Research Grant Scholarship (BI)

Offer Description

The Laboratory of Applied Artificial Intelligence (2Ai), a R&D unit of the School of Technology (EST) of the University Polytechnic of Cávado and Ave (UPCA), open a call for one (1) Research Grant Scholarship (BI), within the scope of the project “HeAICare: AI-Driven Solutions for Optimizing Feto Neonatal Neurodevelopment: Monitoring, Diagnosis, and Personalized Treatment”, with reference NORTE2030-FEDER-01821500 (Notice NORTE2030-2024-13 – SACCCT - Integrated ICDT projects - APNOR Consortium) financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under the Northern Regional Operational Programme (NORTE2030), of Portugal 2030.

Scientific Areas: Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Engineering or similar areas.

Project: HeAICare: AI-Driven Solutions for Optimizing Feto-Neonatal Neurodevelopment: Monitoring, Diagnosis, and Personalized Treatment

Where to apply

E-mail: candidatura_2ai_est@ipca.pt

Requirements

• Research Field: Engineering » Electrical engineering
  Education Level: Bachelor Degree or equivalent
• Research Field: Engineering » Electronic engineering
  Education Level: Bachelor Degree or equivalent
• Research Field: Engineering » Biomedical engineering
  Education Level: Bachelor Degree or equivalent
• Research Field: Engineering » Computer engineering
  Education Level: Bachelor Degree or equivalent

Specific Requirements

EDITAL PARA A ATRIBUIÇÃO DE BOLSAS DE INVESTIGAÇÃO NO ÂMBITO DE PROJETOS E INSTITUIÇÕES DE I&D

Title: Announcement for the award of (1) research grants (BI)
Reference: HEAICARE-UPCA-EST-2AI-BI-13
Number of positions: 1
Project: HeAICare: AI-Driven Solutions for Optimizing Feto-Neonatal Neurodevelopment: Monitoring, Diagnosis, and Personalized Treatment

The Laboratory of Applied Artificial Intelligence (2Ai), a R&D unit of the School of Technology (EST) of the University Polytechnic of Cávado and Ave (UPCA), open a call for one (1) Research Grant Scholarship (BI), within the scope of the project “HeAICare: AI-Driven Solutions for Optimizing Feto Neonatal Neurodevelopment: Monitoring, Diagnosis, and Personalized Treatment”, with reference NORTE2030-FEDER-01821500 (Notice NORTE2030-2024-13 – SACCCT - Integrated ICDT projects - APNOR Consortium) financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under the Northern Regional Operational Programme (NORTE2030), of Portugal 2030.

Scientific Areas: Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Engineering or similar areas.

Admission requirements:

• Candidates must have a degree¹ in the areas: Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Engineering or similar areas.

¹ If the qualification has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution, it will have to be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, in accordance with the provisions of article 25 of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of 16 August, which approves the legal regime for the recognition of academic degrees and higher education diplomas, awarded by foreign higher education institutions and paragraph e) of paragraph 2 of article 4 of Decree Law no. 60/2018, August 3, and any formalities established therein must be fulfilled by the date of the contracting act.

• Candidates must be enrolled in a master's, integrated master's or doctorate or enrolled in a non-academic course, namely advanced training courses or postgraduate courses, in accordance with the established legal regime in numbers 3 to 6 of article 4 of Decree-Law no. 74/2006, of March 24.

Work plan:

• The “HeAICare: AI-Driven Solutions for Optimizing Feto-Neonatal Neurodevelopment: Monitoring, Diagnosis, and Personalized Treatment” project aims to develop an artificial intelligence-based platform for analyzing neurodevelopment during the fetal and neonatal periods and for modeling orthoses for the treatment of cranial deformities. The candidate will be involved in developing artificial intelligence methods for analyzing neonatal development.

