Scholarships and awards offered by regional institutions presented to the best students and recent graduates of USI

On Monday, 1 December 2025, the award ceremony for the best Bachelor's and Master's students and graduates of USI was held in Aula Magna at Università della Svizzera italiana in Lugano.

The award ceremony was attended by Luisa Lambertini, USI Rector, Monica Duca Widmer, USI Council President, Gabriele Balbi, Pro-Rector for Education and Students' Experience, Henry Peter, President of the Foundation for the Lugano faculties of USI, and Albino Zgraggen, Secretary of the Foundation for the Lugano faculties of USI.

The Foundation for the Lugano faculties of Università della Svizzera italiana awarded scholarships of CHF 4,000 to the best students enrolled in the second year of each Master's programme based on their results at the end of the first year of study. A total of 28 scholarships were awarded, worth a total of CHF 82,000.

In situations where two or more students tie for first place in a Master's programme, each student receives half of the total prize.

Below are the names of the recipients, divided by course of study:

Master of Science in Architecture

Chiara Pavanello, 1st place

Francesca Arnaboldi, 2nd place

Davide Dentini, 3rd place

Master of Arts in History of Art and Architecture

Ali Cem Başlı

Anna Ferrario

Master of Science in Cognitive Psychology in Health Communication

Lucia Carla Isolde Majno

Master of Medicine

Julian Gsell

Giona Imperiali

Jiu Lim

Sydney Chiara Müller

Rodriguez Pérez Alejandro

Master of Science in Communication, Major in Communication, Management and Health

Ginevra Anaïs Briançon

Master of Science in Communication, Major in Digital Fashion Communication

Benedetta Zampoleri

Master of Science in European Studies in Investor Relations and Financial Communication

Giulia Ballabio

Susanna Marsigliani

Master of Arts in Communication and Economics, Major in International Tourism

Natasha Elenis Kamissas

Master of Arts in Italian Language, Literature and Civilisation

Virginia La Monaca

Master of Science in Communication and Economics, Major in Marketing & Transformative Economy

Andrea Missaglia

Lapo Edoardo Van Den Berg

Master of Science in Communication, Major in Media Management

Sean Mürner

Master of Science in Economics, Major in Finance

Matteo Gardon

Master of Science in Economics, Major in Management

Nicoletta Maria Mendolicchio

Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence

Zhengtao Gao

Master of Science in Computational Science

Alberto Finardi

Master of Science in Informatics and Economics, Major in Financial Technology & Computing

Nomin-Erdene Nergui

Master of Science in Software and Data Engineering

Gianluca Maragliano

Master of Arts in Philosophy

Giacomo Ferrari

Satbhav Voleti

For the other Master's programmes, the scholarship was not awarded due to a lack of eligible candidates.

In addition, the scholarship from the USI Equal Opportunities Service to support female students in STEM disciplines was awarded by Sonja Hildebrand, Pro-Rector for Sustainable Transformation and Equal Opportunities at USI, to Jana Srbakoska, a student on the Bachelor's programme in Informatics.

Merit scholarships offered by Safe Capital Management SA for the first year of the Master's in Finance were also awarded by Leopoldo Brunacci, Managing Director & Co-Founder, and Michele Valli, Member of the General Management, to Allegra Bonciani, Mattia Molteni, Giulia Musi and Erica Verra.

During the evening, the following awards were also presented to the best Bachelor's and Master's degree graduates:

Alma Bacciarini Award for the best Bachelor's degree in Italian Language, Literature and Civilisation, presented by Giordano Zeli, lawyer

Francesca Montesin

Alma Bacciarini Award for the best Master's degree in Italian Language, Literature and Civilisation, presented by Giordano Zeli, lawyer

Martina Tamburrini

ACSI Award for the best Master's thesis on topics consistent with the statutory purposes of the Association of Consumers of Southern Switzerland, presented by President Angelica Jäggli

Martin Stoilkov (Thesis title: Attention Economy in the Digital Age: An Analysis of Changing Patterns of Media Consumption and Their Social Implications)

ABT Award for the best average in the Bachelor's degree in Economics, presented by Franco Citterio, Director of the Ticino Banking Association (ABT)

Nicole Abbate

Gianluca Cortiana

ABT Award for the best average among all Master's degrees in Economics, presented by Franco Citterio, Director of the Ticino Banking Association (ABT)

Jacopo Liberati

EY Award for Best Master's Thesis in Finance, presented by Erico Bertoli, Partner and Head of EY Lugano

Filippo Genio (Thesis title: Value Creation in M&A: the Acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources by ExxonMobil)

Pietro Balestra Award for Best Average Grade in Quantitative Subjects, presented by Patrick Gagliardini, Pro-Rector for Research at USI

Nicole Abbate

philosophie.ch Award for the best Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, presented by Damiano Costa, Director of the Master's programme in Philosophy

Elena Padoan

philosophie.ch Award for the best Master of Arts degree in Philosophy, presented by Damiano Costa, Director of the Master's programme in Philosophy

Pietro Berardi Gili

philosophie.ch Award for the best Master of Arts thesis in Philosophy, presented by Damiano Costa, Director of the Master's programme in Philosophy

Qianyu Cicely Xie (Thesis title: Is Belief Really an Enduring State?).

At the end of the ceremony, refreshments were served to all participants.