OrientaTI 2025: over 1,100 students at USI to discover their academic future

On 11 and 12 February 2025, USI hosted OrientaTI, the university orientation event that attracted 1,165 students in their penultimate year of high school. For the first time, USI established itself as one of the most popular universities among the participants.

On 11 and 12 February 2025, Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) hosted OrientaTI 2025, the annual university orientation event for students in their penultimate year of high school. The event involved 1,165 students from twelve institutes: Collegio Papio Ascona, Istituto Elvetico, Istituto Sant'Anna, Liceo cantonale Bellinzona, Liceo cantonale Locarno, Liceo cantonale Lugano 1, Liceo cantonale Lugano 2, Liceo cantonale Lugano 3, Liceo cantonale Mendrisio, Liceo Diocesano, Scuola cantonale di commercio Bellinzona and Scuola svizzera di Milano.

14 institutions of higher education participated in the two-day event, including all Swiss public universities, the two federal institutes of technology (ETH and EPFL), as well as the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Franklin University Switzerland (FUS) and the Office for Educational and Career Guidance (UOSP). In total, 174 themed sessions were organised, providing students with information about the academic programmes they were interested in.

Among the most requested subject areas, "Law and Economics" was confirmed as the most popular, followed by "Medicine, Health and Sport" and "Social Sciences". The University of Basel was the most popular choice in the informative talks, with 553 participants. Following it was the University of St. Gallen with 512 attendees, then the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne with 503, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich with 486, and finally, Università della Svizzera italiana with 437.

The results for USI reflect a shift from previous trends, where students often pursued information about universities located further away. The increase in participants at the USI talks underscores a notable rise in interest from the Ticino public regarding the university's academic offerings, reinforcing its position as a key reference point in both the cantonal and national university landscape.

Another new feature of the 2025 edition was the launch of the new website www.orientati.ch, optimised for mobile devices and designed to offer participants immediate access to the talks presented during the event.