A call for applications is now open for the attribution of (1) post-doctoral research grant within the scope of the R&D project “RoboShot@FRC - Sistema Robotizado para Projeção Otimizada de Betão Reforçado com fibras em túneis ferroviários”, reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-047075, co-financed by FEDER, through Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Program (COMPETE 2020), in the following conditions:

RESEARCH FIELD: Civil Engineering or related fields

CANDIDATES PROFILE

Mandatory requirements:

The BIPD is intended for doctorates in the field of Civil Engineering or related fields, who cumulatively meet the following requirements:

• Holders of a PhD degree obtained in the three years prior to the date of submission of the grant application;
• Have carried out the research work that led to the attribution of a PhD degree in an entity other than the host unit (Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering, ISISE);
• Do not exceed, with the conclusion of the contract in question, including possible renewals, a cumulative period of three years in this type of grant, consecutive or interpolated;
• Applicants must comply with the eligibility conditions laid down in article 9 of the Research Grants Regulation of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (2019).

Candidates who do not cumulatively meet the requirements described will be excluded.

APPLICATION / ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The call is open from 23/11/2022 to 09/12/2022.

Applications must be sent exclusively by e-mail to barros@civil.uminho.pt, with the subject “Edital BIPD-ISISE-UMINHO-POCI-01-0247-FEDER-047075-B6.4”, with the following documents:

• Elements of the National Identity Card/Citizen Card/Passport/Visa/Title of Residence;
• Curriculum Vitae of the candidate, in Portuguese or in English;
• Certificate of the academic degree required;
• Motivation letter, in Portuguese or in English.
• Letters of recommendation (if applicable).

Regarding the above mentioned admissibility requirements, the following should be noted:

• In the case of a degree granted by a foreign higher education institution, and in order to ensure the application of the principle of equal treatment to candidates holding foreign and national academic degrees, it is mandatory to recognize the degree, under the terms of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16. The recognition of the degree when awarded by foreign higher education institution is not mandatory in the application phase, but will be required in the contracting phase.
• Only candidates who have completed the required qualification by the end of the application period will be admitted. If they do not yet have the official degree certificate, a declaration of honor from the candidate stating that he/she has completed the qualifications required by the end of the application period, will be accepted. At the time of the respective hiring the candidate must present the official degree certificate.

DURATION OF THE RESEARCH GRANT

The research grant will last for 5 months, with a provisional starting date on January, 2023.

The grant may be renewed, in case of prorogation of the project, until the applicable legislation limit, if it is necessary to carry out activities that are essential for the conclusion of the project.

WORK PLAN

• Development of a constitutive model for the simulation of the material nonlinear behaviour of fibre reinforced shotcrete, and its implementation in the software based on the finite dlement method, FEMIX; this model should simulate explicitly the cracks and consider the fibre reinforcement mechanisms, by adopting solid finite elements and layered shell finite element; Assessment of the predictive performance of the model.

HOST INSTITUTION AND SCIENTIFIC SUPERVISION

The work will be carried out at ISISE - Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering – of the Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering of the University of Minho, under the scientific supervision of Professors Joaquim António Oliveira Barros and António Ventura Gouveia.

SELECTION PANEL

The Selection Panel is composed by the following elements:

• President: Doctor Joaquim António Oliveira Barros, Full Professor, ISISE, University of Minho.
• Effective members: Doctor Eduardo Nuno Borges Pereira, Assistant Professor, ISISE, University of Minho, and Doctor Vítor Manuel Couto Fernandes Cunha, Assistant Researcher, ISISE, University of Minho.
• Substitute member: Doctor Tiago Filipe Silva Miranda, Assistant Professor with Aggregation, ISISE, University of Minho.

If the President of the Selection Panel is unavailable, he/she shall be replaced by the first effective member. The first substitute member will replace the effective member.

The Selection Panel, including the President, undertake the commitment to respect a set of responsibilities essential to the evaluation process, such as the duties of impartiality, of stating any potential situations of conflict of interest and confidentiality.

COMUNICATION OF RESULTS

The evaluation results, based on minutes, will be sent to the candidates by e-mail.

If the result is not in favor of the applicant, he/she has a period of 10 working days to comment the results, if he/she wishes it so, in the context of a prior hearing with the interested parties, under the terms of article 121 and 122 of the Administrative Procedure Code (DL nº 4 / 2015 of January 7).

COMPLAINT AND APPEAL PROCEDURES

The final results of the evaluation will be sent by email to all candidates, enclosing for that purpose, the minutes of the Selection Panel deliberations.

The selected candidate must indicate, in writing, the intention to accept the grant. In case of rejection, the grant will be awarded to the next candidate in the ordered list of candidates.

The candidates ranked in the next positions on the ordered list will be included in a selection reserve list, which is valid for a period of three months.

The final decision can be contested, having 15 working days for this purpose, by sending to the President of the Selection Panel the corresponding claim. Interested parties may also submit an optional hierarchical appeal, addressed to the Pro-Rector of the University of Minho for Scientific Projects and Research Management.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FINAL AWARDING OF THE GRANT

Research grant contracts are signed with the University of Minho, accordingly with the contract minute (annex IV of the Regulation of Research Fellowships of the University of Minho).At the time of hiring, the following documents must be sent:

1. National Identity Card/Citizen Card/Passport/Visa/Title of Residence;
2. Copy of the certificates of the academic degrees;
3. Presentation of the certificate of recognition of foreign academic degree and conversion of the respective final grading into the Portuguese grading scale, if applicable;
4. Science ID;
5. NIB/IBAN (document of the Bank with the name of the candidate);
6. Tax Identification Number (NIF);
7. Digital mobile key (digital signature).

The contract may only be concluded after all the documentation required is collected, which must take place within a maximum period of 6 months.Once all the documentation has been received, the contracting entity has a period of 60 working days to conclude the scholarship contract. Once received, the fellow must return the contract duly signed within 15 working days.

EXCLUSIVITY REGIME

The grantee will perform the activities under exclusivity, as foreseen in article 5º of the Research Fellow Statutes and applicable regulations.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR GRANT RENEWAL

Grant may be renewed for additional periods, if this information is provided in “DURATION OF THE RESEARCH GRANT" and in the contract. This additional period may not exceed the regulatory limits or the end of the project.

The renewal of the grant always depends on a petition submitted by the grant holder, on a date prior to the end of the grant contract, accompanied by the following documents:

1. report issued by the supervisor(s) and by the host entity(ies) on the follow-up of the grant holder's work and the evaluation of his/her activities;
2. updated document proving compliance with the exclusive dedication regime.

TERM AND CANCELLATION OF GRANT CONTRACTS

At the end of the grant, the grantee is obliged to present a Final Report of the work carried out, in accordance with the objectives and evaluation criteria defined with the scientific advisor, within 30 days after the end of the grant.

The Final Report must be prepared in accordance with Annex I of the Scientific Research Fellowships Regulation of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in Diário da República, 2nd Série, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021.

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS

Research Fellowship Holder Statutes, approved by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18, in its current version published by Decree-Law no. 123/2019 of august 28; Regulation of Scientific Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in “Diário da República”, 2nd serie, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021 and Regulation of Research Studentships and Fellowships (RBI) of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. - in force.