Alpine seminar
The Alpine Seminar is a cross-faculty training lasting 2.5 days (residential formula, at the House of Sustainability) and is intended for all USI Bachelor's students (the modalities of participation are defined by each Faculty).
The courses are inter-faculty in order to encourage the meeting of students with different educational backgrounds, who can bring different sensitivities to the discussion, enriching the participants' experiences.
The fundamental pedagogical tool of the Alpine seminar is the immersion of students in the Alpine landscape, aware of the educational role that this reality has on how to develop thinking based on the culture of sustainable development. Indeed, the Alps offer a privileged place to understand and meet the great challenges of our century (climate change, planetary resources, transportation, energy, etc.).
USI, through this educational experience, intends to offer all its students a complementary opportunity to its educational curriculum, to reflect on how they can contribute to the respect of the great balances of the natural environment and life and create “a well-functioning society,” capable of improving the living conditions of today without compromising the lives of future generations.
Seminar's Calendar 2025-2026
The 2025/2026 course calendar can be downloaded from the attachments on the side. A total of 19 seminars are planned, 7 of which feature a specific thematic focus (see calendar).
There are 7bilingual ITA/ENG courses in total.
Please refer to your Faculty’s study regulations to check the participation requirements (mandatory/optional and period of attendance).
Structure and objectives of the Alpine seminar
Each Alpine seminar has a central educational core proposed to all students. This core is related to understanding the limits of planet Earth and the need to address the points proposed in the 2030 Agenda (Sustainable Development Goals SDGs). In addition to this central core, talks by experts are proposed, which will be structured around several thematic insights. As far as possible, visits and excursions will be diversified according to the thematic module.
The four main moments of the Alpine seminar:
- Theoretical introduction on sustainable development.
- 1 and/or 2 excursions in the area (e.g. excursion to Val Piora or Valle Bedretto, visit to hydroelectric power stations or the Gotthard wind farm, etc.).
- Thematic discussions with USI lecturers and/or invited external experts. The meeting with the experts will focus on dialogue with the students (can be organised either in person or online).
- Group work and presentation.
Each year a number of seminars are proposed by the House of Sustainability with different thematic focuses that will determine both the experiences on the ground and the presence of experts.
Course registration and costs
Each student freely chooses which of the offered courses to enroll in; be aware that places are limited (max. 18 places for each course), so it is necessary not to wait until the last moment. Registration is done through the official platform GESTU. Registration for courses closes two weeks before the start of the seminar. Please refer to your Faculty's Regulations of Studies to check the deadlines for participation (compulsory/optional and term).
The seminar is free of charge, including accommodation and breakfast costs at the House of Sustainability and transportation.
You need to bring your own sheets, or you can rent them on site at a cost of CHF 15 .
Please refer to the FAQ page for more details on the conduct of the activities.
The offer is also open to USI master's students.
The course offerings are also open, subject to availability, to male and female students enrolled in a USI Master's program who are interested in learning more about sustainability. Priority is given to bachelor's students, but interested parties can send an e-mail to [email protected] specifying the seminar they wish to enroll in. As soon as the registration deadline for bachelor's students has passed, a confirmation will be given if there are vacancies.
A certificate of attendance will be provided at the end of the seminar.
