Research scholarship_Sinfonia -02708800– BI -4

Organisation/Company Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Porto Research Field Engineering » Other Technology » Biotechnology Biological sciences » Nutritional sciences Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Master Positions Country Portugal Application Deadline 10 Dec 2025 - 17:00 (Europe/Lisbon) Type of Contract Other Type of Contract Extra Information NA Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 24 Nov 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

CALL FOR APPLICATION FOR A RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP

A call for tenders is now open for the attribution of one Research Scholarship within the scope of the Project “SINFONIA - Sustainable Agroecosystems, Food Innovation, and Artistic Practices for Climate Adaptation” project
- financed by the European Union (FEDER), through the Northern Regional Programme (Norte 2030), under the following conditions, set out below.

Scientific area: Biotechnology and Nutritional Sciences

Admission requirements:

General requirements:

Candidates for the Research grant must, at the date of application, be enrolled, or present a commitment to enroll in a study cycle conferring an (Doctoral) degree in Biotechnology or related areas. Candidates selected for the Research Fellowship must, to initiate the grant contract, enroll in the Doctoral Program in Biotechnology at the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, in accordance with the topic and work plan defined for the fellowship to be carried out under the
- mentioned project. This doctoral program must be undertaken at the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa and supervised by the team identified for the execution of the work plan.

Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree in nutrition sciences or a master’s degree in human nutrition, Food Engineering, Biotechnology and Innovation or related fields, and meet the eligibility criteria for admission under the general doctoral regulations of Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

Specific requirements:

Candidates must also have knowledge/research experience in the following areas:

• Development and characterization of functional foods, with mastery of ultrasound and cold plasma techniques, microbiological, physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory characterization of foods, and design and implementation of biological activities.
• Experience in quantitative and qualitative data analysis.

Preferred Factors:

Will be considered preferred factors:

• a) knowledge of
  - based foods, with experience publishing in scientific journals;
• b) very good communication and interpersonal skills, as well as teamwork skills;
• c) strong organizational, initiative, and time management skills;
• d) a high degree of rigor and sense of responsibility;
• e) a strong capacity for work, autonomy, and responsibility.

Work Plan:

The research fellow will participate in the following project tasks: formulation and development of a
- based liquid egg analogue adapted to the technological needs of the food industry/consumer; microbiological, physicochemical, organoleptic, and technological and biological functionality characterization of egg analogues; stability tests during storage and consumption; digestibility and bioavailability tests using in vitro models of the gastrointestinal tract and cell lines; developing and scaling up prototypes for system demonstration in a relevant environment (TRL7); mapping consumer perception, familiarity, and acceptance of
- based egg analogues; developing educational materials and conducting a practical training workshop on
- based egg analogues and evaluating their effectiveness in improving food literacy and dietary transitions.

The work will be developed at the CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina. of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Portugal, in Porto, under the scientific supervision of Prof. Ana Gomes, Prof. Elisabete Pinto, and Prof. Cristina Luísa Silva.

Duration of the scholarship:

The scholarship, which is expected to begin on January 15, 2026, will have an initial duration of 12 months on an exclusive basis. This grant may be renewed for an additional period of 17, 5 months, but may not exceed the end of the project, scheduled for June 30, 2028.

The selection methods to be used will be the following: i) curriculum evaluation (60%); ii) previous experience (40%). If necessary, the 3 best positioned candidates may be interviewed, and in this situation, the weighting will be curricular evaluation (50%). ; ii) previous experience (30%) and selection interview (20%).

Only candidates with a final classification equal to or greater than 60points, on a scale of 0 to 100, will be selected for this position.

Applications that do not meet the admission requirements, delivered on time and incomplete applications will be considered ineligible.

Composition of the Selection Jury: President of the Jury: Prof. Manuela Pintado, Effective Members: Prof. Ana Gomes, Prof. Elisabete Pinto, and Prof. Cristina Luísa Silva. Substitute Jury: Dr. Marta Nunes Silva.

