Call for Research Grant Assignment

The University of Coimbra opens a call for the assignment of a research grant, with one position(s), under the project NEXUS project “Agenda Mobilizadora Sines Nexus” (reference: Nº 7113).

The call is governed by this Notice of Opening, the University of Coimbra Research Grant Regulations (RBI-UC), subsidiarily by the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology (RBI-FCT), by the Research Fellow Statute (EBI), by the Norms for Grant Assignment and Management within R&D Projects, by the Code of Administrative Procedure (CPA), all in their current wording, and by other applicable national and community legislation.

Procedure Reference: IT137-2025- 262

I - Legal admission requirements
I.I - Grant Recipients:
Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering enrolled in a Master's degree course in Biomedical Engineering.
    
I.II -   Ineligible candidates: 
Candidates who have already benefited from two research grant contracts with UC in the condition of being enrolled in a master's degree, regardless of whether each contract has reached the maximum legally permitted duration .

I.III -  Eligible for grant assignment if meeting the requirements: 
a) Portuguese nationals or nationals of other EU Member States
b) Nationals of third countries
c) Stateless persons
d) Beneficiaries of political refugee status
When the work plan takes place, in whole or in part, in foreign institutions, only candidates who can prove permanent and habitual residence in Portugal at the start of the grant are eligible. 
    
II - Grant location: Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Technology at the University of Coimbra.
    
III- Scientific supervision/coordination of the grant: João Nuno Gonçalves Costa Cavaleiro Correia
    
IV - Work Plan / Goals to be achieved: Title: Research on state-of-the-art models for computer vision based on Machine Learning.
Work Plan:
Planned activities:
- Study of existing frameworks and models;
- Analysis and study of state-of-the-art techniques in image classification models based on machine learning e.g. Vision Transformers, Visual Language Models;
- Updating the existing framework with appropriate approaches;
- Experimentation and validation of approaches;
- Writing of scientific papers.
- Writing of technical and scientific documentation
In addition to knowledge in the scientific domain of the problem, the scholarship holder is expected to acquire skills in research methods and teamwork.
    
V - Initial grant duration: 5 months (as long as it does not exceed the project’s end date)
    
V.I - Renewal Possibility: Possibily renewable (as long as it does not exceed the project’s end date) 
    
VI - Funding and financial conditions of the grant
VI.I - Monthly grant amount (paid by bank transfer at the end of each month): 1040,98€
    
    
VI.II - In addition to the above amounts, voluntary social security (SSV) is included when the grant has a duration of six months or more, corresponding to the first level, if the candidate opts for it, as well as mandatory personal accident insurance.
    
VI.III - Funding: The grant(s) assigned under this call will be funded by PRR - Recovery and Resilience Plan and by the Next Generation EU Funds, following NOTICE N.º 02/C05-i01/2022, Component 5 – Capitalization and Business Innovation - Mobilizing Agendas for Business Innovation 
    
VI.IV - Information and publicity about the funding: In all R&D activities directly or indirectly financed by the grant, in particular, in all communications, publications and scientific creations, as well as theses, carried out with the support provided for in the grant, mention of financial support by the PRR must be expressed.
In all scholarships, and in particular in the case of actions supported by community funding, monitoring and control actions may be carried out by national and community bodies in accordance with applicable legislation in this matter, with supported scholarship holders being obliged to collaborate and provide the requested information, which includes carrying out surveys and evaluation studies in this area, even if the scholarship has already ended. 
    
VII - Selection Methods: Evaluation of the academic record (AR-50%) and/or Interview (I-50%) 
    
VII.I - AR - In the evaluation of the academic record, the candidates' academic performance will be assessed according to the following weights and criteria:
- Criterion 1- Graduation average; 
- Criterion 2- Absolute merit of the curriculum vitae.

VII.II- I – In the evaluation of the interview, candidates' performance will be assessed according to the following weights and criteria:
- Criterion 1- Demonstration of interest in developing research in the area of computational learning and computer vision; 
- Criterion 2- Motivation and interest.

VII.III- The evaluation of the criteria and the final classification will be based on a scale from 0 to 100, with scores rounded to the nearest hundredth, applying the following formulas:
- AR: criterion 1 * (60%) + criterion 2 * (40%) = 100%
- I: criterion 1 * (60%) + criterion 2 * (40%) = 100%
- Final Classification (FC): AR * (50%) + I * (50%) = X
   
VII.IV - All candidates who meet the admission requirements are subject to the academic record evaluation, carried out according to the criteria and weights defined in VII.I.
    
VII.V - Candidates who score below 50 in any selection method will be excluded, and subsequent methods, if any, will not apply to them. Candidates who are duly notified but fail to attend the interview (if applicable) or withdraw at any stage will also be excluded.
    
VII.VI - All candidates who score above 50 in the AR will proceed to the next method, i.e., the interview.      
VII.VII - Tie-breaking criteria: In the event of a tie in the rankings, candidates will be ordered in descending order as follows:
a) Based on the score obtained in the first method applied;
b) Based on the score of their academic qualifications.
    