Legislation:

• Research Fellow Statute, approved by Law No. 40/2004, of 18 August, in its current wording, as well as the Research Fellowship Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I. P. (FCT), approved by Regulation No. 950/2019, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, No. 241, of 16 December 2019, amended by Regulation No. 643/2021, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, No. 135, of 14 July 2021, and amended and republished by Notice (extract) No. 412/2026/2 (https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/aviso-extrato/412-2026-996320857).
• Regulations on Research Grants of the Institute Polytechnic of Cávado and Ave, approved by Order No. 12952/2023 (Diário da República No. 242/2023, Series II of 18 December 2023).

Workplace: The Work Plan will be developed at the Applied Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (2Ai), the R&D unit of the School of Technology of the University Polytechnic of Cávado and Ave, under the scientific guidance of Professor João Vilaça.

Duration of scholarships: The grant will have a duration of twelve (12) months, starting in January 2027, possibly renewable, if the candidate meets the conditions, up to the maximum time limit in which funding for the project is guaranteed and/or while the project execution period is running, if the contract it is not denounced, in writing, with 30 days prior notice by either part.

Monthly maintenance allowance amount: Scholarship holders are awarded a monthly subsidy of € 1090,98, in accordance with the table of values for FCT scholarships (Tabela de Valores SMM-2026.pdf), and according to the table in Annex IV of the Regulation of Research Grants of the Institute Polytechnic of Cavado and Ave, updated in accordance with paragraph 8 of Article 26 of the UPCA Regulation. This amount will be paid monthly by bank transfer.

Other benefits: Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Insurance, corresponding to the 1st step of the contributory base, and Personal Accident Insurance.

Applications evaluation: Applications will be evaluated taking into account the selection criteria listed below. In case the selected scholarship holder withdraws, the second candidate from the ordered list of candidates will be automatically selected, and so on, until the candidates presented are exhausted.

Selection methods: The selection methods to be used will be the following: Curricular evaluation, with a value of 50% and Selection Interview, with a value of 50%.

• The Curriculum Assessment (AC) is based on the following criteria:
  • Classification obtained in the bachelor - 50%;
  • Scientific and/or professional experience related to the project – 50 %.
• The Selection Interview (ES) will have a maximum duration of 30 minutes and is based on the following criteria:
  • Motivation and interest in the place – 20 %;
  • Capacity for expression, argumentation and verbal fluency – 20 %;
  • Sense of teamwork – 20 %;
  • Domain of English Language - 10%;
  • Compatibility with the work plan profile – 30 %.
• In case of a tie, preference will be given to the classification obtained in the AC, if a tie persists, preference will be given to the classification obtained in each of the factors that make up the EPS criterion, in the following order:
  • Compatibility with the work plan profile (30%);
  • Sense of teamwork (20%);
  • Motivation and interest in the place (20%);
  • Capacity for expression, argumentation and verbal fluency (20%);
  • Domain of English Language (10%).
• Candidates who do not attend the interview, for reasons not legally justified, will be excluded, regardless of the score obtained in the curriculum evaluation, and candidates with a final classification of less than 9.50 points.

Selection Jury: The Jury is composed of:
Rector: Professor Doctor João Luis Araújo Martins Vilaça, Coordinator of 2AI, Project Manager and Coordinator Professor of the School of Technology of the 2Ai/EST/UPCA.
Effective Members:
- Doctor Pedro André Gonçalves Morais, Auxiliar Researcher of 2Ai/EST/UPCA.
- Doctor Helena Daniela Ribeiro Torres, Auxiliar Researcher of 2Ai/EST/UPCA.
Vogais Suplentes:
- Doctor Fernando José da Silva Veloso, Auxiliar Researcher of 2Ai/EST/UPCA.
- Professor Doctor Estela Maria dos Santos Ramos Vilhena, Coordinator Professor of the School of Technology of the 2Ai/EST/UPCA.

Stakeholder participation and decision: Candidates will be notified of the assessment results project by email with delivery receipt of the notification, so that they can comment for the purpose of holding a hearing of interested parties, pursuant to article 121 et seq. of the Code of Administrative Procedure, to the email candidatura_2ai_est@ipca.pt. In the absence of a response from the candidates, the project becomes definitive.

