ESEG's Development Centers consolidate scientific and academic advancements in partnership with InCor.

ESEG College, part of the Etapa Group, reinforced its commitment to the inseparable triad of higher education — teaching, research, and outreach — through the activities of its Development Centers carried out between 2024 and 2025. This period was marked by significant progress in scientific initiation projects, the production of applied knowledge, and partnerships with leading institutions, such as the Heart Institute of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (InCor HCFMUSP).

One of the pillars of this production was the continuity of the “Umbrella Project”, developed in partnership with InCor, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Marcelo Biscegli Jatene and coordination of Prof. Dr. João Chang Junior. Entitled “Quality in Surgical Outcomes of Patients with Congenital Heart Diseases”, the project aims to optimize the efficiency of the hospital's operational and managerial processes using artificial intelligence, reducing costs and risks.

The project methodology is based on a retrospective study using data from 2014 to 2023, applying machine learning models to pediatric cardiovascular surgeries. The data were structured on the REDCap® platform, which allowed for the training of predictive models and the generation of relevant practical and theoretical contributions, as well as fostering scientific production and the development of new talent at the undergraduate level.

Research and Scientific Initiation

Three undergraduate research projects stood out in 2024:

• Higor Augusto Farias Nazário developed an application to predict the length of stay in the ICU for patients with congenital heart disease.
• Lucas Toríbio Sanches created a tool that estimates the surgical time required for these patients. The project was awarded Best Undergraduate Thesis of the second semester of 2024 and is already in use in the surgical routine at InCor.
• João Pedro Gonçalves de Araújo initiated the digitization of approximately 7,000 surgical clinical records, using AI to improve the management of surgical data.

Impactful scientific output

Another milestone was the publication of the article “Predictors of ICU length of stay among congenital heart defect patients using an artificial intelligence model: A pilot study” in the scientific journal Heliyon, which has a JCR impact factor of 3.4. The study, authored by professors and researchers from the project, presents an AI-based predictive model to estimate ICU length of stay, using techniques such as the Light Gradient Boosting Machine and the Cat Boost Classifier. The article has already received six international citations, demonstrating the reach of the research conducted at ESEG.

In addition to Lucas Sanches's final project award, another winning project was that of student Geovana Sousa de Lima, with the work "Development and Implementation of a Cyber-physical System Based on Digital Twins in a Small Automated Company". The system was implemented on the LIFE Platform in France, promoting interaction between data from the physical and digital worlds, which highlights the international reach of the training offered by ESEG.

The period also included two institutional visits from Wesleyan University to InCor, reinforcing international ties and increasing the visibility of the joint work between ESEG and InCor.

Pluralistic education connected to reality.

At ESEG, research is one of the pillars that support academic training. The seven themes encouraged by the Development Centers cater to students from all courses, with the purpose of making the university journey diverse and personalized, according to the interests and objectives of each student.

The ESEG Development Centers remain steadfast in their mission to integrate academic knowledge with the real demands of society. Between 2024 and 2025, the projects developed demonstrated the transformative potential of applied research and university extension. With institutional recognition, impactful scientific production, and the consolidation of prestigious partnerships, ESEG reaffirms its role as an innovative institution, with excellent teaching and training connected to the future.