Research Grant - Edital BI-CTAC-UMINHO - WaterPLAAN -1 Guimaraes

Offer Description

RESEARCH FIELD: Mathematics, Physics, Civil Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Data Science, or related fields.

RECIPIENT CATEGORY: Doctoral students enrolled in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Civil Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Engineering Physics, Data Science, or related areas.

CANDIDATES PROFILE / CANDIDATE ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Mandatory requirements:

In order to apply, the candidates must possess:

• A Master’s degree in fields of Mathematics, Physics, Civil Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Engineering Physics, Data Science, or related areas;
• Applicants must comply with the eligibility conditions set out in Article 9 of the Research Grant Regulations, No. 950/2019, of 16-12-2019, of FCT I. P.

At the time of the respective hiring, candidates must prove that they are enrolled in:

Ph
D in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Civil Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Engineering Physics, Data Science, or related areas;

Preferential factors:

• Previous experience in modelling and control;

Requirement for granting the fellowship:

The applicants may apply without prior registration in the course for which the fellowship is open. The requirement to enroll in a degree course will be verified on the date of contracting the fellowship.

• Only fellowships whose selected applicants present a valid proof of enrollment in a degree course will be contracted, issued by a Higher Education Institution, according to the type of the fellowship, indicating the academic year or its duration (start and term).

APPLICATION / ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The call is open from 24/09/2025 to 08/10/2025 (23:00 – Europe/Lisbon).

Applications must be sent exclusively by
- mail to ‘filipan@civil. uminho. pt’, with the subject “Edital BI-CTAC-UMINHO- Water
PLAAN-1”, 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;
• Certificates of the academic degree(s) required, specifying the final grading (mandatory) and, if possible, the grades obtained in all the attended curricular units, or, alternatively, the candidate's declaration of honor that the degree was obtained until the end of the term of application;
• Certificate of recognition of foreign academic degree and conversion of the respective final grading into the Portuguese grading scale, or, alternatively, the candidate's declaration of honor, if applicable;
• Statement proving compliance with the conditions for the scholarship type, in accordance with the application requirements (declaration of honor).

Failure to comply with the deadline for submitting the application, such as failure to submit or late submission of the application and the documents referred to in points 2) to 4), determines the exclusion of the application.

Regarding the admissibility requirements, the following should be noted:

• In the case of a degree granted by a foreign higher education institution, it is mandatory to recognize the degree and convert the final grading to the Portuguese grading scale. The documents of academic qualification or respective recognition will be required in the contracting phase and must attest facts that occurred on a date prior to the application. If the documents prove otherwise, the information in the declaration will be considered; discrepancies may affect ranking.
• Applicants with degrees obtained abroad must present proof of recognition of qualifications in Portugal and conversion of the final classification to the Portuguese scale or declaration as indicated above.
• 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 that the degree was obtained by the end of the application period will be accepted. At hiring, the official degree certificate must be presented.

DURATION OF THE RESEARCH GRANT

The research grant will last for 8 months, with a provisional starting date in December 2025. The grant may be renewed up to the project’s maximum and/or applicable legislation, if necessary to complete the academic degree or activities essential for the project.

WORK PLAN AND OBJECTIVES

The work will be part of the Water
Plaan exploratory project, which aims to study the effects of irrigation and fertilization on agricultural fields and water resources, focusing on reusing water from wastewater treatment plants. By using optimal control techniques and predictive modeling, the project seeks to develop management policies for irrigation, fertilization, and crop cultivation. The main goal is to optimize resource use and reduce water pollution.

HOST INSTITUTION AND SCIENTIFIC SUPERVISION

The work will be carried out at CTAC - Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction - Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering of the University of Minho, located at Azurém (Guimarães), under the scientific supervision of Doctor Filipa Nunes Nogueira (Invited Assistant Professor at the University of Minho) and coordination of Doctor José Luís Barroso Aguiar.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The evaluation of the applications will focus on the merit of the candidate, by applying the following criteria on a scale of 0 to 5 points:

• Criterion A - Motivation letter, with a weighting of 10%;
• Criterion B - Academic path (Final classification obtained in the Bachelor/Master/Integrated Master), with a weighting of 50%;
• Criterion C - Personal curriculum (considering professional and scientific background), with a weighting of 40%;

The final classification of the Candidate’s Merit (CM) will be obtained by applying the following formula:

CM = (A*0, 10) + (B*0, 50) + (C*0, 40)

The Selection Panel reserves the right not to award the research grant in the competition based on the evaluation results of the applicants and their suitability for the project objectives.

