In accordance with Swiss entry regulation, everyone entering Switzerland must present an entry form. If you are not vaccinated or recovered, you must also show proof of a negative test. Please check the requirements to enter Switzerland and ensure the compliance to them.

In accordance with Swiss regulations and USI COVID-19 campus protection provisions, a COVID certificate will be required for accessing COSADE 2021 and checks will be enforced every day at the entrance; a valid COVID certificate is also required to access restaurants, in particular the one of the social event. Face masks are also mandatory in all indoor areas of the university campus.

Venue & Logistics

Lugano, Switzerland

Lugano, the largest town in the holiday region of Ticino, is not only Switzerland's third most important financial centre and a conference, banking and business centre, but also a town of parks and flowers, villas and sacred buildings. With Mediterranean flair, Lugano offers all the advantages of a world-class city, combined with the cachet of a small town.

Lugano lies in a bay on the northern side of Lake Lugano, surrounded by numerous mountains offering splendid viewpoints. The traffic-free historic town centre, the numerous buildings in Italianate Lombardy style, the exclusive museums, the mountains, lake and a packed calendar of events all invite visitors to see the sights, soak up the atmosphere - and enjoy "dolce far niente". Thanks to its mild climate, Lugano is a popular tourist destination from spring to fall.

The town centre with its Mediterranean-style squares and arcades, and numerous parks with sub-tropical plants such as the Parco Civico on the shores of the lake invite you to laze around, enjoying the atmosphere. By the lakeside promenade are the Belvedere Gardens, where the parkland boasts not only camellias and magnolias but also countless sub-tropical plants and modern works of art. (Text and images courtesy of Swiss Tourism)

Watch the video to get a feeling of Lugano and its atmosphere! HERE

Travel & Access

Lugano is best reachable by train or by air.

By Air: Zurich airport is approx. 200 km away from Lugano, but very conveniently connected with it by frequent trains. It takes around 2.5 hours to reach Lugano from Zurich airport. Zurich airport is serving all major worldwide destinations. The train ticket to Lugano can be purchased shortly before the trip (no need to pre-book).

Lugano is reasonably well connected to Milano (about 60km distance). Milano has three airports: Malpensa (Terminal 1, Terminal 2), Linate, and Bergamo. The Malpensa Airport, which is the closest to Lugano, is connected to Lugano by train http://www.sbb.ch/ The Milano Linate and Bergamo airports are not directly connected to Lugano - passengers first need to take a shuttle bus or a train to Milano City Center and then take a train to Lugano. It will take approx. 3-4 hours from Bergamo or Linate to reach Lugano.

By Train: Lugano train station is well connected to all major cities in Europe, e.g., Rome (via Milan), Frankfurt, or Paris (both via Zurich). Using the train is not only the most convenient but also the most environmentally friendly option to reach Lugano. Trains coming from Zurich will travel through the new Gotthard Base Tunnel - the world's longest and deepest travel tunnel, completed in 2016 after 20 years of work. Sample travel times in hours and minutes: 1:15 from Milan, 2:08 from Zurich, 4:25 from Rome, 6:16 from Frankfurt, and 7:00 from Paris.

Train tickets inside Switzerland have fixed prices, there is no difference between pre-booking and getting your tickets at the vending machines. Make sure you get your ticket before boarding the train: ticket sales in the train are subject to higher fees. Tickets and schedules are available at http://www.sbb.ch/. If you are planning to travel a lot inside Switzerland by train, it might be worth getting a travel pass (e.g., Swiss Travel Pass or the "Half-Fare Travel card") - see https://www.swiss-pass.ch/.

By Car: We strongly advise against traveling to Lugano by car. If you are coming from Zurich, the Gotthard road tunnel is often a major bottleneck, with traffic jams of several hours each weekend. From Milan, the border at Como-Chiasso will often result in long waiting lines. Plus: once in Lugano, finding parking is difficult and expensive. You do not need a car in Lugano: the symposium venue (i.e., the University) is a 10-minute walk from the city center and most hotels. An efficient and frequent bus service connects all parts of the city (especially all recommended hotels and the University). Trains are connecting Lugano with surrounding cities, villages and attractions. However, if you want a rental car, both the airport and the train station feature a number of rental agencies.

Visa information

Since 12 December 2008 Switzerland is an associated member state of the Schengen agreement and hence part of the Schengen area. Please check the visa requirements for your nationality under the following link: Overview of ID and visa provisions according to nationality (PDF). Schengen visas are valid for Switzerland and all other areas of the Schengen member states (providing nothing to the contrary is noted on the visa).

The Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police maintains a list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding Visa issues. You can also find links to websites for Swiss embassies and consulates worldwide at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The embassy and consulate websites have very helpful information about procedures, timelines, communities served, required documentation, and fees.

Letters from conference organization

International registrants should be particularly aware and careful about visa requirements, and should plan travel well in advance. Please send your request for a letter in support of a visa application to decanato [dot] inf [at] usi [dot] ch. Use the subject line "COSADE 2021 Visa" and include your name, mailing address, and fax number. Also make sure to indicate which embassy/consulate you are applying to. Authors of accepted papers/posters/etc. should also include the title. You can click on this link to pre-fill your email accordingly.

Support letters for non-authors

Due to the high volume of fraudulent visa requests in recent years, a request for a letter in support of a visa application from non-authors must be accompanied by

a statement of interest, motivating the requestor’s interest in the conference topic, as well as
a brief resume, demonstrating a corresponding professional/academic background in related areas

Please contact us first with the above information before registering.

Conference Venue

The 12^th International Workshop on Constructive Side-Channel Analysis and Secure Design Cosade 2021 will take place in the Aula Polivalente, East Campus of the "Università della Svizzera italiana" - or USI for short. The East Campus of USI is located in Lugano (Switzerland), in Via la Santa 1, Viganello neighborhood. USI is Switzerland’s most international university, and one of the 12 certified public universities in Switzerland coordinated by swissuniversities.

Established in 1996, USI has grown steadily and includes today five Faculties: Architecture, Economics, Communication Sciences, Informatics and Biomedical Sciences. USI currently counts also three affiliated entities, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB, Bellinzona), the Institute for Oncology Research (IOR, Bellinzona) and the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA, Manno).

The Faculty of Informatics stands out as a centre of competence in advanced informatics. Since its inception in 2004, it has become one of Switzerland’s major poles for informatics teaching and research, ranking third after the two Federal Institutes of Technology, ETH Zurich and EPFL in Lausanne. It features a faculty of ~30 professors, 40+ postdocs and more than 100 PhD students.