Ph.D. Research Assistant

Cumulatively, the candidate should have the following academic profile:

• PhD in Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, or a closely related field, for more than 5 years. Demonstrating working capacity suited for the activity to carry out integrated in a multidisciplinary team;
• Oral and written proficiency in English;
• Proven experience in the coordination of scientific projects and lecturing of pre graduated or graduated students.
• Preferably, have participated in national and/or international I&D activities related to the mentioned action areas
• Preferably, to present relevant published work in international peer-reviewed journals (CORE A or A*, Q1 or Q2 for conferences, magazines and journals indexed to SciMago and CORE);
• Preferably, to have previous experience in the coordination of researching projects in the proposal topics.

Main Duties:

The work to be carried out will be: i) develop advanced and international research at COPELABS, within the scope of Computer Science, in particular in the areas of (a) Information and Data Sciences, and/or (b) Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, and/or (c) Telecommunications and Networking, and/or (d) Software Engineering, and/or (e) Cybersecurity, and/or (f) Applied Signal Processing; ii) contribute to the promotion of the internationalization of COPELABS; iii) lead and cooperate in application processes for competitive international funding; iv.) collaborate in training activities in scientific research included in the scientific strategy of COPELABS.

How to apply

 Applicants to this call will address their application by email, in a PDF format, to the following email address: rebeka.tomic@ulusofona.pt with the subject: 20230509/001 along with the following documents:

a) Cover letter mentioning the motivations which justified the application;

b) Curriculum vitae referring the professional experience, accompanied by a list of the 5 more relevant scientific publications produced;

c) BsC, MsC and PhD certificates;

d) Personal data and contact information with their respective email addresses – of at least two leading academics who can attest the curriculum submitted;

e) Descriptive Research Statement, emphasizing the previous and future scientific and technological production;

f) Other documents considered relevant by the applicant and which, from their perspective, are pertinent to attest and assess their scientific and professional history.

Excluding the elements mentioned in paragraph e), failure to comply with any of the requirements listed in the previous number will determine the immediate rejection of the application.

False declarations given by the applicants will be punished according to the law.

Contractual terms:

1. The position of the Ph.D. researcher is made effective using an open-ended employment contract, whose FCT funding is for a maximum period of 6 years, under the terms of Decree-Law nº 57/2016, of 29 August, amended by Law nº 57/2017, of 19 July, and the Portuguese Labour Code;
2. The tasks to be carried out in the fulfillment of this position are those considered in the scope of the Research Unit - COPELABS – UI&D Cognitive and People-centric Computing;
3. The contract to be made is scheduled to begin on July, 5^th 2023, and finish, predictably, on May, 30^th 2028, or with the completion of the research project, preserving the term regime established by the Labour Code;
4. The tasks comprehended in the object of the employment contract take place in the facilities of Campo Grande 376, in Lisbon, or in such places deemed necessary to implement the research plan;
5. The gross base monthly salary to be paid is 3 230.21 Euros according to paragraph a) of n.º 1 of article 15 of Decree-Law nº 57/2016, of 29 August, amended by Law nº 57/2017, and to the first remuneration position of the initial level as laid down in article 2 of the Regulatory Decree Nº 11-A/2017, of 29 December, corresponding to position 195 of the Research Career Statute, approved by Decree law n. 124/99, of 20^th April.

Position to be filled and terms of open call:

• The call aims to hire a Ph.D. researcher, with an open-ended employment contract.
• National, foreign or stateless Ph.D. researchers may apply to the position.

Cumulatively, the candidate should have the following academic profile:

• PhD in Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, or a closely related field, for more than 5 years. Demonstrating working capacity suited for the activity to carry out integrated in a multidisciplinary team;
• Oral and written proficiency in English;
• Proven experience in the coordination of scientific projects and lecturing of pre graduated or graduated students.
• Preferably, have participated in national and/or international I&D activities related to the mentioned action areas
• Preferably, to present relevant published work in international peer-reviewed journals (CORE A or A*, Q1 or Q2 for conferences, magazines and journals indexed to SciMago and CORE);
• Preferably, to have previous experience in the coordination of researching projects in the proposal topics.

In the case of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions, under the terms of Decree-Law nº 66/2018 of 16 August, and so as to ensure the application of the principle of equal treatment to candidates holding foreign and national academic degrees, it is mandatory to obtain the recognition of said degrees and the conversion of their respective final score to the Portuguese rating scale. The recognition of foreign academic degrees and diplomas as well as the conversion of the final score to the Portuguese rating scale, should be available by the deadline for submission of applications. The recognition of foreign academic degrees and diplomas as well as the conversion of the final score to the Portuguese rating scale may be required in any public higher education institution or at the General-Directorate for Higher Education (DGES, only in the case of automatic recognition). Regarding this issue, candidates should consult the portal of DGES at the following address: http://www.dges.gov.pt.

