The early signs of the global challenges that society will face in the near future have already begun to emerge. In this context, 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 repercussions on the economic fabric and the population. SUPSI intends to respond to these phenomena, in their local manifestations, through the further development of its mandates (Basic education, Continuing education, Research and innovation). Five major thematic areas in which its contribution may prove significant, with a meaningful impact for Italian-speaking Switzerland, are outlined below.

Healthcare and demographic ageing
The increase in life expectancy requires a growing number of healthcare professionals. For more than a decade, SUPSI, together with DECS and DSS, has taken part in the Observatory for professions and career prospects in the social and healthcare sector in Ticino; a unique example in Switzerland that has made it possible to double the number of graduates - from 100 to 200 - in nursing care across SUPSI and SSS. With the training-focused initiative, the first step in implementing the nursing care initiative, the promotion of healthcare professions will be continued and strengthened. The goal is to reach 250 graduates per year by 2030.

Alongside these activities, research institutes and competence centres develop applications, monitoring systems, and analyse big data to improve patients’ quality of life, enabling early intervention at the onset of diseases on the one hand, and increasingly personalised and effective care on the other. SUPSI experts also evaluate solutions to reduce healthcare costs, with proposals addressed to political decision-makers.

Baukultur
Around 60% of Switzerland’s building stock was constructed before the 1980s and does not meet current energy standards or adequately address the effects of climate change. SUPSI promotes innovative and sustainable solutions, also from an economic perspective, that respond to contemporary needs across a scale ranging from concept to execution - from interior space design to urban planning.

In recent years, internal expertise has been strengthened in the integration of photovoltaic modules into buildings, the use of the digital BIM (Building Information Modeling) method, and the mapping of heat islands with the implementation of mitigation measures. At the same time, SUPSI collaborates with local authorities in participatory, democratic, and inclusive planning processes, involving citizens in decisions on urban development.

SUPSI’s approach to building culture includes, alongside a strong focus on the future, a firm commitment to safeguarding historical heritage - from building restoration to the enhancement of cultural assets - through expertise that is unique in Switzerland and recognised internationally.

One Health
The pandemic and the growing spread of animal diseases, some of which are transmissible to humans, have made it urgent to adopt a holistic approach that recognises the close interdependence between humans, animals, and the environment. SUPSI embraces a holistic vision of public health that considers humans, animals, plants, and the environment as closely connected and interdependent. The One Health approach brings together human medicine, veterinary medicine, and environmental sciences to achieve better health outcomes. Activities carried out with cantonal and federal offices and the search for innovative solutions (such as the sterilisation of male tiger mosquitoes and, more broadly, the expertise developed in insect control) make Canton Ticino an example nationwide and internationally.

Collaborative robotics and Web 4.0
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence is propelling us into a future in which interactions between humans and robots will be part of everyday life in many industrial settings, as will experiences in virtual and extended realities. Projects in this new industrial and social revolution place human beings at the centre: automation is conceived as support rather than a replacement for human activity, relieving people of stressful and exhausting tasks. The practical orientation of research and the close ties with companies aim to integrate these technologies also into SMEs and to stimulate the creation of new high value-added entrepreneurial ventures. This is complemented by the creation of virtual environments and the development of decentralised technologies, with constant attention to ethics and to cyber and broader security issues.

Sustainable development
As a major institution, SUPSI is committed on a daily basis to promoting a responsible and sustainable approach in environmental, economic, social, and cultural terms. Recently, the second Sustainability Report was published, outlining the progress made and identifying areas where further effort is still required.

Through the activities of DFA/ASP, SUPSI conveys to those who educate - and those who will educate - future generations new ways of observing the complex phenomena of our time through Education for Sustainable Development, as envisaged in the curriculum of compulsory schooling in Ticino. The presence of sustainability-focused modules in Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes will also be strengthened, and the offer of certified continuing education courses in these fields expanded.

Finally, research centres and institutions located in peripheral areas of Ticino and Graubünden - San Bernardino Lab, Alpine Biology Center (Piora), Alpine Foundation for Life Sciences (FASV, Olivone), USI House of Sustainability (Airolo), Surselva Lab (Ilanz) - will be networked, fostering exchanges among universities, laboratories, and the population around the themes of sustainable development and alpine ecology.

A mixed political context
The aforementioned development axes with strong local impact, as well as other projects of national and international scope, are brought together in the 2025–2035 Strategy, which is articulated into five Strategic Orientations for the decade, 17 Project Lines, and the related Action Plans for the four-year period. The SUPSI Strategy was shared with the Council of State and the relevant cantonal offices during the drafting of the Cantonal Higher Education Policy Message for the 2025–2028 period. The proposal to be discussed by the Grand Council reflects the Council of State’s intention to invest in education and research, recognised as a key driver of innovation and growth, as well as a strategic asset for the development of Canton Ticino.

