department of Business Economics, Health and Social Care, the Institutes of the Department of Innovative Technologies, the Faculty of Biomedicine of USI and the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale; in the engineering and architecture sector with the creation of a construction pole in Mendrisio (Department of Environment, Constructions and Design and the Academy of Architecture); not forgetting the impact of the two universities research in the innovation network through the Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino.
Involving the population
In the following years SUPSI intends to open its doors even wider to citizenship in the fulfilment of the so-called Third Mission, i.e. the set of knowledge transfer activities through which universities promote economic and social growth. In addition to these initiatives, the Research and Innovation mandate is moving towards a transdisciplinary approach in which not only different specialities converge, but also the active participation of companies, stakeholders and the people.
Logistics strategy 2035
A new logistics strategy with the horizon of 2035 will be presented in early 2025. The aim is to identify and implement lasting and sustainable solutions. The most advanced projects remain the establishment of a number of institutes within the Innovation Park in the Officine di Bellinzona area, for which 20,000 square metres have been optioned, and the Lugano-Stazione Campus. Other potential options are being evaluated, but the essential condition remains the proximity to the public transport networks.
A consistent growth to the needs of the region
Aware of its relevance and responsibilities, SUPSI is committed and will continue to work towards realising all the projects listed above, in order to pursue its goal of generating significant positive effects on the socio-economic fabric of Southern Switzerland in the coming decade. SUPSI shows great dynamism, and over the years has been able to create an important space for itself within education and research networks and in national and international strategic fora. As shown by the main indicators on the evolution of its mandates, SUPSI continues on a path of growth which, it is worth emphasising, is not an end in itself but evolves and responds to the needs and demands of the region.
