A Celebration of the USI Master of Medicine

Celebrations were held on Friday, 15 December, to honour the first 47 students who completed the Master of Medicine at USI and were awarded the Federal Diploma in Human Medicine. The guest of honour for the evening was Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis.

The Università della Svizzera italiana has achieved a historic milestone with the success of its first batch of doctors trained in Lugano. All 47 students who completed the first edition of the Master of Medicine have successfully passed the federal examination, which licenses them to practice medicine. This is an excellent outcome for the university.

To celebrate this milestone in the university's journey, the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, in close collaboration with the new graduates themselves, organised the event, which was an opportunity to celebrate the new doctors and to thank all the people who have contributed to the creation of the Master of Medicine at USI.

Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis was the guest of honour to pay tribute to the new doctors. Addressing the new doctors, he said: "You should be proud of yourselves for achieving your Master's degree in medicine and becoming qualified doctors. This is a significant accomplishment. What's more, you should be proud of the fact that you chose Università della Svizzera italiana for your studies. You are pioneers and have made history with your curiosity, determination, and appreciation for diversity."

The Rector Luisa Lambertini and USI Council President Monica Duca Widmer emphasised the importance of the ambitious project, to which this year's Christmas card is dedicated (with 47 dots arranged in a special snowflake), while Dean Giovanni Pedrazzini retraced the history of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences under the motto "dreaming of excellence".

Among the guests was also director and actor Daniele Finzi Pasca, who explained that at the heart of the profession of doctor and actor, there is only one foundation, namely trust. Trust is something that we are born with, something that we give and receive from those who gave birth to us. But as we grow up, we learn that we can fall, that we can get burnt, that things can hurt us; that people can hurt us. We learn the art of distrust. If we lose too much of that trust, we also lose the possibility of savouring happiness, which "is a cake whose every crumb must be eaten because there is no risk for indigestion". Doctors and actors need trust, even when they are confronted with a hostile audience that nevertheless needs to rely on someone. And that trust is not won with technique, or power, but with charisma, authority, by learning to recognise not only mistakes but also beauty. And by learning never to take oneself too seriously".

During the ceremony, the "Best Student Award" was presented by Arturo Licenziati, President and CEO of IBSA Group, and Silvia Misiti, Director of IBSA Foundation for scientific research.

The evening also featured some Alumni of the Master in Medicine: Sarah Staehelin and Andi Gashi who presented the evening and Gayané von Schön-Angerer who provided the musical entertainment.