The Alpine headquarters of the University of Italian Switzerland transforms the territory into an educational and civic laboratory, between research, schools, businesses and communities.

There are university projects that add square meters to teaching and others that modify, more profoundly, the way in which a university is positioned within a territory. House of Sustainability inaugurated by theUniversity of Svizzera Italiana In Airolo, it clearly belongs to the second category. It is not just a new location, nor a peripheral extension of the educational offering: it is a device that attempts to connect training, research, dissemination, and local development within an Alpine setting that immediately makes some of the major tensions of the present visible, from climate changes from biodiversity, from energy to transport, up to the transformation of tourism.

The value of the initiative lies precisely in the choice of context. The Alps, and in particular the region of Gotthard, are not treated here as a simple landscape setting, but as a privileged observation environment, almost an open-air cognitive infrastructure. At a time when universities are called upon to demonstrate impact, the ability to engage with local communities, and an interdisciplinary approach, the opening of Airolo signals a clear strategic direction: to bring sustainability beyond the abstraction of academic debate and into a concrete, residential, immersive experience, grounded in the encounter between people, places, and real-world problems.

The project, launched in 2018 and officially inaugurated on March 21, 2024, is part of a broader process of redefining the university's role. Sustainability is presented not as an ancillary issue, but as an organizational axis intended to impact research, teaching, and the third term. In this sense, the House of Sustainability It also serves as an indicator of a change in governance: when a university decides to structure these issues up to the level of Pro-Rectorate, the message it sends to the system is that the transition can no longer be confined to single courses or pilot projects, but must be assumed as a cross-cutting criterion.

"The USI House of Sustainability is a project that tangibly demonstrates the University of Italian Switzerland's commitment to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. It's a project that began in 2018 and is now a reality thanks to the commitment of various stakeholders, both academic and otherwise, who supported this vision and made the milestone we celebrate today possible."

The words of the then Rector Luisa Lambertini They help to focus on the crucial point: the new headquarters is not just a physical presence, but the visible manifestation of an institutional strategy. When the professor defined Airolo

“the northernmost antenna of the USI”,

Indeed, he described a distributed university geography, capable of extending across the entire canton. This concept is also interesting in terms of higher education business models: the university no longer simply concentrates functions on a central campus, but instead develops a network of specialized institutions, each linked to a specific thematic focus and local ecosystem.

"The House of Sustainability becomes USI's northernmost branch, extending its reach across the entire canton. It not only symbolizes our commitment to a more sustainable future, but also serves as a catalyst for innovation and collaboration in this crucial sector."

A mountain laboratory where teaching becomes experience

The innovative heart of the project is in the idea of experiential learningRather than simply transferring content to the classroom, the House of Sustainability offers an environment where students can engage with complex phenomena through direct observation, group work, experimentation, and community life. In pedagogical terms, this is a significant shift: sustainability is treated as a systemic skill, not the sum of sectoral notions. Understanding it requires a combination of economic, environmental, social, and cultural tools, but also an understanding of the materiality of processes.

This approach responds to a now consolidated trend in international education. The major themes of ecological transition reward interdisciplinary approaches, situated paths, and the ability to interpret conflicts between different objectives: ecosystem protection, mobility accessibility, energy needs, the economic viability of local communities, and the management of tourism flows. From this perspective, mountains function as accelerators of understanding, making visible, on a smaller scale, tensions that elsewhere remain more abstract.

"The House of Sustainability is a place of education and promotion of sustainable development based on experiential learning. In the Alpine region, it is possible to observe and study the major sustainability issues up close."

The intervention of Massimo Filippini, vice president of the House's Scientific and Teaching Committee, further clarifies that the structure is not designed for a single faculty or an isolated discipline. The goal is to engage students from diverse backgrounds, connecting them with experts, economic actors, and local social groups. Here, another element of organizational innovation is recognized: sustainability as a platform for convergence between fields of knowledge that risk remaining separate in a traditional university. Economics, environmental sciences, communication, public policy, and sports activities find common ground not in a theoretical principle, but in an operational framework.

From periphery to active node in knowledge networks

From a territorial perspective, the opening of Airolo has a significance that goes beyond the university. The project proposes a reinterpretation of the so-called peripheral areas not as margins to be compensated for, but as strategic assets capable of offering distinctive resources. The statement of the President of the Council of State at the time Raffaele De Rosa He insists precisely on this point: Alto Ticino is described as a region that, alongside its historic tourist vocation, can strengthen its scientific and educational function.

