Future rector of the University of São Paulo (USP), Aluísio Segurado has known — for 50 years — the institution he will now lead. From the time he passed the medical entrance exam in the 1970s to today, on the eve of his inauguration as USP’s highest authority, he has witnessed major transformations in the university’s classrooms.
“The USP that I will have today as rector is very different from the USP that I found when I arrived here, 50 years ago. It is plural, diverse, closer to the population of the state of São Paulo. (…) Living with this more diverse USP, at the same time, is a great privilege, but it is also a challenge. Certain practices must be revisited so that we can take advantage of this diversity,” says the professor.
One of the main objectives of his management, he affirms, will be to “revisit” the first year of courses, a period which can “definitely demotivate the student”, according to Aluísio. To this end, the professor defends, among other measures, rethinking the start of degrees, with “particular” attention to the areas of exact sciences, where dropout rates are the most critical.
What can change?
- One of the ideas is to create, from the first year, basic general training for courses in the same field, with subjects common to these professions.
- The change would have a direct impact on the entrance exam, with the student opting for a more general field of training during the selection process.
- It is only later, during the second year of college, that the student chooses a specific course.
- The aim is to prevent students from dropping out of their courses prematurely.
- Devoting the first year to basic general education and postponing the choice of a specific course is a strategy already adopted in other universities, such as the Federal University ABC (UFABC), in the São Paulo metropolitan region.
- Aluísio affirms, however, that, unlike what happens at UFABC, the idea at USP would be to apply the method only to very similar careers, such as courses in geophysics, meteorology and astronomy, for example.
“Does the young person know the difference between geophysics, meteorology and astronomy as a professional career? Does he like earth sciences? Could he not engage in a career which includes basic time in common disciplines, training, then identify these different paths and define his future career choice?”, illustrates the professor.
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Aluísio Segurado’s term as rector of USP extends from 2026 to 2030
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Aluísio Segurado is professor of medicine and dean of undergraduate studies.
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Aluísio Segurado graduated in medicine
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Flexibility to change courses
The future rector also recommends facilitating the process of changing courses at the university. Today, students who wish to change careers within USP must take a transfer exam, usually with few vacancies, or retake the entrance exam.
“In a way, (the current model) penalizes students who are still finding their way within the university,” believes the professor.
“We had the example of a very good student in a chemical engineering class. A professor met her in the first year and in the second year, she was no longer in the class, she had dropped out. She had decided that she did not want to be a chemical engineer, she wanted to be a chemical researcher. And then there was no choice but to drop out and take another entrance exam. If we had had a (more flexible) mechanism, she could have left Poli’s position and go to the Institute of Chemistry.”
The idea of transforming the first year and making course changes more flexible will be further debated at different levels of the university and will need to be approved for implementation.
Who is insured by Aluísio?
- Aged 68, Aluísio Segurado graduated in medicine from USP, where he also obtained the titles of master, doctor and associate professor in infectious and parasitic diseases.
- He has been a full professor at the USP School of Medicine since 2012, with a career focused on research into infectious diseases and social determinants of health.
- He is the current dean of undergraduate studies. In the past, he was director of the Central Institute of Hospital das Clínicas (HC) during the covid-19 pandemic.
- Aluísio and Professor Liedi Légi Bariani Bernucci won the elections for the rectorship of the university with the USP for People list. They received 1,270 votes.
Quotas on the agenda
The future rector is expected to take office on January 25. Challenges for management also include discussions on positive policies for trans people and people with disabilities (PWD).
The debate over creating quotas for trans students began this year and was marked by protests from the student movement in defense of the agenda.
“Certainly, this subject will come back to the debate in the future administration because it is in preparation. But I wanted to draw attention to an important point: the basic principle of positive entry policies is the detection of under-representation. (…) Which populations are really under-represented? Based on this observation, it is justified, I think, to work on a positive entry policy,” he said, without specifying whether he is against or for the measure.
In the case of quotas for PCDs, the professor recalls that the USP will have to adapt to Law No. 18,167 of 2025, which made it compulsory to reserve places in the state universities of São Paulo for PCDs.
“How will this reservation be made? We will have to think a little and also exchange ideas with other educational institutions which in the federal system have already implemented positive policies for people with disabilities,” he says.
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Funding
However, the biggest challenge Aluísio will face over the next four years will likely not be on any of these issues, but rather on a topic that will now influence all USP debates: university funding.
With the tax reform, approved by the National Congress and sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), the main source of income for São Paulo universities will cease to exist: the tax on the circulation of goods and services (ICMS).
Thus, the three universities of São Paulo, which together benefit from a fixed transfer of 9.57% from the ICMS, will have to discuss their financing with the state government.
“Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) himself has already publicly assured our rectors that he will not seek to affect university funding. Now we must establish the legal basis for this to happen.”
For Aluísio, the calculation of the new form of financing must guarantee the maintenance of current values so that the three universities – USP, Unesp and Unicamp – continue to progress.
The debate on this subject must involve the executive but also the legislature of São Paulo, at a time when universities are the target of attacks by far-right groups.
Aluísio claims that the attacks suffered by USP are not only directed against the public university, but against science as a whole, and are part of a “global phenomenon of political hyperpolarization”.
For him, it is necessary to highlight the work of universities so that society increasingly understands the importance of these institutions. He cites as examples the work of the USP during the pandemic, with the opening of beds at the Hospital das Clínicas and the different research carried out by the institution.
The doctor says he wants to invest in this rapprochement with society. Including those who come to USP with resistance.
“We must seek dialogue and understand that there is space here for diversity of opinions, but in a respectful and democratic way and effectively rejecting all forms of violence and discrimination,” he says.
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