"New future" National Day at USI

On Thursday, 13 November 2025, the annual “New Future Day" offered girls of middle school the opportunity to open up to new perspectives and gain hands-on experience in the world of work, exploring professions and sectors in which their gender is underrepresented.

The Day aims to encourage young women to follow their own interests and talents when choosing an educational and professional path, challenging stereotypes and prejudices that still tend to associate certain professions mainly with men and others with women. On this occasion, cantonal middle schools granted pupils an excused absence, allowing them either to accompany their parents to work – provided their workplaces showed a significant gender imbalance – or to take part in programmes specially organised by various institutions.

The Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), through its Equal Opportunities Service and in collaboration with the Faculty of Informatics, also took part in the initiative this year, offering participants an engaging and stimulating learning experience. Thanks to the testimonies of professionals and experts in the field, the girls had the chance to discover that computer science is not only a field full of professional opportunities but also a creative, dynamic, and inclusive discipline open to everyone.

A total of 25 girls were welcomed by the Faculty of Informatics, where they took part with curiosity and enthusiasm in the workshops and activities offered. The initiative, designed to promote female participation in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), was met with great interest and enthusiasm, confirming the importance of providing young people with concrete opportunities for exploration and discovery in order to overcome gender barriers and build a more equitable and inclusive professional future.