"Once again, we have confirmation of the great potential of our Canton's peripheral areas, which, despite their remoteness, can offer unique resources. This region, which is expanding its vocation, demonstrates this: originally almost exclusively for tourism, today Upper Ticino is increasingly gaining prominence as a scientific hub as well."

This is a perspective that is far from secondary in a phase in which many European and Swiss policies are trying to rebalance the relationship between urban centers and marginal territories. qualified decentralization The promotion of academic and cultural activities can generate multiple effects: it strengthens the local reputation, increases the circulation of expertise, fosters related services, and introduces a new demand for relationships between public bodies, businesses, and knowledge institutions. In other words, the university also becomes a driver of local activation.

The Mayor's intervention is also in line with this line. Oscar Wolfisberg, which sees the House of Sustainability as an opportunity for the entire Upper Leventina. Not just image and prestige, therefore, but also potential benefits for restaurants, commerce, and services. This is an aspect often overlooked in narratives about educational projects, but crucial from the perspective of local development models: knowledge infrastructures can generate additional benefits not only by attracting students and visitors, but also by changing an area's symbolic and economic positioning.

"The presence of the House of Sustainability is an opportunity not only for Airolo, but for the entire Alta Leventina region, which will be recognized not just as a peripheral location, but as a place that contributes to the education of young people and international research."

Research, schools and dissemination in the same operational space

Another element that distinguishes the initiative is its hybrid nature. The House of Sustainability is not aimed exclusively at the USI academic community, but also at schools, groups, institutions, and companies interested in exploring these topics. This is where the project demonstrates a contemporary logic of third mission: the production of knowledge is not confined to specialists, but opens up to a work of transfer, involvement and public literacy.

The collaboration with The USI ideatorium, the regional branch of the Science et Cité Foundation, reinforces this approach. The decision to also host a astronomical planetarium and programming events and performances for the public, in fact, expands the campus's function beyond the traditional university perimeter. This is not an ornamental addition. In an increasingly competitive knowledge market, the ability to create accessible languages, immersive experiences, and dissemination opportunities is an integral part of an institution's value. Sustainability, after all, is a field that requires not only advanced research, but also cultural mediation and participation.

During the inauguration, John Pellegri e Cristina Gianella They reaffirmed the educational value of the Alpine landscape and illustrated the activities that will bring the campus to life. This aspect also plays a key role in USI's future positioning: building a place where seminars, residential programs, scientific dissemination, and initiatives open to the local community coexist means strengthening a distinctive offering that is difficult to replicate in more standardized settings.

Sustainability as an institutional and industrial platform

On closer inspection, the House of Sustainability is also the result of a public-institutional partnership Built with a certain coherence. The synergy between the Municipality of Airolo and the University of Italian Switzerland is complemented by the support of the Cantonal Office for Economic Development, collaboration with the Regional Agency for the Development of Bellinzonese and the Valleys, and the contribution of sponsors such as BancaStato, AIL, and FFS. The composition of this network is significant: it signals that sustainability is viewed not only as an environmental issue, but as an area of ​​investment in reputation, education, and infrastructure.

For the university and advanced training sectors, the Airolo case suggests at least three implications. The first is that credible sustainability projects require multilevel alliances, capable of bringing together local authorities, educational institutions, and economic actors. The second is that peripheral locations can become highly innovative spaces when they possess a strong coherence between context, mission, and content. The third is that the quality of the offering depends not only on physical infrastructure, but on the ability to transform a territory into an educational experience and a shared public narrative.

In this context, the House of Sustainability shouldn't be seen as an isolated event or a simple inauguration. Rather, it signals how a university can use the local area to redefine its role: less confined to the vertical transmission of knowledge, more engaged in building environments for learning, discussion, and social innovation. In a time when sustainability often risks being reduced to a buzzword, Airolo is attempting to give it a concrete, habitable, and measurable form in practice. And this is perhaps the most interesting aspect: not the rhetoric of the topic, but the choice to make it an educational, civic, and territorial infrastructure capable of lasting over time.

Sustainability finds a home in Airolo thanks to the University of Italian Switzerland.

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