Research Fellowship

Offer Description

Title: Research Fellowship

Reference: BI-CTAC-UMINHO- UMINHO-MarUMinho.B1

A call for applications is now open for the attribution of 1 grant of research fellowship within the scope of the I&D project REBORN - Concretes with high thermal performance functionalized with low cost eutectic phase change materials mixtures produced with foundry waste: Towards the energy efficiency first principle/ CTAC, 2023.11323.PEX, financed by national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia I.P, under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Civil Engineering

Recipient category: Students enrolled in a PhD or masters enrolled in non-academic degree courses in the field of Civil Engineering or related areas.

Identify the type(s) of scholarship to be awarded:

1. Degree courses: Research grants (BI) are intended for I&D activities by students enrolled in a PhD.
2. Non-conferring degrees courses: They may also be intended for I&D activities by graduates or masters enrolled in non-academic degree courses.

Requirement for granting the fellowship:

• The applicants may apply without prior registration in the course for which the fellowship is open. The requirement to enroll in a degree course or non-academic degree course will be verified on the date of contracting the fellowship;
• Only fellowships whose selected applicants present a valid proof of enrollment in a degree course or non-academic degree course will be contracted, according to the type of the fellowship, issued by a Higher Education Institution, indicating, respectively, the academic year or its duration (star and term).

Applicants’ eligibility: Candidates who meet the conditions set out in Article 9 of the Research Grant Regulations, No. 950/2019, of 16-12-2019, of FCT I.P. are eligible.

Nationals or citizens of other European Union member states, third-country nationals, stateless persons, and citizens with political refugee status are eligible to apply for this competition.

Candidate eligibility requirements:

Mandatory requirements:

• Master in Civil Engineering, or related fields.
• Not benefited from a non-conferring degree research grant for a cumulative period of 2 years followed or interpolated;
• Proof of academic qualifications completed at the deadline for applications, including those resulting from academic degree recognition processes.

Contracting requirements:

At the time of the respective hiring, candidates must prove that they are enrolled in one of the following courses:

• PhD in the field of Civil Engineering, or related fields;
• In a Course that do not confer an academic degree enrolled in non-academic degree courses, in the area or area related to that requested in the tender.

Preferential requirements:

• Research experience, preferably in the area of Phase Change Materials;
• English or Portuguese language proficiency.

Workplan and objectives to be achieved:

The work plan aims to consolidate the scientific training of the scholarship holder through involvement in research activities, carrying out the following R&D tasks:

• Development of reference concretes and concretes incorporating phase change materials;
• Assessment of the thermal performance of the concrete developed.

Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Fellow Statute (EBI), approved by Law nº. 40/2004 of August 18, in its current wording and FCT Research Fellowship Regulation, approved by Regulation nº 950/2019, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, of December 16, 2019, in its current wording, and Scientific Research Fellowship Regulation (RBIC) of the University of Minho, approved by order nº 4998/2025, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, nº 81, of April 28, 2025 Amended and republished through amendment statement no. 634/2025/2, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, no. 132, of July 11.

Host/Contracting institution and scientific supervision: The workplan will be carried out in the CTAC - Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction, Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering of University of Minho, located in the Campus de Azurém da Universidade do Minho Guimarães, Portugal, under the scientific supervision of the Doctor Sandra Raquel Leite da Cunha and coordination of the Doctor Doctor José Luís Silva Pinho.

Fellowship duration: The grant will take place for a period of 3.5 months, with a provisional starting date on the November of 2026, non-renewable.

Amount of the research grant: The amount of the grant corresponds to 1359.64€/month, according to the table of grants of FCT, I.P. in the country (Tabela de Valores SMM 2026) and Research Scholarship of the University of Minho, updated annually, as decided by the Management Board, updated annually, as decided by the Management Board.

Payment is made on the 23rd of each month, through bank transfer to the Bank Identification Number of the fellow identified in the contratualization process.

Other components of the research grant: Define other components of the scholarships, as provided for in Article 18º of the FCT Research Scholarship Regulations (RBI).

Other benefits: Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Insurance, if the candidate chooses to receive it, corresponding to the 1st level of discounts (for research grants with a total duration 6 months or higher) and personal accident insurance.

