Education chief with the drive to succeed

Mauro Dell'Ambrogio, state secretary for education and research since the start of the year ti-press

The new Swiss state secretary for education and research, Mauro Dell'Ambrogio, tells swissinfo he will tackle the job with determination and enthusiasm.

Dell’Ambrogio is one of just a few people from the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino to hold a top position in the federal administration.

The 54-year-old has a distinguished career behind him, having been a judge, chief of cantonal police, a university official, a member of the cantonal parliament and mayor. He is also the father of seven children.

swissinfo: Your career has been very varied – a love of challenges or fear of getting bored?

Mauro Dell’Ambrogio: In my various roles I have always sought the satisfaction of being able to build something up, of contributing to the development and consolidation of projects, and then being able to leave them in such a state that they can function without me.

I’ve always tried to avoid getting into a routine, and of being made a prisoner by what I have built up, of not being able to adjust any more and ruining things by getting too comfortable.

It’s always been a completely normal thing for me to make way for a younger, perhaps even better person than me, to continue the work. I also have the need to challenge myself and this has certainly been key to my career path.

swissinfo: You have always been in positions of authority or responsibility. Do you like being in command? And what is your managerial style?

M.D.A.: I started off very early with the burden of responsibility. But I have never seen my career in terms of something vertical, but as a horizontal path. Having a career means learning something new and not going up the ladder to reach the top of something you already know.

Somebody once asked me if I preferred being feared or loved. I never replied to this. I think you need a bit of both, like when you are bringing up children. Being able to command, the word is rather old-fashioned now, means being able to put yourself at the disposal of others to reach your goals together.

I gain the most satisfaction from reaching common goals and sharing this with my collaborators. But to get there you need a control and a discipline that can only be achieved through authority, but understood as an act of assuming responsibility.

swissinfo: How important was your experience as head of the cantonal police?

M.D.A.: It was a fundamental experience. Overnight you could be headline news, but you nevertheless learned to keep the necessary distance and to distinguish between fact and comment.

Sometimes it is very lonely when you are faced with important decisions, but I learned a lot from this experience. You need a thick skin, which can protect you from unjustified pressure. Over time you learn to navigate through rough waters holding firmly onto the rudder.

swissinfo: How can Switzerland best compete with others?

M.D.A.: You need to find a delicate balance between safeguarding the diversity of the regions inside the country… and the need to concentrate means and priorities to withstand the increasingly cutthroat international competition.

In scientific research, for example, scattering resources so that everyone gets some work, or concentrating it all in several internationally competitive seats [of learning] are two extremes that Switzerland cannot afford. However, trying to find the balance between respecting local needs and competing worldwide has always been – rather miraculously – the secret of Switzerland’s success.

swissinfo: Are there enough resources and investment?

M.D.A.: Here as well it’s a question of balance. There are too many dormant resources, which are hindering structural change and causing waste. On the other hand, it’s not possible to simply work out the amounts needed and present the bill. Choices and sacrifices, even painful ones, need to be made.

My new job entails responsibility for making sure that money for education and training is invested in the best way possible, before I go crying for more. Obviously, it’s not my sole responsibility, the decision-making processes in Switzerland are particularly complex.

swissinfo: You are one of the rare Ticinesi in a top federal administration position. Do you feel as if you are representing a minority?

M.D.A.: As a top official of the federal administration I have to be mindful of the interests of the government. If I am successful, I could help strengthen the image of the Ticinesi as a people who know how to carry out tasks of national importance.

The disadvantage of being a minority does not mean, on the other hand, that you delegate finding solutions to tasks and problems to others. The Ticinesi must keep busy and not just cry into their beer or simply demand things.

swissinfo-interview: Françoise Gehring in Lugano

Mauro Dell’Ambrogio

Dell’Ambrogio, born in 1953, is the holder of a doctorate in law from Zurich University and held a number of public offices in canton Ticino from 1979 to 1999 after passing his bar exam: judge, chief of cantonal police, secretary-general for education and culture, project manager for the creation of Lugano University, and university secretary-general.

After four years heading a group of private clinics, he was made director of the University of Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) in 2003. He has been mayor of Giubiasco, a member of the Ticino cantonal parliament and chairman of the Ticino electricity works.

Dell’Ambrogio took up the post of state secretary for education and research in January.

Education and research funds

The Swiss government considers education, research and innovation (ERI) of high importance for the country’s social development and economic prosperity. It will therefore be given greater weight in the federal budget in the coming years.

Parliament approved in autumn 2007 a budget of SFr20.11 billion ($18.23 billion) for the promotion of education, research and technology for 2008-2011.

Adding the funds already approved by parliament in December 2006 for European Union research cooperation, federal spending for the ERI sector for 2008-2011 will total SFr 21.31 billion.