Decision: Once the prior hearing period has elapsed, or the issues raised within this scope have been considered, the jury draws up the final ranking list of the admitted candidates, submitting it, together with the remaining parts of the procedure, for approval by the UPCA Rector.

Form of advertising/notification of results: The results of the evaluation will be publicized, through a list sorted by the final grade obtained, and the candidates will be notified by email, with delivery receipt of the notification, pursuant to article 16, paragraph 1, of the Research Grants Regulation of the Institute Polytechnic of Cávado and Ave.

Application deadline and form of submission of applications:

• The contest is open for a period of 10 working days after publication.
• Applications must be sent exclusively by email to the address: candidatura_2ai_est@ipca.pt. In the subject of the e-mail it is mandatory to put the reference of the to which you are applying. If the reference of the scholarship is not indicated in the subject of the e-mail, the candidate will be automatically excluded from the procedure.
• Applications must be formalized, obligatorily through a presentation, accompanied by the following documents:
  • Curriculum Vitae;
  • Proof of Enrollment in a master's, integrated master's, doctorate or in non-academic degree courses integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution;
  • Certificate(s) of qualifications and other documents considered relevant for consideration (optionally letters of reference).
• Curriculum Vitae and Certificates of Qualifications must be presented, the non-delivery of which determines the exclusion.
• Proof of enrollment in a master's, doctorate or non-degree courses must be presented until the scholarship is contracted. The candidate must attach a declaration of honor, under pain of exclusion, to confirm that they meet the requirements for enrolment in an integrated master's degree, master's or doctoral program, or in non-academic degree courses.
• If the candidate is not a Portuguese citizen, he/she must provide documentary evidence, at the time of signing the grant contract, that he/she holds an authorization to legally remain in Portuguese territory and that entitles him/her to enter into the contract arising from the grant award.
• If the qualification requested has been conferred by a foreign university, it must comply with the provisions of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of 16th August, and any formalities established herein must be fulfilled until the date of the signature of the grant contract. Registration of the recognition of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions and registration of the conversion of the respective final classification to the Portuguese classification scale may be waived at the application stage and replaced by a declaration of honor by the candidate, to be presented at the time of application, with verification of this condition only occurring at the stage of contracting the scholarship. If the candidate does not present the conversion of the classification to the Portuguese classification scale, the jury will establish the conversion, only for the purposes of the competition, based on the rules of the legal regime applicable to the recognition of foreign degrees and diplomas or, when impossible, will apply the minimum classification of 10 points.

Complaint: Complaints from the final ordering list, duly ratified, may be made to the UPCA Rector, to be submitted within 15 working days from the notification, to the email candidatura_2ai_est@ipca.pt, which does not have a suspensive effect.

Non-discrimination and equal access policy: The UPCA actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, so that no candidate can be privileged, benefited, harmed or deprived any right or exemption from any duty due, in particular, to ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, economic status, origin or social status, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, illness chronicle, nationality, ethnic or race origin, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and union membership.

Barcelos, 7 de outubro de 2026.
A Reitora da Universidade Politécnica do Cávado e do Ave
Professora Doutora Maria Alexandra Pereira da Silva Malheir

Internal Application form(s) needed

• Edital_2Ai_Bolsa_BI_HeAICare_AI_BI-13_PT vf.pdf (English, PDF)
• Edital_2Ai_Bolsa_BI_HeAICare_BI-13_ING vf.pdf (English, PDF)

Additional Information

Work Location(s)

• Number of offers available: 1
• Company/Institute: Universidade Politécnica do Cávado e do Ave
• Country: Portugal
• State/Province: Barcelos
• City: Barcelos
• Postal Code: 4750-827
• Street: Campus da UPCA, Vila Frescaínha S. Martinho

Contact

• State/Province: Barcelos
• City: Barcelos
• Website: http://www.ipca.pt
• Street: Campus do IPCA, Vila Frescaínha S. Martinho
• Postal Code: 4750-810
• E-Mail: geral@ipca.pt