Exclusivity regime: The grantee will perform the activities under exclusivity, as foreseen in article 5º of the Research Fellow Statutes and applicable regulations.

Selection panel:

The Selection Panel is composed by the following elements:

• President: Doctor José Luís Silva Pinho, Assistant Professor with Habilitation of the Civil Engineering Department, CTAC, School of Engineering, University of Minho.
• Effective members: Doctor José Luís Barroso de Aguiar, Assistant Professor with Habilitation of the Civil Engineering Department, CTAC, School of Engineering, University of Minho, and Doctor Sandra Raquel Leite da Cunha, Assistant Researcher, CTAC, School of Engineering, University of Minho.
• Substitute members: Doctor Aires Fernando Fernandes Leite Camões Azevedo, Assistant Professor with Habilitation of the Civil Engineering Department, CTAC, School of Engineering, University of Minho, and Doctor Rute Maria Gonçalves Eires, Assistant Professor of the Civil Engineering Department, CTAC, School of Engineering, University of Minho.

The first effective member will substitute the President of the selection panel in case of impediment, being nominate the first substitute member in the place of the first effective member.

Criteria and procedures for applications assessment and selection: The applications assessment will focus on the candidate's Merit, following evaluation criteria, valued on a scale of 0 to 5 values (or another scale):

Applicant Merit - AM (100%):

a) Academic path (considering the classifications of academic degrees), with a weighting of 50%;

b) Personal curriculum (considering professional and scientific background), with a weighting of 40%;

• Sub-criterion B1 – Research Experience, preferably in the area of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) – 80%;
• Sub-criterion B2 – Publications in international journals indexed in the Web of Science – 20%.

c) Motivation letter, with a weighting of 10%.

The final classification of the applicant’s merit with the achieved through the following formula:

MC=(a*0,50) + (0,40*(b1*0,80) + (b2*0,20)) + (c*0,10)

The jury may choose to conduct an Interview. The first 4 candidates on the ranked list of the CM will be selected for the Interview.

Interview – INT (30%):

1. Motivation, with a weighting of 30%;
2. Technical knowledge required to carry out the work plan, with a weighting of 30%;
3. Overall assessment, with a weighting of 40%.

The Jury also decided on the valuation of the Interview, according to the following levels:

• Excellent – 5 points;
• Good – 4 points;
• Satisfactory – 3 points;
• Unsatisfactory – 2 points;
• Poor – 1 point.

The final classification of the Interview (INT) will be obtained by applying the following formula:

INT = (E1*0,30) + (E2*0,30) + (E3*0,40)

The final classification (FC) of Candidate’s Merit (CM) and Interview (INT) will be obtained by applying the following formula:

FC = (CM*0,70) + (INT*0,30)

The Selection Panel reserves the right not to award the research grant in the competition based on the evaluation results of the applicants and their suitability for the project objectives.

Note: Applicants with degrees obtained abroad must present proof of recognition of qualifications in Portugal and conversion of the final classification obtained in them to the Portuguese classification scale or declaration under the terms indicated in the following point. Candidates who do not comply with one of these provisions, the selection panel will assign “0” in the grade of the graduation and/or master course. Candidates will be evaluated on the remaining parameters.

Application deadline and submission: The call is open from 14/09/2026 to 28/09/2026 (23:00 – Europe/Lisbon).

Applications must be submitted by email to (aguiar@civil.uminho.pt), indicating the reference number of the competition “Edital BI-CTAC-UMINHO-REBORN-2023.11323.PEX -4” in the subject line. Only applications submitted within the established deadline and accompanied by the following documents will be accepted:

a) Candidate's updated curriculum vitae;

b) Certificates of the academic degrees obtained or, if applicable, the candidate's declaration of honor that he/she has completed the degrees required in the notice by the application deadline (not applicable to research initiation grants).

For degrees obtained abroad, the record of recognition of the academic degrees and record of the conversion of the respective final classification to the Portuguese classification scale must be presented, or, alternatively, a declaration of honor from the candidate.

