Two positions are open for Research Fellowships for Masters under the project FROM FOSSIL TO FOREST - F2F, REFª [C632868078-00467205], financed under Invitation Notice n.º 02/C05-i01/2022 regarding the development of projects within the scope of the Mobilizing Agendas for Business Innovation, framed and financed under component n.º 5 - Capitalization and Business Innovation of the Recovery and Resilience in Portugal.

1.       Scientific field: Materials Engineering and related areas

2.       Admission requirements: Applicants must hold a Masters degree in Materials Engineering/Chemistry/Physics or related areas, and be enrolled in a PhD or a course that does not award an academic degree. Priority will be given to the Materials Engineering/Chemistry area and to candidates with research experience in the specific scientific area of the work plan. Candidates who have obtained the degree abroad must have the degree recognized in Portugal, pursuant to Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of August 16. The documents attesting to this academic situation must be submitted before the contracting stage of the scholarship and may be replaced by a declaration of honor during the application process.

3.       Workplan:

Under the fellowship no. 1 of this project outlines the selected candidate will do the following research developments:

·         Designing and fabricating sensors (thermal/humidity of food quality) on different types of packaging materials.

·         Materials development (mainly oxide/polymeric) and characteristics design for sensor applications.

·         Designing smart surfaces with low-cost bactericidal coatings.

·         Study of mechanical and mechano-electrical behavior of cellulose-based devices for different environment conditions. 

·         Prepare reports and scientific articles, project reports based on the work described above.

Under the fellowship no. 2 of this project outlines the selected candidate will do the following research developments:

·         Preparation, modification and characterization of cellulose-based ink different printable conditions aiming to build 2D/3D structures.

·         Functionalization of the cellulose ink/cellulose-based substrate by polymeric/graphene materials.

·         Designing functional cellulose-based/paper substrates for sensor applications (humidity/thermal).

·         Study of mechanical and mechano-electrical behavior of cellulose-based devices for different environment conditions. 

·         Prepare reports and scientific articles, project reports based on the work described above.

4.       Applicable legislation and regulations: Law No. 40/2004, of August 18, amended and republished by Decree-Law No. 202/2012 of 27 August (Statute of the Scientific Research Fellow) and amended by Decree-Law No. 233/2012 of 29 October, by Law No. 12/2013 of January 29, Decree-Law No. 89/2013 of July 9 and Decree-Law No. 123/2019 of August 28; Regulation of Research Scholarships of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. in force (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/RegulamentoBolsasFCT2019.pdf).

5.       Workplace: The work will be developed at the Materials Research Center (CENIMAT/I3N) of the Nova School of Science and Technology, under the scientific supervision of Dr. Suman Nandy and Dr. Inês Cunha.

6.       Duration of the fellowship(s): The fellowships will last for 12 months, starting in July 2023, possibly renewable within the duration of the project, in case the fellow is enrolled in a PhD program.

7.       Monthly maintenance allowance amount: The amount of the scholarship corresponds to €1 199.64, according to the stock chart of the exchanges awarded directly by FCT, I.P. https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_2023.pdf, payment being made monthly by bank transfer.

8.       Selection methods:  The curricular evaluation is guided by the valorization of the following elements:

a)       Academic background (40%);

b)      Research experience in the area of Materials Engineering (Level of knowledge in the area of printing, ink preparation, characterization of cellulose-based devices, with emphasis on the area of the work plan (40%);

c)       Publications or scientific communications (15%);

d)      English proficiency (5%).

- If the jury considers it necessary, an interview will take place only with the selected candidates, with the previous items being worth [70%] and the interview [30%]

9.       Composition of the Selection Jury:

President of the Jury – Prof. Rodrigo Martins

1^st Effective Member – Dr. Suman Nandy

2^nd Effective Member – Dr. Inês Cunha

1^st Substitute Member – Prof. Pedro Barquinha

2^nd Substitute Member – Dr. Emanuel Carlos

10.   Notification of results: The final results of the evaluation will be notified, up to 90 days after the deadline for submission of applications, by email, of the results proposed by the jury, having access to the minutes. After notification, applicants will have 10 working days to decide on the decision, at a prior hearing of interested parties, in accordance with the Code of Administrative Procedure. The final decision shall be taken after the previous hearing period, again notified to all applicants by e-mail.

11.   Application deadline and form of submission of applications:  The call for applications is open 20 working days from the date of publishing.

Applications must be sent exclusively by email to cenimat.rh@fct.unl.pt and s.nandy@fct.unl.pt , indicating «Application for project F2F», as well as the specific fellowship to which the candidate wishes to apply for (fellowship no. 1 or fellowship no. 2). The application must be instructed with the following documents:

a)       Curriculum Vitae.

b)      Motivation letter.

c)       Certificate of qualifications (including grades).

d)      Two recommendation letters.

e)      Other supporting documents considered relevant:

    a.       proof of enrolment in an academic course consistent with the details in point 2 of the Notice.

    b.       declaration on honor regarding the achievement of other necessary requirements, for example, obtaining the recognition of an academic degree awarded by a foreign Higher Education institution (please find a template of this document in the last pages of this document, if applicable).

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