Franco Gervasoni, General Director of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), was elected president of the of Chamber of Universities of Applied Sciences and Arts (UAS) on January 30, 2023, for the period from February 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024. He succeeds Luciana Vaccaro, rector of HES-SO and President of swissuniversities as of February 2023.
From 2015 to 2021, Franco Gervasoni was Vice-President of the UAS Chamber and from 2017 to 2021 President of the strategic planning Delegation of swissuniversities.
The new President of the Chamber of UAS is delighted and honored to be able to take over this task in the service of all Chamber members, in close collaboration with them as well as with all other qualified actors of swissuniversities.
He is committed to further strengthening the profile of Universities of Applied Sciences and Art, as well as their tangible impact on society and their role in the development of the Swiss and international higher education landscape, in close collaboration with the Chambers of Universities and Universities of Teacher Education.
"In today's world of change and challenging and uncertain prospects, the UAS education and research play a fundamental role in the sustainable development of society, thanks to their quality, their wide range of disciplines and their strong anchorage in their geographic area of reference", Franco Gervasoni emphasizes.
"Therefore, in the coming years, we must prove with our results that financial support through higher education policy is one of the most valuable investments for the development of young generations and for our quality of life in general, as it is well described in the strategic planning for 2025-2028 of swissuniversities."
Franco Gervasoni holds a degree in civil engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. After a decade in the private sector, he joined SUPSI and worked in the fields of environment, construction, and design. He has been General Director of SUPSI since 2008. He is an individual member of Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW and Vice-president of the FH Schweiz Foundation.
The UAS Chamber extends its thanks to Luciana Vaccaro for her commitment to the UAS and wishes her every success as President of swissuniversities.