VII.VIII - All provisional and final jury decisions must be justified, recorded in minutes, and published on https://apply.uc.pt/.
    
VII.IX - Jury Composition:
    
President: João Nuno Gonçalves Costa Cavaleiro Correia
Effective Members: Tiago Filipe dos Santos Martins; João Pedro Gonçalves Teixeira de Macedo
Alternate Members: Catarina Sofia Henriques Maçãs; Nuno António Marques Lourenço

    
VIII- Application Submission
Candidates must access and register on the electronic platform https://apply.uc.pt/ to submit their application, selecting the procedure to which they wish to apply.
Documents uploaded for the application must be in portable document format (PDF).
Applications are submitted by completing the sections available in the electronic platform "Apply UC" under "My Application."
    
VIII.I- Mandatory documents to attach when applying:
    Curriculum Vitae, duly updated, dated, and signed; 
    Copy of academic degree certificates. 
a)    If the possession of a degree is a requirement for the grant, candidates holding a degree obtained abroad must, by the end of the application period, provide proof of recognition or evidence that it has been requested, as per Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of August 16. Failure to present degree recognition at the time of contract signing, as per the RBI-UC, will result in exclusion.
b)    If duly justified, documents proving the possession of academic degrees and diplomas, or their recognition, may be waived at the application stage and replaced by a candidate's sworn statement. However, until the grant agreement stage, the respective proofs must be submitted under penalty of exclusion.
c)    Proof of enrollment in a degree or non-degree course may be waived at the application stage and replaced by a sworn statement from the candidate. However, the required proof must be submitted by the grant agreement stage under penalty of exclusion. 
    Whenever possible, documentation proving prior grant benefits should also be attached to the application.
    
VIII.II- Other documents to attach when applying:
    Any other elements the candidate considers relevant.
    Motivation Letter.
    Bachelor’s degree academic transcript.

    
VIII.III - All application documents must be submitted in Portuguese and/or English. When the originals are in another language, a translation into one of these languages must be provided.
    
VIII.IV - Applications that are not properly completed or do not meet the admission criteria defined in the applicable legislation and this notice will not be accepted.
    
VIII.V - No documents required for the application may be submitted after the application deadline.
    
VIII.VI - Without prejudice to the penal provisions of the law, false statements made by candidates or grant holders regarding relevant matters for the grant award or renewal, or for the evaluation of its progress, will result in its cancellation.
     
IX – Application deadline: 27/06/2025 to 11/07/2025      
    
X - Activity Regime: The grant does not create or constitute a legal-labor relationship. It is carried out under an exclusive dedication regime, and the grantee is awarded the Research Grantee Status, as stipulated in the EBI and the RBI-UC.
    
XI - Notification of Candidates: All notifications will be made through the electronic platform Apply UC, under the terms of subparagraph c) of paragraph 1 and subparagraph b) of paragraph 2 of Article 112 of the CPA and Article 22 of the RBI-UC. The notifications will take effect after being made, as provided in Article 113 of the CPA.
    
XII - Under Articles 121 and 122 of the CPA and Article 22 of the RBI-UC, candidates may, if they wish, submit comments regarding the jury's decisions within 10 business days, through the "Audiência dos Interessados" option in the platform's procedure section.
    
XIII - Candidates may also submit a complaint within 15 business days or an appeal to the UC's highest-ranking official within 30 business days, both following the respective notification, under Articles 191 and 192 of the CPA.
    
XIV - Selected candidates must declare in writing, within five business days of notification, their acceptance of the grant and confirm that they meet the requirements to accept the proposed start date of the grant contract. Unless a justifiable reason is provided, failure to provide this declaration within the stipulated time will be considered a renunciation of the grant. In case of renunciation or withdrawal by the selected candidate, the next candidate on the final classification list will be notified.
    
XV - The full competition process can be consulted by candidates, subject to prior scheduling, by sending an email to the Human Resources Management Service at: sgrh@uc.pt.
    
XVI - In compliance with subparagraph h) of Article 9 of the Constitution, the University of Coimbra, as an employer, actively promotes a policy of equal opportunities between men and women in terms of employment access and career progression, ensuring that any form of discrimination is strictly avoided. It encourages underrepresented minorities in each area to apply.
Accordingly, no one may be privileged, benefited, disadvantaged, or deprived of any right or exempted from any duty on the grounds of ancestry, age, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, family status, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, place of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs, or trade union membership.
The University of Coimbra also promotes measures to facilitate the balance between professional, family, and personal life, recognizing the efforts of its employees and fostering motivation.
    
XVII- The grantee must submit annual activity reports for each renewal and at the end of the grant contract, as stipulated in Article 7 of the RBI-UC, subject to an opinion issued by the respective supervisor(s). The report models, performance evaluation criteria, and the grant contract model are those approved under the University of Coimbra's Research Grant Regulations.