USI and SUPSI pursue their committment in support of the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Research (IDSIA)

e224005aa3ff176f0535a119640a3995.jpeg

Institutional Communication Service

31 March 2020

USI and SUPSI, aware of the growing importance of artificial intelligence and related research fields, have renewed the framework agreement for the support and development of the joint Institute IDSIA. The Institute has been operating in Ticino for 30 years and is recognised in Switzerland and internationally for its scientific expertise and the many achievements and awards received by its researchers. 

"The new agreement underscores the committment of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) and of Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) to work together in a field of growing scientific interest for both institutions, and to strengthen therefore the academic sector in Ticino in an area of great impact on our society" – says the General Director of SUPSI, Franco Gervasoni

The Rector of USI, Boas Erez, explains, “under a single brand name, the Institute can rely on the contribution of staff and faculty from both institutions, in particular from the USI Faculty of Informatics and from the SUPSI Department of Innovative Technologies, both of which will find home at the new East Campus in Lugano Viganello by the end of the year". 

The renewed framework agreement provides for a reorganisation process, which includes the definition of a four-year development plan and the open competition for the position of Director of IDSIA USI-SUPSI, for which a call will be published in the coming weeks. 

In fact, Prof. Luca Maria Gambardella will leave the management of the Institute to focus on research and training, and to contribute to the growth of a new entrepreneurial activity in Ticino – committments which are no longer compatible with the position of Director of the Institute of such relevance. 

SUPSI and USI would like to thank Professor Gambardella for his great efforts over the years, and are pleased to continue to rely on his collaboration as Full Professor at the USI Faculty of Informatics. 

The management of the Institute shall be assumed ad interim by SUPSI professor Andrea Emilio Rizzoli, a researcher since 1996 and Professor since 2005 at IDSIA and the SUPSI Department of Innovative Technologies. Prof. Rizzoli has developed training and research experiences at several Swiss and international universities, winning a number of awards and distinctions. He has followed and coordinated training and research programs in the field of Artificial Intelligence, is member of several international scientific associations, and has more than 175 scientific publications, as well as experiences in collaboration with local companies for applied research projects and technology transfer. USI and SUPSI would like to thank Prof. Rizzoli for having accepted the interim management of the IDSIA joint Institute, wishing him during this time great satisfactions with his colleagues, with the full support of the two Institutions.

 

About IDSIA:
www.idsia.ch

About the USI Faculty of Informatics:
www.inf.usi.ch