Form of advertising/notification of results: The jury deliberates in accordance with the selection criteria adopted and disclosed. The jury meetings minutes will contain a summary of the meeting content. After completing the application of the selection criteria, the jury proceeds with the elaboration of the ordered list, with the ranking of the approved candidates. The ranking list of eligible candidates will be published on the premises of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto, located at Rua de Diogo Botelho, 1327, 4169-005 Porto - Portugal, with each candidate being notified of his/her position on the list ranking of candidates via email. Ineligible applicants will be notified by email, with details of the missing eligibility elements.

Complaint and appeal procedures: Candidates have a period of ten working days, after the disclosure referred to in the previous number, to give their opinion at a prior hearing.

Deadline for acceptance of the scholarship: Within ten working days following notification of the grant award, the selected candidate must confirm in writing his/her availability to start the scholarship on the proposed date. Failing to do so or not having availability, the candidate placed in the next position will be called.

Application deadline and form of submission:

Candidates submit their application from November 24, 2025. until December 10, 2025. (until 5 pm, Lisbon time).

It will be necessary to submit the following documents:

• Cover letter, identifying the title and reference of the project, describe the motivation and professional objectives of the candidate.
• Detailed Curriculum Vitae (should contain all the elements to assess the admission requirements, including language knowledge and research experience).
• Copy of the certificate(s) of qualifications conferring academic degree in the terms requested in the notice, which contain the final classifications.
• Registration of recognition of the academic degree awarded by a foreign higher education institution, preferably with the registration of the conversion of the respective final classification to the Portuguese classification scale to guarantee eligibility in this call for application [1].
• Proof of registration or letter with the commitment to register/enroll in a
  - awarding study cycle under the terms already described in this notice [2].

Only applications received during the opening period of the
- mentioned call shall be considered. Candidates who incorrectly formalise their application or who do not prove the requirements of this call are excluded. False statements made by applicants will be punished under the law.

Privacy Policy:

Universidade Católica Portuguesa is the controller responsible for the processing of Personal Data in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – General Regulation on Data Protection.

The personal data processed in the scope of this tender procedure is processed within the framework of said tender procedure only and will be processed by Universidade Católica Portuguesa with the purpose of verifying the fulfilment, by the candidates, of the assumptions established in the applicable legislation for their contracting. Opposition to the processing of data by the candidates will make it impossible to accept the application and, therefore, to analyse and evaluate it.

The personal data of the Data Subject, if it be indispensable for the fulfilment of the obligations of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, may be conveyed to third parties, namely to the Financing Entities identified in this announcement.

The data retention period shall correspond to the legally defined period of five years.

The Data Subject is entitled to oppose to the collection and processing of data, has the right to verification, the right to rectification, the right to deletion, and the right to restriction of processing of the data collected. However, the exercise of such rights may be excluded when the personal data is used to protect public interest, namely in the detection and prevention of crimes or when subject to professional rules of confidentiality.

The Data Subject has the right of access and portability of the data.

For purposes of exercising the respective rights, contact the University through the
- mail address compliance. rgpd@ucp. pt or by using the address found at the end of this announcement, through the means set out in "Contacts for clarification".

Non-discrimination and equal access policy:

Universidade Católica Portuguesa actively promotes a
- discrimination and equal access policy, wherefore no candidate can be privileged, benefited, impaired or deprived of any rights whatsoever, or be exempt of any duties based on their ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, family and economic conditions, instruction, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions, and union membership.

If you have any questions about this position, please contact:

[1] If the required academic degree has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the Portuguese legislation on the recognition of foreign degrees, regulated by DL no. 66/2018 of 16 August.

[2] The contracting of the research scholarship requires the candidate to provide enrollment in the
- awarding course required in this notice. If the document is not presented within a maximum period of 30 days (in a row), counting from the date of communication of the selection to the candidate, the Jury Panel will have the power to disqualify the application due to failure to present the registration within the aforementioned period.

Research Field Biological sciences » Nutritional sciences Education Level Bachelor Degree or equivalent

Additional Information

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Centro Regional do Porto Country Portugal Geofield