Internationalization through the eyes of prof. Boas Erez, Rector of Università della Svizzera italiana

In the beginning of the current academic year Prof. Boas Erez was appoint- ed as Rector of Università della Svizzera italiana. We seized the opportunity to ask him a couple of questions about USI and internationalization.

Thank you Prof. Erez for accepting to share with us and our readers your insights as newly appointed Rector of Università della Svizzera italiana. Could you please introduce yourself in a few words?

Prof. Boas Erez: “I have spent the first few years of my life in the German part of Switzerland and then I went to school in Ticino until the end of high-school, before moving to Geneva to study mathematics. After that I have never quit the world of higher education, with professorships at Harvard and in Bordeaux. Mathematics is the only field I have followed a thorough training in, but I’m interested in many very different things. As an example, I have recently dwelt into psychoanalysis, which is a fascinating and important topic.”

Your profile clearly shows how important international experiences are in your life, both academic and personal. In your opinion, which are the main benefits of internationalization? Any drawbacks?

Prof. Boas Erez: “Speaking more than one language allows you to realize how peculiar and relevant your mother tongue is. Of course, it also allows to reach out to more people and enrich your life experience. The same goes with moving from one country to another. Academics are naturally lead to move around and spend time in different parts of the world. I would imagine it is less of a constraint for someone in my world than, say, some- one who has a different kind of job. The major difficulty with job-related mobility is that it imposes hard choices on where to possibly settle and, for instance, grow a family. It is easier to do while you are young.”

What are your future plans for the internationalization of USI?

Prof. Boas Erez: “USI counts a very large number of foreign students and as teaching staff with very different origins. Many courses are taught in English. So, in a sense USI is the most international public university  in Switzerland. There is however room for improvement. We could for instance increase the number of joint international programmes, that is organize together with partner universities courses that include a compulsory mobility. This would increase the academic offer and allow the students enrolled in these programmes to extend their personal network and experience, in a safer way than through the more classical, but less structured, exchange programmes. USI should also tighten its institutional network and more generally develop its international networking activities, e.g. by participating in more multi-party research programmes.”

In many countries, the internationalisation of programmes is linked with the use of English as a medium of instruction. Do you consider that to be a threat to Swiss culture and national identity?

Prof. Boas Erez: “Of course, universities are important to foster one nation’s culture and identity, but I would not say that Swiss universities, as institutions are responsible for the fact that in Switzerland the English language has taken on such a great importance. This said, I personally regret that many of my colleagues do not really care anymore about speaking more than one national language. USI contributes in different ways to pro- mote Italian and the choice of English as a teaching language is a necessity given the varied origins of our students. It also is a service to our Swiss stu- dents, who will need English on their jobs. All of the students who come to us, learn about our culture and the Swiss way of life. Many would not even have considered coming, had we not decided to offer courses in English.”

Why would you recommend USI to students/researchers coming from abroad?

Prof. Boas Erez: “USI is a young and dynamic university, many good things are possible here that are hard to come by elsewhere: low student numbers per class, an international environment, professors which are suc- cessful in competitive research activities, an original selection of interdis- ciplinary courses, job opportunities, nice facilities, swift decision proce- dures, administrative staff who care about their work, access to the Swiss higher education system, which is one of the best in the world, etc.”