New Leadership for USI Institute of Italian Studies
Institutional Communication Service
26 January 2026
The Council of the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society has approved the new management team of the Institute of Italian Studies (ISI) at Università della Svizzera italiana. Starting on 16 February 2026, Sara Garau, who currently serves as vice-director, will become the director of the Institute. Johanna Miecznikowski-Fünfschilling will take on the position of vice-director.
The new management will succeed Professor Stefano Prandi, who has led the Institute of Italian Studies since 2017. The appointment of Sara Garau and Johanna Miecznikowski-Fünfschilling reflects their consolidated academic experience and in-depth knowledge of ISI, gained over the years through research, teaching and institutional responsibilities. With the start of the new term, the Institute of Italian Studies is preparing to face the upcoming academic challenges under a leadership that combines continuity in the ISI's cultural commitment, scientific expertise and institutional vision.
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Sara Garau is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Italian Studies, where she has been teaching courses on 18th- and 19th-century literature and methodology for both Bachelor's and Master's programmes in Italian Language, Literature, and Civilisation since 2013. She studied in Basel, Bologna, and Padua and has dedicated her academic career to 19th-century Italian novels, as well as to the study of narrative, translation, and cultural mediation from the 18th to the 20th centuries. In addition to her teaching, she edits scientific publications, collaborates on prestigious publishing projects at both national and international levels, and serves as the co-editor of the Italian section of the Swiss journal of Romance literature, Versants. In collaboration with the Institute of the History and Theory of Art and Architecture, she coordinated the Swiss Doctoral School in Italian Civilisation (a swissuniversities programme). Between 2017 and 2020, she was Vice-Dean and Study Delegate of the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society. Since 2017, she has been a member of the committee of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAGW-ASSH); in 2025, she was appointed as USI's representative to the Swiss Maturity Commission (CSM).
Johanna Miecznikowski-Fünfschilling is a Full Professor at the Institute of Italian Studies and the Institute of Argumentation, Linguistics, and Semiotics at USI. She teaches linguistics and pragmatics in both the Bachelor's and Master's programs in Italian Language, Literature, and Civilisation. After studying Italian Philology, Russian Philology, and French Linguistics at the University of Basel, she engaged in research and teaching activities at the same university. She obtained her doctorate in French Linguistics in 2002 and her venia legendi in Romance Linguistics in 2010. Since 2007, she has been collaborating with USI, where she has focused her research on modality, evidentiality, and argumentation in contemporary written and spoken Italian. In 2020, she became a full professor, making significant contributions to the scientific and educational development of the Institute of Italian Studies.