This declaration must attest to facts that occurred prior to the application. In the event of a discrepancy between the information contained in the declaration and the documentation submitted for the purposes of contracting the scholarship, only the information contained in the latter will be considered. If it is found that the documents proving the academic degree and diploma, or their recognition under the terms of Decree-Law n. º 66/2018, of August 16, do not correspond to the classifications awarded in the assessment of the academic career and may consequently alter the candidate's ranking, the scholarship will not be contracted;

4. Motivation letter, in Portuguese or in English.

5. Statement proving that meets the conditions for the grant typology, according to the application requirements (declaration of honour).

Form of publication/notification of results: The results of the evaluation are published in a single list by final score obtained, posted in a visible and public place in the host unit, as well as by email to all candidates, attaching, for this purpose, the minutes of the jury's deliberations, within a maximum period of 90 working days from the deadline for submission of applications.

Candidates are informed, at a preliminary hearing, in accordance with Articles 121 and 122 of the Administrative Procedure Code, of the likely outcome of the final decision, and may comment within 10 working days of this notification.

An appeal may be lodged against the final decision within 15 working days, or an appeal may be lodged with the highest executive body of the funding entity within 30 days, both after the respective notification (Article 12(nº6) of the FCT Research Grant Regulations).

Within 10 working days of notification of the grant award, the applicant must declare their acceptance in writing. In case of non-acceptance, the next highest ranked applicant will be notified immediately.

Fellowship contractualization: The scholarship is awarded through the signing of a contract between the University of Minho and the scholarship recipient, in accordance with point 2.4 of the Rules for the Award and Management of Scholarships https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Normas_de_Atribuicao_de_Bolsas_2021.pdf and the draft contract in Annex II of the University of Minho's Scientific Research Scholarship Regulations.

The contract can only be signed after receipt of all the documentation required for the type of scholarship, which must occur within a maximum period of 6 months, including proof of academic degrees or diplomas, as well as enrollment in non-degree study cycles or courses, as applicable.

Once all the documentation has been received, the contracting entity has 60 working days to sign the scholarship contract. Once received by the scholarship holder, the contract must be returned, duly signed, within 15 working days.

Term and cancellation of fellowship contracts: Without prejudice to the other grounds laid down in the University of Minho's Scientific Research Scholarship Regulation and in the Research Fellow Statute, the scholarship will cease on completion of the contracted work plan, as well as on expiry of the period for which it was granted or renewed.

The final report must be submitted to the scientific advisor, in accordance with the defined objectives and evaluation criteria, no later than 60 working days after the end of the scholarship and must be drawn up in accordance with Annex I of the Regulations of the University of Minho.

Non-discrimination and equal access policy: Universidade do Minho actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, so that no candidate may be privileged, benefited, harmed or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty due, namely, to ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and trade union membership.

Where to apply

E-mail: aguiar@civil.uminho.pt

Requirements

• Research Field: Engineering » Civil engineering
• Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Mandatory requirements:

• Master in Civil Engineering, or related fields.
• Not benefited from a non-conferring degree research grant for a cumulative period of 2 years followed or interpolated;
• Proof of academic qualifications completed at the deadline for applications, including those resulting from academic degree recognition processes.

Specific Requirements

Contracting requirements:

At the time of the respective hiring, candidates must prove that they are enrolled in one of the following courses:

• PhD in the field of Civil Engineering, or related fields;
• In a Course that do not confer an academic degree enrolled in non-academic degree courses, in the area or area related to that requested in the tender.

Preferential requirements:

• Research experience, preferably in the area of Phase Change Materials;
• English or Portuguese language proficiency.

Additional Information

Benefits

Amount of the research grant: The amount of the grant corresponds to 1359.64€/month, according to the table of grants of FCT, I.P. in the country (Tabela de Valores SMM 2026) and Research Scholarship of the University of Minho, updated annually, as decided by the Management Board, updated annually, as decided by the Management Board.

Work Location(s)

• Number of offers available: 1
• Company/Institute: CTAC
• Country: Portugal

Contact

• City: Guimarães
• Website: http://ctac.uminho.pt/
• Street: Campus de Azurém
• Postal Code: 4800-058