SELECTION PANEL

• President: Doctor Dr. Filipa Nunes Nogueira, Invited Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, School of Sciences, University of Minho.
• Effective members: Dr. José Luís da Silva Pinho, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Minho.
• Effective members: Doctor Dr. Sofia Oliveira Lopes, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, School of Sciences, University of Minho.
• Substitute members: Dr. Irene Vitória Ribeiro de Brito, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, School of Sciences, 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 impartiality, disclosure of conflicts of interest and confidentiality.

COMMUNICATION OF RESULTS

The results of the evaluation are announced by email to all candidates, attaching the minutes of the jury's deliberations, within a maximum period of 60 working days from the deadline for submission of applications. Candidates may be informed of the likely outcome in a preliminary hearing and may comment within 10 working days of notification, under applicable law.

COMPLAINT AND APPEAL PROCEDURES

The selected candidate must indicate, in writing, the intention to accept the grant within 10 working days of notification. The final decision can be contested within 15 working days, or an appeal may be lodged with the Rector within 30 working days, both after notification.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FINAL AWARDING OF THE GRANT

The scholarship is awarded through the signing of a contract between the University of Minho and the scholarship recipient, in accordance with the draft contract in Annex II of the University of Minho Regulations (RBIC). At the time of hiring, the following documents must be sent:

• National Identity Card/Citizen Card/Passport/Visa/Title of Residence;
• Copy of the certificate of the academic degree;
• Presentation of the certificate of recognition of foreign academic degree and conversion of the respective final grading into the Portuguese grading scale, if applicable;
• Document proving enrollment in the Doctoral Program identified in this application;
• Science ID;
• NIB/IBAN (bank account in the name of the candidate);
• Tax Identification Number (NIF);
• Digital mobile key (digital signature).

The contract may only be concluded after all required documentation is collected, which must occur within a maximum period of 6 months. The contracting entity then has 60 working days to conclude the scholarship contract, as per RBIC.

MONTHLY MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE

The monthly maintenance allowance is 1, 309. 64 euros per month, according to the FCT table of grants in Portugal and the University of Minho, updated annually by the Management Board. Payments are made by bank transfer on the 23rd of each month to the fellow’s bank account.

OTHER BENEFITS

Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Insurance (if elected) corresponding to the first tier of the contribution base (for grants of 6 months or more) and Personal Accident Insurance.

EXCLUSIVITY REGIME

The grantee will perform activities under exclusivity, as foreseen in the Research Fellow statutes and applicable regulations.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR GRANT RENEWAL

Grant may be renewed for additional periods if provided in the duration section and in the contract. Renewal requires a petition with supporting documents from the supervisor and host entity, proof of exclusivity, and enrollment in the study leading to a degree, as applicable.

TERM AND CANCELLATION OF GRANT CONTRACTS

The scholarship ceases on completion of the contracted work plan, or on expiry of the grant period. A Final Report must be submitted within 60 working days after the grant ends, in accordance with RBIC.

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS

Statutes and regulations governing Research Fellowship and RBIC apply, including Law no. 40/2004 and Regulation 950/2019, as specified in the notice.

NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL ACCESS POLICY

University of Minho promotes
- discrimination and equal access. Candidates must have required qualifications and meet enrollment requirements as described above.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

MONTHLY MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE (repeat note): The monthly value and payment details are as described in the Offer Description above.

OTHER BENEFITS (repeat note): Reimbursement and Insurance as described above.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

• The applicants may apply without prior registration in the course for which the fellowship is open. Enrollment will be verified at contracting.
• Only fellows with valid proof of enrollment will be contracted.
• For foreign degrees, recognition and conversion to the Portuguese scale are required at contracting; failure to comply may affect scoring.
• Applicants must have completed the required qualification by the end of the application period.

SELECTION PROCESS

The evaluation focuses on merit, using a 0-5 scale with a Merit score CM calculated as CM = (A*0. 10) + (B*0. 50) + (C*0. 40), where A, B, C correspond to motivation letter, academic path, and personal curriculum respectively. Final CM is reported in the minutes of deliberations.

Selection Panel

• President: Dr. Filipa Nunes Nogueira
• Effective members: Dr. José Luís da Silva Pinho
• Effective members: Dr. Sofia Oliveira Lopes
• Substitute members: Dr. Irene Vitória Ribeiro de Brito

If the President is unavailable, a replacement is appointed as described. The panel commits to impartiality, conflict of interest disclosure and confidentiality.

RESULT COMMUNICATION

Results are announced by email to all candidates, with minutes, within 60 working days from the deadline. Candidates may comment within 10 working days of notification.

FINAL REMARKS

If selected, the candidate must accept the grant within 10 working days of notification. The final decision can be contested within 15 days or appealed with the Rector within 30 days.