1 Research Grant Announcement (M/F)

Call open for applications for a research grant within the framework of research activities in artificial intelligence for industrial automation, funded by the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, under the following conditions:

Scientific Area:  Electrical and Computer Engineering

Admission requirements: Candidates enrolled in a doctoral program in the scientific area of this call may apply for this grant, a requirement to be duly proven at the time of hiring.

Activity Outline: Research activities in the area of applying Machine Learning in the context of Industry 4.0. Study of using Machine Learning methods for the automatic interpretation and conversion of legacy automation programs expressed in Ladder Diagrams.

Legislation and regulations: Law Nº. 40/2004, of 18th August, in its current wording (Statutes of Scientific Research Fellow) and Regulation of Research Grants of University of Porto.

Work place: The work will be carried out in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, and will take place under the scientific supervision of Mário Jorge Rodrigues de Sousa.

Grant duration: Initial duration of 3 months, with the predicted starting date in April 2025, on an exclusive basis eventually renewable for equal periods up to a limit of 6 months. If the contracting procedures do not allow the scholarship to have a minimum duration of 3 consecutive months, in accordance with paragraph 2 of article 10 of the Research Regulation of Research Grants of University of Porto, the grant will not be awarded.

The eventual renewal of the scholarship will be carried out as determined in article 10 of the Regulation of Research Grants of University of Porto.

Stipend: The monthly amount of the grant varies between 1.309,64 euros, according to the Research Regulation of Research Grants of University of Porto, and 1.609,64 euros, depending on the profile and previous experience of the candidate in the project area.  Payment will be made by bank transfer.

Selection procedure: 

A curriculum evaluation (60%) will be carried out, based on the merit of the candidates in which the following factors will be considered:

a) Experience and general skills in the areas of machine learning and Industry 4.0 (up to 7 points; other related areas - up to 2 points).

b) Experience and specific skills concerning the identification of design patterns, using Machine Learning, within images containing Ladder Diagrams and their automatic transformation to up-to-date programming paradigms (up to 8 points; other related specific areas‐ up to 3 points).

c) Domain of the English language, to be verified through certificates and motivation letter (up to 3 points).

d) Letters of recommendation (up to 2 points).

The curriculum evaluation of the candidates is obtained by the direct sum of the scores obtained in the aforementioned factors, resulting in a scale from 0 to 20 points. Candidates assessed with less than 14 in the curricular evaluation will not be admitted. The two candidates best classified in the curriculum evaluation who have obtained a score equal to or greater than 14 points in the curricular evaluation, will be selected for an interview (40%) (20 points). During the interview, topics related to the work plan and the experience and CV of the candidate will be discussed. The final evaluation results from the weighted sum of the curriculum evaluation (60%) and the interview (40%).

Selection Jury: 

President: Professor  Luís Miguel Pinho de Almeida, FEUP;

1st effective member: Professor  Mário Jorge Rodrigues de Sousa, FEUP;

2nd effective member: Professor Pedro Alexandre Guimarães Lobo Ferreira Souto, FEUP;

1st alternate member: Professor Ana Cristina Costa Aguiar, FEUP;

2nd substitute member: Professor Pedro Miguel Salgueiro dos Santos, Universidade de Aveiro;

Advertisement of final decision: The results of the evaluation will be released to the candidates

by email to the email address indicated in the application process.

Deadline for applications and form of presentation of the applications: 

The call is open from 17-03-2025 to 28-03-2025 (until 23h59m, GMT time).

Applications must be formalized by email to lda@fe.up.pt and to recursoshumanos@fe.up.pt, clearly stating the reference FEUP_AutomationAI_PhD and including the following pdf documents: Motivation letter, Copy of certificates evidencing academic degree (referring the classification of each separated or integrated degree),Curriculum Vitae; and other documents considered relevant by the applicant. 

In order to assure that all documents can be read, the preferred saving format is the Portable Document Format (.pdf).