While the signals coming from Bellinzona are reassuring, the same cannot be said of recent news from Bern. Thanks to a compromise reached between the two chambers of Parliament, the Message on the promotion of education, research, and innovation 2025–2028 was adopted with some amendments providing greater financial support than originally proposed by the Federal Council, which in real terms would have represented a reduction in investment for the ERI sector.

During the summer, some openings emerged regarding Switzerland’s full association with European funding programmes (Horizon Europe, the Euratom programme, the ITER research infrastructure, and the Digital Europe programme), with the possibility for Swiss researchers to be admitted to the first three calls of the European Research Council. Until any potential association, Swiss participation is financed directly by the Confederation. Such an association presupposes that Switzerland and the EU sign an agreement on Swiss participation in EU programmes as part of a broader package. In light of the latest diplomatic developments, however, a definitive agreement still appears a long way off.

Serious concern is also raised by the Task Review and Subsidy Reassessment presented at the end of September. Among the proposals identified by the expert group and deemed acceptable by the Federal Council are measures that could have heavy repercussions for the education and research sector and for the cantons, which would implicitly be called upon to make up for any withdrawal by the Confederation.

Among these proposals, it is worth mentioning:

• a 10% cut in basic federal contributions;
• a reduction in mobility contributions;
• the elimination of project-linked subsidies (PgB) starting in 2026;
• a 10% reduction in federal contributions to Innosuisse and the Swiss National Science Foundation.

As a member of swissuniversities, SUPSI has received these intentions with some dismay and hopes that, during the consultation to be launched in January 2025 and throughout the subsequent process, the Federal Council will reconsider its position thanks to political pressure from Parliament.

Switzerland has made education and research one of its strengths. A reduction in funding in this sector would jeopardise the quality of the well-established Swiss ecosystem and the country’s leadership position in research and innovation.

Strengthening synergies with the Università della Svizzera italiana
Within this complex framework, the Cantonal Higher Education Policy Message to be discussed in the Grand Council in the coming weeks confirms the trust and expectations that the Council of State places in the academic system of Italian-speaking Switzerland, while inviting a further strengthening of collaboration between SUPSI and USI.

Already today, there are numerous joint activities at various levels. In the future, renewed efforts will be devoted to creating synergies in research and knowledge transfer, thanks to the complementary profiles of SUPSI and USI. A historic example of this potential is the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Studies (IDSIA USI–SUPSI), and future collaborations have already been identified in the healthcare field—between the competence centres of the Department of Business Economics, Health and Social Care, the institutes of the Department of Innovative Technologies, the USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, and the Cantonal Hospital Authority; in engineering and architecture through the creation of a construction hub in Mendrisio (Department of Environment, Construction and Design and the Academy of Architecture); not to mention the impact of research from both universities within the innovation network through the leverage of Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino.

Engaging the population
The opening of campuses in the cantonal urban centres has brought SUPSI closer to the population of Italian-speaking Switzerland. The new spaces have led to a significant increase in the number of events aimed at both the academic community and the general public, with cycles of outreach events and activities designed for all age groups and audiences. In the coming years, SUPSI intends to open its doors even further to citizens in fulfilling the so-called Third Mission, namely 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 increasingly oriented towards a transdisciplinary approach that brings together not only different specialisations but also the active participation of companies, stakeholders, and the population.

Logistics strategy 2035
As mentioned earlier, the inauguration in 2021 of the Lugano-Viganello and Mendrisio campuses has contributed to SUPSI’s overall development; however, the previous logistics strategy remains incomplete. In the first months of 2025, a new strategy with a 2035 horizon will be presented. The objective is to identify and implement durable and sustainable logistics solutions. The most mature projects remain the establishment of some institutes within the Innovation Park in the Bellinzona Officine area, for which 20,000 square metres have been optioned, and the Lugano-Stazione campus.

Other potential options are under evaluation, but the essential condition remains proximity to public transport networks.

Growth aligned with the needs of the territory
Aware of its relevance and responsibilities, SUPSI is committed—and will continue to work—to implementing all the projects outlined above, in order to continue generating significant positive impacts on the socio-economic fabric of Italian-speaking Switzerland in the coming decade as well. SUPSI demonstrates strong dynamism and over the years has carved out an important role within education and research networks and in national and international strategic forums. As shown by the main indicators of the evolution of its mandates, SUPSI continues on a path of growth which—worth emphasising—is not an end in itself, but evolves in response to the needs and demands of the territory.

SUPSI at a glance (Annual Report 2023 data)

• Basic education: 6,200 students; 32 Bachelor programmes, 19 Master’s programmes, 1 Diploma
• Continuing education: 11,433 participants, of whom 4,800 in 715 certified courses
• Research and services: CHF 53 million in research volume, CHF 2.7 million in services
• Human resources: 1,273 employees; 71% academic staff, 29% administrative, technical, and management staff
• Revenue: CHF 149.3 million, of which 20% Confederation, 45% Canton Ticino, 35% third-party funding
• Operating result: CHF 325,757.36