Jurisdiction and opening of insolvency proceedings

1. COFAC - Cooperativa de Formação e Animação Cultural, holding the Universidade Lusófona, author of the opening of this call.
2. Publication of the procedure observes that established by article 11 of Decree-Law no. 57/2016, of August 29, amended by Law nº 57/2017, of 19 July.

Jury Composition

The Jury has three members nominated by COFAC, crl Board. In accordance with the article 13 of Decree-Law nº 57/2016, of 29 August, amended by Law nº 57/2017, of 19 July, the following members were appointed:

1. Chairman – Prof. Manuel José Damásio, ULusófona;
2. Prof. Marko Beko, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal;
3. Prof. Slavisa Tomic, ULusófona;

Competences

• The jury will evaluate the applications.
• Minutes shall be taken for each meeting of the jury, including the issues discussed and the votes by each of the members and the grounds for the decisions made.

Selection method

• The applications admitted to the competition will be assessed taking into account the quality, timeliness and, relevance of the scientific curriculum (scientific output and research experience suited to the strategic objectives of COPELABS and the creation of new knowledge as related to the scientific communities of COPELABS as well as the professional curriculum of the applicants, in addition to the level of adequacy to the proposed work plan.

“COPELABS is a research unit of Universidade Lusófona originally established as a new unit in Portugal, having been awarded the grade of “Good” in the last (2017) FCT evaluation, in the quality of small multidisciplinary unit.

In 2016/2017 COPELABS has evolved to become a unit solely focused on computer science, under the department of Informatics Engineering and Information Systems of the School of Communication, Architecture, Arts, and Information Technologies (ECATI).

COPELABS currently integrates a team comprising 41 elements: 28 integrated researchers (18 holding a PhD) and 13 collaborator researchers. All elements correspond to teaching and researchers’ staff holding agreements with COFAC c.r.l., in two different poles - Lisbon (ULusófona), Algarve (ISMAT). Moreover, all collaborator researchers pursue teaching activities in full alignment with the 1st, 2nd (MEISI) and 3rd (NEMPS) educational cycles of informatics of ULusófona, and are relevant from the perspective of adequate intertwining between teaching and research.

See http://copelabs.ulusofona.pt/

•  In the first stage of the selection process, the jury will assess the set of elements listed below on a scale of 0 to 100: 

1. The scientific career of the applicant, giving particular relevance to the scientific work done or published in the last 5 years in areas relating to the work plan which is the object of the competition (up to 35% of the assessment of this stage);
2. The professional experience of the applicant, with special emphasis on the activities in the last 5 years, carried out in areas relating to the work plan which is the object of the competition (up to 55% of the assessment of this stage);
3. Cover letter in English (10% of the evaluation), to evaluate the candidate's motivation and interest for the activities to be carried out (5% of the assessment) and English proficiency (5% evaluation);
4. If the jury chooses to interview the candidates, which is intended exclusively for clarification of aspects related to the results of its research (corresponding to a maximum of 10% of the total evaluation), it will be considered up to 5 candidates from those who obtained the highest classification - in any event, only evaluations higher than 60% will be considered;
5. Should it be deemed necessary, the jury can ask the testimony of the leading academics mentioned in article 6, n. 6.1, paragraph d).

• In the event of a tie, the final decision will be the responsibility of the jury’s chairman.
• After the selection stages have been concluded, the jury will draw up, within no more than 7 workdays, a minute which will include the final decision, a ranking of the admitted applicants with their respective final scores, as well as a brief description of the recruitment process, assessment, and selection.

Prior Hearing

The jury's final deliberation, referred to in paragraph 9.4 of the previous number, is communicated to the interested parties so that, in the exercise of the right of prior hearing provided for by the Administrative Procedure Code, they can, within 10 working days, pronounce themselves.

Homologation

When the deadline for the exercise of the right of prior hearing has expired, the jury’s final decision is certified by the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of COFAC, crl., which is also responsible for deciding on the hiring of the selected applicant.

Dissemination of results

The list of admitted and rejected applicants, as well as their respective final scores, will be displayed in the facilities of Universidade Lusófona – Centro Universitário de Lisboa, at Avenida do Campo Grande, nº 376, in Lisbon and, moreover, they will be posted on the website www.ulusofona.pt; the applicants will be notified by email.

Policy of non-discrimination and equal access: COFAC/Universidade Lusófona actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, whereby no candidate may be privileged, benefited, disadvantaged or deprived of any right or exempted from any duty on the grounds of, inter alia, ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family situation, economic situation, education, origin or social condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and trade union membership (Law nº 93/2017, 23 August).
Data Protection: By applying, you agree with the use of your personal data by COFAC/Universidade Lusófona staff for exclusive purposes of this open call. COFAC/Universidade Lusófona administrative staff will use your contacts to contact you directly, and in the publication of the results, according to the principles set by the GPDR.