Research Fellowship

by EUMETSAT.

1: Admission requirements

The scholarship is intended for students holders of master or integrated master degree, to carry out research support activities in the area of Meteorology or similar.

2: Hiring requirements

At the time of hiring, the candidate must be enrolled in a PhD degree at a higher education institution in the mentioned areas.

3: Work plan

Research theme

Estimating land surface temperature from satellite observations under all weather conditions

General Objectives

Contribute to the development of a land surface temperature product that is spatially complete (i.e. under clear and cloudy sky) to be implemented within the LSA-SAF project. For that purpose, the candidate to be recruited will explore and test different methodologies available in the literature that allow combining satellite and surface model data, being expected the scientific and technical dissemination of the results obtained within the framework of the project and the PhD thesis.

The work plan for the candidate to be recruited includes the following activities:

1. Analysis of the land surface temperature estimates generated by the energy balance model developed within the LSA-SAF, using as reference the official product based on satellite observations and in-situ measurements from stations;
2. Explore different statistical methodologies for the combination of the land surface temperature estimates provided by the surface model and the satellite;
3. Implement, in python, the methodologies developed in (ii) for the operational production of a combined product of land surface temperature;
4. Dissemination of results, including presentations at national and international scientific meetings, and scientific publications;
5. Fellowship final report.

4: Duration and Renovation conditions

The fellowship, due to start in 1 October of 2026, will have a duration of 12 months, being eventually renewable, for additional periods up to the maximum term of the project or the duration of the grant (whichever occurs first), under the terms of article 15 of the Regulation for Scientific Research Grants of IPMA, IP., in an exclusive dedication basis. The work to be carried out within the scope of this scholarship is of a temporary nature, with no continuity beyond the conclusion of the project.

5: Supervision and workplace

The work to be developed will take place within the framework of the Earth Observations Unit of the Department of Meteorology and Geophysics, at IPMA, I.P.'s headquarters in Lisbon (Rua C-Aeroporto,1749-077 Lisboa), under the guidance and supervision of Sofia Ermida, researcher at IPMA, I.P.. The workplace may be adapted according to the needs of the work plan.

6: Value of monthly maintenance allowance

The amount for the fellowship corresponds to 1 359,64 €, according to the table of values approved by FCT, I.P. (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM-2026.pdf). The monthly remuneration will be paid by bank transfer by the IPMA, I.P. services to the bank account indicated by the candidate. The candidate is also entitled to the reimbursement to charges related to the “Seguro Social Voluntário” (1st degree), if applicable, according to the conditions defined by the Statute of the Scholarships for Scientific Research. The candidate will also benefit of personal accidents insurance during the fellowship.

7: Jury members

The jury, appointed by order of the Director Council of IPMA, I.P., is composed by the following members: President: Sofia Ermida (researcher at IPMA, IP); 1st member: Isabel Trigo (researcher at IPMA, IP); 2nd member: Emanuel Dutra (researcher at IPMA, IP); 1st substitute member: Célia Gouveia (researcher at IPMA, IP); 2nd substitute member: Rita Durão (researcher at IPMA, IP).

8: Selection and methods criteria

8.1 Admission requirements: all candidates fulfilling the points 1 and 11 in this notice will be admitted.

8.2 Evaluation method: the candidates will be evaluated by Curricular Assessment (CA) and Interview (I). The interview will only be performed if the candidates with the best CA have equal scores.

8.3 The curriculum assessment (AC) will take into account academic qualifications (A), and knowledge and experience (B) in the preferred areas of work, weighing these 2 factors according to the following formula: AC=0.3*A+ 0.7*B. The curricular evaluation is expressed quantitatively from 0 to 20 values corresponding to the weighted average of the following objective criteria:

a) The Academic Qualification (A) evaluates the candidate’s academic merit by calculating the average of the undergraduate and master’s degree grades;

b) Complementary knowledge and experience (B) will be scored from 0 to 20 as follows:

i) Experience with applications of large databases of remote sensing data in Meteorology or Earth Sciences (0-6);

ii) Experience analysing and validating satellite products, or similar (0-6);

iii) Programming experience, namely in python language (0-4);

iv) Scientific publications in indexed journals (0-2);

v) Scientific presentations and outreach (0-2).

8.4 Based on the Curriculum Assessment (AC), candidates will be ranked. In the event of a tie between the candidates, the first classified will be called for an interview, which will be carried out in person or by electronic means, their classification corresponding to the addition of the values obtained in the following criteria: a) Motivation; b) Autonomy; c) Adaptability; d) Expression and verbal fluency. These criteria will be ranked from zero to twenty, with the total of the interview resulting from the sum of the criteria divided by four (0 to 20 points).

