Recently, the Swiss National Science Foundation announced new appointments to its Research Council following the call made in September. Among those elected are two Professors from Universitŕ della Svizzera italiana (USI): Prof. Antonietta Mira, Full Professor at the Faculty of Economics, and Prof. Patrick Eugster, Full Professor at the Faculty of Informatics. Professor Fabrizio Grandoni, SUPSI Professor at the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence USI-SUPSI (IDSIA) was also confirmed in his post, which he holds since April 2021.
The new members of the Research Council will begin their term of office in April 2025. The Council will have a new structure: it will be organised into a Policy Committee (POL) and five programme committees: Projects (PRO), Careers (CAR), International Cooperation (IC), Long-term Research and Infrastructures (LTRI) and Thematic and Solution-oriented Research (TSOR). Professor Antonietta Mira will sit on the Policy Committee and Professor Patrick Eugster on the Thematic and Solution-oriented Research (TSOR) Committee.
The Policy Committee "analyses, coordinates and develops the SNSF’s overarching funding policies. Its goal is to anticipate emerging trends and developments in research and research funding to ensure that the SNSF remains at the forefront in its mission to fund excellent research. It helps identify and evaluate gaps and areas for improvement for research and research funding. It formulates concepts, provides recommendations and develops policy actions to help the SNSF fulfil its mandate in the best way possible".
The Thematic and Solution-oriented Research Committee "is responsible for funding, analysing, monitoring and integrating thematic and solution-oriented research activities in the Swiss research landscape. It creates added value for science and society through interactions, thematic research coordination and implementation. It creates added value for science and society through interactions, thematic research coordination and implementation. It fosters dialogue between science and the potential beneficiaries of research findings in Switzerland and beyond, spanning society, economy and politics. It oversees the following funding schemes: National Research Programmes (NRP), SOR4D, Implementation Networks, Agora, Quantum, Investigator initiated clinical trials (IICT) and BRIDGE (joint instrument with Innosuisse)".
SUPSI Professor at IDSIA Fabrizio Grandoni was also confirmed as a member of the SNSF Research Council in the Mathematics, Natural and Environmental Sciences Division as of 2021. With the restructuring of the Council, Prof. Grandoni will sit on the Programme Committee Projects.
With the approval of the SNSF statutes by the Federal Council in 2023, the Research Council has been given greater powers. In line with the principle of scientific self-government, it will determine funding policies to an even greater extent. It will also continue to play its central role: determining which projects deserve funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Sitting on the Research Council therefore represents a role of responsibility as well as prestige.
Two USI Professors elected to the SNSF Research Council
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