Can an academic thesis be born from the idea of another student? That’s exactly what happened at the Department of Innovative Technologies. An original way to experiment with entrepreneurship within university walls, featuring Arianna Casamatta, a second-year student in Engineering and Management and "skipper" of the Startup Garage, and Elisa Resch, a graduating student in Computer Science Engineering. Together, they are bringing to life PawsPulse, a project with a special goal: helping people reunite with their lost pets.
"It all started in February, at the end of a class, when I asked the lecturer for advice about the app I wanted to develop," says Arianna Casamatta. "I love animals and I have a dog: I would go crazy if he ever got lost, and it does happen that he runs away. That’s how the idea of PawsPulse was born, an innovative system of smart tags to help track pets."
The topic immediately sparked the interest of Andrea Baldassari , lecturer and researcher at the Institute of Information Systems and Networking (ISIN) , who put forward an unusual proposal: to turn Arianna’s idea into a thesis project for another student in Computer Engineering.
That’s where Elisa Resch came into play: she chose to develop the application as the subject of her Bachelor’s thesis "PawsPulse: mobile app for four-legged friends". "Contributing to a startup idea through my thesis was particularly engaging. The guidance I received from my supervisors and the passion with which Arianna supported me gave me the motivation to create an innovative solution. I can’t wait for PawsPulse to take off!"
Arianna Casamatta adds: "Taking part in the development of a thesis, even before starting my own, was something new, stimulating, and truly enriching. What made it even more meaningful was doing it with Elisa, who believed in This whole journey made me realize just how much peer-to-peer collaboration can truly make a difference."
A model to replicate
According to supervisors Andrea Baldassari and Mirko Galati Rando (ISIN - SUPSI) and Ingrid Cereda (Scuola Arti e Mestieri di Trevano), this initiative goes well beyond a single thesis:
"The project has exceeded all’expectations, but the most rewarding aspect was undoubtedly seeing a student develop an idea originally conceived by a peer. We believe this approach could become a model worth replicating, strengthening the bridge between academia and entrepreneurship."
The story of Arianna and Elisa shows how collaboration between students, combined with the guidance of a mentoring team like the Startup Garage , can accelerate skills development, encourage exchange, and foster growth-both personal and project-based. And the future looks promising: at Startup Garage, 33 new ideas are already in the pipeline , potentially available for just as many Bachelor theses in the coming academic year.
Mirko Galati Rando, Arianna Casamatta, Elisa Resch, Andrea Baldassari
Paw Pulse: a growing project
In the meantime, the story of PawPulse continues to evolve. After its presentation last spring at Talent Pitch Switzerland 2025 in Zurich, a university competition dedicated to student entrepreneurship, the project has now brought on board another student, who is focusing on the electronic development of the smart tags.
The goal-certainly ambitious-is becoming increasingly tangible: to give the roughly 32,000 pets that go missing every year in Switzerland a real chance to make it back home!
