Lugano University City

A joint effort to increase Lugano's visibility as a privileged university destination. The City has coordinated a strategic study for the promotion of Lugano as a university destination, which has included the creation of an online portal LEARN LUGANO in collaboration with USI, SUPSI and FUS and available from 7 March 2024. The aim of the new portal is to offer future students of local universities and residents a welcoming and orientation service for life in the city, as well as to promote Lugano as a university city through the digital world. The portal also sees the collaboration with Lugano Region for the content related to the aspect of living Lugano in leisure time and Lugano Eventi for the integration of a university events agenda common to the three universities. The design and development of the site were handled by the agency Ander Group.

•  Speakers’corner: is an initiative entirely dedicated to the valorisation of theses and research carried out by university students, which encourages the creation of connections with local companies and institutes. For the launch of the project, Speakers'corner received funding from the federal government's 'Digital Administration Switzerland' office.
•  Cultura e Salute: conceived as part of the three-year partnership between the City of Lugano and IBSA Foundation for scientific research. The project is based on a growing body of scientific and clinical evidence, taken from the WHO World Health Organisation. Culture and Health was created to promote initiatives and synergies between the worlds of culture and health in order to improve people's quality of life and well-being in places of care, culture and everyday life. Project actions include the joint realisation with the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) of the first university course in Switzerland on Culture and Health at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, which will be in its fourth edition in the 2024-2025 academic year. The course is open to the public and is thematic, involving leading international experts in the field as keynote speakers, and each year sees the partnership with a different city cultural institution.
• Collaboration protocol signed between the City of Lugano and Franklin University Switzerland for the realisation of study and research projects in the field of cultural management and marketing to support cultural mediation activities and the enhancement of the city's historical and artistic heritage. As part of the agreement, which was launched in 2021, workshops were held on topics related to digital cultural tourism and museums.

• Punto Digitale: an experimental project offering free individual assistance to people who are unfamiliar with computers, mobile phones, tablets and the Internet. Offering assistance are students enrolled in a Bachelor's degree programme in Communication Sciences at the University of Lugano in Switzerland, who work together as digital assistants
• Project eQuiD:  the aim of collecting, regenerating, valorising and distributing used computers from companies and institutions free of charge to citizens who are interested in and need a computer.
• Collaboration between the City of Lugano and USI for the use of the fitness gymnasium of the future Sports and Events Centre (PSE).
• In the context of the participation, mention should also be made of the role of Lugano Living Lab, the urban laboratory of the City of Lugano born in 2018 in partnership with USI, which has carried out in recent years an activity to support studies, research and scientific dissemination in collaboration with universities, especially in the field of digital innovation. Specifically, by acting as a use case for applied research projects, by organising citizenship workshops, dissemination and awareness-raising events, by contributing to training in digital innovation and involvement of the population through surveys and workshops, and by designing new participatory experiences.
   

Support for the creation of dedicated student spaces, such as university residences and meeting places, which facilitate the creation of a cohesive student community and the organisation of educational and recreational activities.

The organisation of conferences and academic meetings, in collaboration with local universities and various players in the hospitality industry, in order to promote research and innovation and to attract talent and experts from all over the world. In this context emerges the new Plan B Forum event and the free and open to all parallel edition called 'Palco21', dedicated to information and awareness of the bitcoin world.

• The appointment of Robert Bregy, Municipal Secretary of the City of Lugano and head of Lugano Living Lab, as delegate-referent for university matters.
   
• Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Lugano and universities on the "Lugano Plan ₿" initiative, with the aim of coordinating and maximising the effectiveness of initiatives relating to this initiative and blockchain technology. In this context, a training course called "B4B - Blockchain for Business" was launched in 2023, promoted by the City and the 3 universities, and intended for professionals (administrators, directors and employees of companies operating in the service sector in Ticino) who are interested in learning and developing more knowledge about blockchain to support their business. The first edition of "B4B - Blockchain for Business" took place in the spring of 2023 and was attended by 63 people, including students, entrepreneurs and industry enthusiasts. 

The Mayor of Lugano, Michele Foletti: "The Lugano Città Universitaria project concretises the City's commitment over the past few years to consolidate its support for local universities and to promote Lugano as an attractive university hub on a national and international level. The ability to ensure a quality educational offer, but also to attract skills and resources essential for the transfer and sharing of knowledge and the development of the economy, to the benefit of innovation, is an essential investment for the future of our young people. I would like to thank the management of USI, SUPSI and Franklin University Switzerland for having believed in this project which, I am sure, will continue to be enriched by new initiatives to the benefit of the entire community."

USI Rector Luisa Lambertini: "We are very pleased with the collaboration with the City of Lugano and with what has been achieved over the last four years. In the coming years we intend to further develop the concept of a university campus in a university city. We aim to turn our campuses into lively centres of life and encounter, open to the community. Realising the 'Matrix' university residence project would be a step towards this goal, but we are also committed to offering the population on the existing campuses an ever-increasing range of meeting and learning opportunities. At the same time, we intend to create new spaces dedicated to the active promotion of innovation and technology transfer, nurturing growth and development both inside and outside our classrooms."

The SUPSI General Director Franco Gervasoni: 'Collaboration with the city is fundamental for SUPSI, at various levels. One particularly significant area is that of major infrastructure projects, which have a long-term impact. The Campus Est in Viganello, built together with USI and inaugurated three years ago, has already shown that it can redevelop a neighbourhood, bringing a breath of dynamism and positivity that is a stimulus for other investments. These new spaces of value are a source of well-being, creating relationships and contacts between academia and citizens. We expect a similarly positive effect for the next big projects that await us: from the Campus to the Lugano station, whose variant of the Master Plan has finally been approved, and for the City of Music in Besso. Strategic projects for SUPSI, for our entire Canton, and for Lugano, a city that has always believed in and actively supported their development".

FUS Rector, Samuel Martin Barbero: "We are delighted to bring our experience as the only accredited university in Switzerland and the United States to the City of Lugano. Our collaboration with the city is intense and a source of satisfaction for both parties, and is developed along the axes of art and culture, support for Plan B, and participation in the Lugano Living Lab initiatives. Franklin is a citizen of the world, and we want to help bring the world to Lugano, and Lugano to the world".