8.5. The final classification of each candidate will be decided by simple majority of the jury members.

8.6 Ordered List of the Final Classification: all the candidates eligible to the call will be ranked by the classification given by the jury. If an interview is conducted the final classification (FC) is obtained by the weighted sum of the Curricular Assessment (CA), weighting 40%, and of the interview (I), weighting 60%. (FC = CA*0.4+ I*0.6). If an interview is not conducted, the final classification corresponds to the Curricular Assessment (CA).

8.7 The jury members will conduct the necessary meetings to reach the final decision, documenting in minutes all the procedures used, as well as all the elements considered relevant for the final decision.

9 Communication of results

Upon approval of the ranked list by the jury, the evaluation process is considered closed, and the candidates will be notified within 5 working days, to the e-mail indicated in the application, and the hearing process will be conducted, under the terms of Administrative Procedure Code. Within the framework of the fellowship attribution procedure, if the final ranked list includes a higher number of candidates than the number of fellowships to be attributed, a selection reserve list will be created, which can be used in the event of the withdrawal of the selected candidate, to be used during the project’s duration.

10 Research Fellowship Contest approval

Upon conclusion of the hearing process and its appreciation by the jury members, the final decision will be proposed for approval by the Director Council of IPMA, I.P. If there are no candidates with merit, the jury may decide to not attribute this fellowship.

11 Submission of applications:

11.1 Applications to the research fellowships must be formalized by sending, to the email candidaturas.bolsas@ipma.pt, the application form available at https://www.ipma.pt/export/sites/ipma/bin/docs/organizacionais/IPMA-FORMULARIO-CANDIDATURA-CC-v1.0.pdf, along with the following documents:

a) Copy of the identification document;

b) Certificate of permanent residence, authorization for permanent residence or long-term residence status, if applicable;

c) Documents proving the conditions required by the type of fellowship, namely coy of diplomas that confirm the Academic Degree, recognized by a Portuguese University, if the degree has been obtained abroad;

d) Detailed and signed CV of the candidate;

e) Copy of the documents attesting the professional experience and training, namely recommendation letters, course or internship certificates;

f) Recent document attesting the current professional status, indicating the nature of the link and functions, and may be replaced by a declaration of honor if the candidate does not carry out any professional or service activity;

g) Document proving the enrollment in a PhD degree;

h) Declaration of honor attesting that the candidate fulfills the requirements of admission to the present fellowship call, available at: https://www.ipma.pt/export/sites/ipma/bin/docs/organizacionais/Declaracao-Compromisso-Honra-IPMA-BI-Estudante-Doutoramento.pdf

The reference to “concurso de bolsa IPMA-2026-023-BI” must be indicated in the subject of the application's e-mail.

11.2 In case of not being possible to obtain the certificates mention in c) and g) until the due date of the application, the candidate may replace them by declarations of their responsibility with the corresponding content, submitted electronically and, in case of grant of the fellowship, send the official certificates to the IPMA, IP, before the contract being handled.

11.3 If the documents, referred in b), e), f) and g) are not delivered within 1 month after the publication of results, implies that the fellowship is not granted.

11.4. The application submission period will run from 07th September, 2026 and 18th September, 2026 (10 working days).

12. Legislation and regulation applicable

• Regulation for Scientific Research Fellowships of IPMA, IP, published in the Official Journal 2nd series, part C, n.º 154, of august 10 / 2020;
• Statute of the Scholarships for Scientific Research, approved by Law No. 40/2004 of 18 August, as amended by the Law No. 202/2012 of 27 August, Law No. 12/2013 of 29 January, Decree-Law No. 89/2013, of 9 July, Decree-Law No. 233/2012 of 29 October, Decree-Law No. 123/2019 of 28 August and Decree-Law No. 65/2024 of 1 October;
• Grants Regulation of the FCT, I. P., approved by the Regulation No 950/2019 of 29 November, published in Official Journal 2nd series, part C on 16 December 2019, reviewed by the Regulation No 643/2021 of 30 of June of 2021, published in Official Journal 2nd series, part C on 14 of July of 2021 and reviewed and republished by the Warning No. 412/2026/2, published in the Official Journal 2nd series, part C in 7 of January of 2026;
• Code of Administrative Procedure, approved by Decree-Law No. 4/2015, of 7 January, in the wording currently in force.

Note: In case of divergence between the public notice in Portuguese and the notice in English, the notice in Portuguese will prevail (published at https://www.ipma.pt/pt/recrutamento/bolsas/).

The Jury’s President,

Sofia Ermida