OpenFieldLocated in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, the Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana (SUPSI) is one of Switzerland's nine recognized public universities of applied sciences. Renowned globally as the co-founder (with USI) of the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA - directed by deep learning pioneer Jürgen Schmidhuber), the Institute for Applied Sustainability to the Built Environment (ISAAC), and the Department of Innovative Technologies (DTI), SUPSI leads Swiss applied engineering, biomedical robotics, and clean energy innovation.
Review checked academic pathways and funding options below:
Doctoral research conducted within the world-renowned Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA), investigating recurrent neural architectures, bio-inspired robotics, and autonomous drone navigation.
Nationally accredited Master of Science in Engineering profile delivered at the modern East Campus in Lugano-Viganello, specializing in embedded machine learning, cloud-edge architectures, and industrial cyber-physical systems.
Advanced Master of Science profile at the Institute for Applied Sustainability to the Built Environment (ISAAC), training engineers in building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), battery storage systems, and zero-emission building design.
Doctoral research conducted within the MEMTi institute in Manno, developing patient-specific orthopedic implants, wear-resistant coatings, and computational finite element models of human joints.
Postdoctoral research role at the IDSIA Robotics Lab, developing autonomous micro-aerial vehicles capable of vision-based navigation in GPS-denied alpine disaster zones and industrial search-and-rescue.
Eight-week summer research traineeship at the ISAAC solar testing center in Mendrisio, performing outdoor solar module characterization, electrical degradation analysis, and architectural facade integration testing.
Senior research engineering post at the Department of Innovative Technologies, directing Innosuisse research consortia developing automated defect detection, predictive maintenance models, and robotic manipulation for Swiss precision manufacturing.
Tuition fees at SUPSI are among the most accessible in Switzerland: standard semester tuition is CHF 800 to CHF 1,000 per semester for Swiss residents and CHF 1,600 per semester for international students. Doctoral research assistants (assistenti di ricerca) are employed on formal Swiss cantonal research contracts, receiving an annual salary of CHF 52,000 to CHF 64,000 per year gross under Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and Innosuisse funding scales.
Distinguished researchers and laboratory heads at SUPSI - Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana:
Director of the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA) · Environmental Modeling, Decision Support Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Simulation
Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Head of the IDSIA Robotics Lab · Autonomous Drones, Computer Vision, Machine Learning in Robotics, Visual Navigation
Professor and Director of the Institute for Applied Sustainability to the Built Environment (ISAAC) · Solar Photovoltaics, Building Decarbonization, Sustainable Energy Policy, Energy Storage
Facts reflect official SUPSI - Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana documentation reviewed 2026-10-15. Degree admissions, scholarship awards, and employment positions are subject to formal university review. OpenField does not charge students application fees.
Reviewed 2026-10-15 · Editorial standards · Report an issue