Happy Birthday USI!!!

At the end of 1996, 384 freshmen began their journey at USI, in two campuses and three faculties: the Academy of Architecture, the Faculty of Communication Sciences and the Faculty of Economics. Today, 25 years later, the Faculties have doubled in number while student numbers have increased tenfold. The structure has been renovated and a new facility, the Campus East, has been built, home to the newly established Faculty of Biomedical Sciences.

USI has also climbed the international rankings, reaching, as an example, 14th place worldwide among the World's Best Small Universities 2021. More information here.

The adventurous and not without difficulties story is narrated in a book edited by Pietro Montorfani (Head of the Historical Archive and of the new Heritage Office, City of Lugano) and Mauro Baranzini (former member of the Ordering Committee for the Faculties of Lugano and former Dean of the Faculty of Economics): "L'Università della Svizzera italiana: nascita di un ateneo alla fine del secondo millennio". The book, published by Dadò, was presented at the end of November in the University's Aula Magna.

The book reconstructs the efforts made since the beginning of the 19th century to secure a university for Italian-speaking Switzerland. To finally have a university, however, we had to wait until 1995, when first the City Council of Lugano and then the Grand Council of Ticino voted to create the Foundation for the Faculties of Lugano and the Cantonal Law on the University of Italian Switzerland. Ticino was subsequently recognised as a university canton by the Confederation in 2000.

Link to the official site USI25