20 years of USI, from memories to the future

It was October 21st, 1996: at 8:30am, 326 freshmen began classes on Lugano and Mendrisio Campuses. For its 20th anniversary, USI has organised throughout the year 2016 a series of initiatives and publications, with an eye to the past but most of all looking into the future.

A wide array of events took place, from the first special issue of Square for the 20th Dies Academicus, to the social media campaign #20anniUSI, to the live TV broadcasts on RSI Quotidiano with reports and interviews on the five USI Faculties, and to the radio broadcasts from Rete Due studio.

A selection of the publications can be found below:

• From October 31st to November 4th the TV programme on current events “il Quotidiano” broadcast live from USI Mendrisio, Lugano and Bellinzona Campuses interviews with the five Faculty Deans, and showed reports on the research activities carried out within the Faculties. (In Italian, click on the link to watch).

         31.10  Academy of Architecture, Mendrisio  with Boas Erez (USI Rector), Mario Botta, Marc Collomb (Director of the Academy), Alumni Aldo Celoria and Carole Mazzucchelli, and the Grafton and Bonnet design studio.
         
         01.11  Faculty of Economics, Lugano  with Patrick Gagliardini (Dean), Prof. Fabrizio Mazzonna, PhD student Gloria Urrea, Francesca Lamanna.
         
         02.11  Institute for Reserarch in Biomedicine, Bellinzona  with Mario Bianchetti (Dean Faculty of Biomedical Sciences), Federica Sallusto (IRB) and Antonio Lanzavecchia (Director of IRB).     
     
         03.11  Faculty of Communication Sciences, Lugano  with Andrea Rocci (Dean), Jeanne Mengis, Gabriele Balbi, and Alumnus Valeria Callea.
     
         04.11  Faculty of Informatics, Lugano  with Kai Hormann (Dean), Michele De Lorenzi (CSCS), Professors Silvia Santini and Michele Lanza, and Alumnus Marco Primi. Closing Albino Zgraggen (USI General Secretary) and Sandro Rusconi (DECS).

• From the 17th to the 20th of October RSI Rete Due talked about USI during the programme “attualità culturale" (cultural current events) (podcast in Italian, click on the title to listen):

        17.10  20 years of USI: independent or controlled by politics? with Manuele Bertoli, State Councillor.

        18.10  The interest of society in scientific research with Michele Parrinello, professor at the Institute of Computational Sciences (part one).

        18.10  The interest of society in scientific research with Michele Parrinello, professor at the Institute of Computational Sciences (part two).

        19.10  Focus on research with Benedetto Lepori, Director of USI SUPSI Research Service.

        19.10  USI graduates who currently teach abroad. with Laura Illia, USI graduate and lecturer at IE Business School of Madrid.

        20.10  Meeting with Boas Erez, USI Rector (part one).

        20.10  Meeting with Boas Erez, USI Rector (part two).

• On October 21st, the TV programme on regional current events Il Quotidiano (La 1, RSI), interviewed USI first President Marco Baggiolini and the former Major of Lugano Giorgio Giudici. 
• The Corriere del Ticino dedicated a series of articles for USI’s 20th anniversary: the four cover stories “Primo Piano” are available at the end of this page.
• La Regione published a special centrefold with interviews and the history of the long road that lead to creation of a University in the Italian speaking region of Switzerland (available at the end of the page).
• A special issue of our USI Square magazine on the topic (published for the 20th Dies Academicus) is also available at the end of the page.
• Using #20anniUSI, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, several pictures of stories, faces and special moments of USI’s first 20 years have been shared.