Research at USI at a glance
USI engages in many national and international research programmes, in a network with partners in several countries. Research at USI is marked by ambitious projects seeking new developments and new solutions through interdisciplinary perspectives.
USI’s flexible structure allows for decisions to be made swiftly, thus enabling the fluid exchange of ideas. Researchers at the University are provided with an unfettered and open access to the world to develop projects independently.
USI engages mainly in fundamental research though it conducts also applied research and projects.
Main topics
The research carried out at USI can be summarized abstractly in three main fields of interest, investigated from different angles:
- Human beings
- Culture and society
- Machine and its impact
Areas
USI research, as well as its other activities in the development and sharing of knowledge, moves within the framework of ten reference areas, with a strong interdisciplinary focus:
- Architecture
- Computational science
- Communication
- Data science
- Economics
- Health studies
- Humanities
- Informatics
- Law
- Medicine and biomedicine
Results
Compared to its size, the outcomes of scientific research conducted at USI speaks to a remarkable dynamism that makes the university a cluster for scientific development in the region. USI and its affiliated or joint research institutes (IDSIA, IOR, IRB, IRSOL, IRT) attract on average 29 million Swiss francs of competitive research funds every year, mainly from the Swiss National Science Foundation and the European Union – with 32 prestigious ERC Grants, a Marcel Benoist Prize (the Swiss “Nobel” prize), a Dreyfus Prize, a Robert Koch Award and a Sanofi-Pasteur Institute Award.
The interest of leading institutions in hiring young Ph.D. graduates from USI underscores the quality of its research. Notable examples include Harvard, Oxford, Columbia University, Cornell University, University College London, Johns Hopkins University, University of Washington, New York University, Imperial College London, Northwestern University, Duke University, EPFL, London School of Economics, University of Bristol, Erasmus University Rotterdam, TU Delft, and companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, IBM.
Research in Switzerland
Research activities at USI benefit from the favourable conditions provided by the Swiss system.
Switzerland is a country with a stable political system, where 3,4% of GDP is invested in research in development, higher than the EU average (2,15%). This is made possible thanks to productive synergies between resources and quality public infrastructures – notably the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse – and important private sector investments (companies and foundations).
In addition to these elements, in Switzerland there is a quality workforce, thanks to the excellent educational system and to the ability to attract skilled workers, and the density of local networks of research and innovation.
Despite its small size, Switzerland is a very dynamic research hub, well connected and with a solid international reputation, as shown by the data on scientific research publications, as well as being one of the most competitive countries in the world, with high levels of specialisation and high living standards.