PUBLIC NOTICE
Call for allocation of a Scientist Scholarship
Reference: BI/FhP-26/03
The call for allocation of a Research Grant for a Student attending a Master's degree is open and subject to the following conditions:
- General scientific field: Engineering.
- Specific scientific field: Biomedical Engineering.
- Admission Requirements:
- i) Student attending an academic Master's degree in the specific scientific field mentioned in 2.
- ii) Knowledge and practical experience in machine learning algorithms, deep learning, and time-series data processing.
- iii) Demonstrated experience or interest in Self-Supervised Learning, Foundation Models, and Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) data applied to Human Activity Recognition (HAR).
- iv) Proficiency in English, excellent scientific writing capabilities, and teamwork skills.
- Work Plan: The Student will perform research activities within the Intelligent Systems Group, focused on the development, benchmarking, and validation of Foundation Models and Self-Supervised Learning frameworks for time-series IMU sensor data applied to Human Activity Recognition (HAR) and clinical mobility contexts (such as musculoskeletal disorders).
- 4.1. Tasks:
- Research, benchmark, and evaluate Self-Supervised Learning and Foundation Model representations for IMU time-series data using benchmark datasets (e.g., AICOSHAR) for Human Activity Recognition (HAR).
- Perform data management, curation, annotation, and harmonization of IMU sensor datasets for biomedical motion analysis and fall detection benchmarks.
- Explore and integrate Trustworthy AI methodologies (specifically Explainable AI - XAI and Uncertainty Quantification - UQ) applied to temporal sensor data.
- Draft and submit a scientific journal paper reporting the research outcomes on time-series foundation models for IMU-based Human Activity Recognition in musculoskeletal assessment.
- Write comprehensive technical reports detailing the methodology, experiments, and results obtained throughout the grant.
- Applicable law and regulation: Portuguese Statute of the Scientific Research Scholarship Holder ["Estatuto do Bolseiro de Investigação Científica"], approved by Law no. 40/2004, of August 18th, amended by Decree-Law no. 202/2012, of August 27th, Law no. 12/2013, of January 29th, Decree Law no. 89/2013, of July 9th (hereinafter referred to as the "Statute"), Law no. 123/2019, of August 28th and the Research Scholarships' Regulation of Associação Fraunhofer Portugal Research (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulation").
- Place of work: Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS, Lisbon, Portugal, under the scientific supervision of PhD Ricardo Santos.
- Scholarship's Duration and Regime: The scholarship shall have a duration of 6 months, eventually renewable for equal periods or until the term of the project, with an estimated starting date in November 2026, according to article 13 of the Regulation and article 3 of the Statute, under an exclusivity regime, except for the exceptions expressly set out in nos. 3 and 4 of Article 5 of the referred Statute. (https://www.fraunhofer.pt/content/dam/portugal/fhp/careers/grants/Regulamento_Bolsas_Fraunhofer_Portugal_Research_2021.pdf)
- Amount of the monthly maintenance allowance: The amount of the scholarship corresponds to €1090,98 as per the table of amounts of the scholarships of Associação Fraunhofer Portugal Research. (https://www.fraunhofer.pt/content/dam/portugal/fhp/careers/grants/Types of Research Grants at Associação Fraunhofer Portugal Research.pdf). The payment of the scholarship shall be made on a monthly basis, by wire transfer.
- Selection Procedures: The selection procedures to be used shall be made based on the following parameters:
- A. Actual average in the master's degree.
- B. Alignment of academic choices with the work to perform.
- C. Curriculum evaluation in accordance with the objectives of the project.
- The selection parameters shall be given the following percentage weighting: 0,2 x A + 0,3 x B + 0,5 x C.
- Composition of the selection panel:
- Luís Filipe Caeiro Margalho Guerra Rosado (PhD; Chairman).
- Ricardo Bruno Barbeiro dos Santos (PhD; Permanent Member).
- Duarte Miguel dos Santos Nunes Folgado (PhD; Permanent Member).
- Publication/notification of the results: The final evaluation results shall be published in a list ordered by the final score and posted in a visible and public place at Fraunhofer Portugal. All candidates have 10 days to comment. The approved applicant shall be notified by email.
- Opening period of the call: The call is open from 30-09-2026 to 13-10-2026.
- Documents and deadlines for application: Applications must be submitted by means of an application email with the following documents: Curriculum Vitae, required qualifications' certificate and other evidencing documents deemed relevant.
- Applications should be delivered during the call's opening period, sent by email with acknowledgment receipt to jobs@fraunhofer.pt, in pdf format, by 11:59 p.m. on October 13th, 2026.