40/ECUM/CMAT/2023-UIDB/00013/2020 (3 grants)

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE AWARD OF A RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP FOR PhD

40/ECUM/CMAT/2023-UIDB/00013/2020 (3 grants)

A call for applications is now open for the attribution of 3 (three) research grants for PhD, within the scope of the multiannual funding of the Centre of Mathematics of the University of Minho (UIDB/00013/2020), hereinafter referred to as CMAT, financed by national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Mathematics

Recipient category: PhD students enrolled, at the University of Minho or at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, in one of the following courses leading to a PhD degree:

     • PhD in Mathematics;

     • Doctoral Program in Applied Mathematics (MAP-PDMA);

     • Doctoral Program in Mathematics and Applications.

Requirement for granting the fellowship:

• The applicants may apply without prior registration in the course for which the fellowship is open. The requirement to enrol in a degree course or non-academic degree course will be verified on the date of contracting the fellowship;
• Only fellowships whose selected applicants present a valid proof of enrolment in a degree course or non-academic degree course will be contracted, according to the type of the fellowship, issued by the academic services of the Higher Education Institution, indicating, respectively, the academic year or its duration (star and term).
• Enrolment in non-certified courses (without curricular units) will not be considered as proof of enrolment.

Candidates profile:

The following documents must be submitted, at the time of granting the scholarship, for the purposes of contracting:

1. Copy of the documents of personal identification, tax number and, if applicable, social security;
2. Copy of the academic degree certificates held;
3. Work plan;
4. Document proving enrolment and registration, at the University of Minho or at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, in one of the following courses leading to the degree of Doctor:

• PhD in Mathematics;
• Doctoral Program in Applied Mathematics (MAP-PDMA);
• Doctoral Program in Mathematics and Applications;

1. Statement by the supervisor(s) assuming responsibility for supervising the work plan.

Applicants eligibility: 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).

Workplan and objectives to be achieved: It is intended that scholarship holders develop research activities leading to the academic degree of Doctor.  These research activities will take place at CMAT, which will be the R&D Unit where the scholarship holders will be hosted, without prejudice to the possibility of works being carried out in collaboration with other institutions. The work plan, which will be based on the research project submitted by the candidate, and the scientific supervision of the scholarship must fit in with the strategic plan and guidelines of CMAT within the scope of its research activities.

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.

Host/Contracting institution and scientific supervision: The work plan will be carried out at the Centre of Mathematics of the University of Minho under the scientific supervision of the member(s) proposing the work plan.

Fellowship duration: The grants will have an initial duration of between 3 and 4 months, starting in September 2023 and ending on December 31, 2023. The eventual renewal of the grants, for a period of 2 to 8 months, is subject to approval by CMAT.

Amount of the research grant: The value stipend (Monthly Maintenance Allowance) is 1.199,64€ per month, in accordance with the stipends values published by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT I.P.) in the country (Annex I – Monthly Stipends Values for the maintenance allowances of the FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships) and Annex II of the 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, according to the applicable regulation.

Payment is made on the 23st of each month, through bank transfer to the Bank Identification Number of the fellow identified in the contractualization process.

Other grant components: A registration subsidy and/or tuition fee associated with obtaining an academic degree may be awarded.

Other benefits: Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Security (Social Security contributions), corresponding to the 1st level of discounts (for research grants with a total duration 6 months or higher) and personal accident insurance.

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

Selection panel:

President: Thomas Walter Kahl, CMAT, University of Minho;

Effective member: Carla Maria Alves Ferreira, CMAT, University of Minho;

Effective member: Eurica Manuela Novo Lopes Henriques, CMAT, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro;

Substitute member: José Carlos Cruz Costa, CMAT, University of Minho;

Substitute member: Maria Fernanda Pires da Costa, CMAT, University of Minho.

The first effective member will substitute the President of the selection panel in case of impediment, being nominate the first substitute member in the place of the first effective member.

Criteria and procedures for applications assessment and selection:

The evaluation of applications will focus on the merit of the candidate and the research project, applying the following evaluation criteria, valued on a scale from 0 to 200:

     • Criterion A – Merit of the Candidate, with a weight of 60%

In this criterion, the merit of the candidate and his/her preparation and aptitude to carry out the proposed research project will be evaluated, based on the curriculum vitae and letters of recommendation.

     • Criterion B – Research Project, with a weight of 40%

This criterion will evaluate the quality of the research project submitted, as well as the letter of motivation, where the candidate must explain his/her path and the reasons for the choice of the submitted research project.

     • Criterion C – Interview

If the jury deems it appropriate, an individual interview (possibly using a videoconference system) may be conducted with the eight best ranked candidates after applying criteria A and B.

For the purposes of the decision on granting the PhD Research Grant, candidates will be ranked according to the Curriculum Classification (CC), given by the weighted average translated by the following formula:

(CC) = 0.6 x A + 0.4 x B.

Applicants with (CC) less than 140 will not be eligible for the Doctoral Research Grant.

For candidates with (CC) equal to or greater than 140, if there is an interview, the Final Classification (CF) will be given by the formula

(CF) = 0.8 x (CC) + 0.2 x C.

If there is no interview, the Final Classification will coincide with the Curriculum Classification.

For tie-breaking purposes, the ranking of candidates will be based on the classifications in the evaluation criteria in the following order of precedence: criterion A, criterion B, criterion C.

The academic degrees and diplomas documents, or their respective recognition when awarded by foreign higher education institutions are not mandatory in the application phase, being replaced by a declaration of honour of the candidate with the contents of academic results. 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. In situations of divergence between the information contained in the declaration and the documentation submitted for contracting the grant, only the information contained in the latter will be consider. If the documents proving the ownership of the academic degree and diploma, or the respective recognition under the terms of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16, do not correspond to the classifications awarded in the evaluation of the academic path, which can change the candidate's ranking, the fellowship won’t be contracted.

Notes: Applicants with degrees obtained abroad must present proof of recognition of qualifications in Portugal and conversion of the final classification obtained in them to the Portuguese classification scale or declaration under the terms indicated in the previous point. Candidates who do not comply with one of these provisions, the selection panel will assign “0” in the grade of the graduation and/or master course. Candidates will be evaluated on the remaining parameters.

Disclosure of results: The provisional results of applications, based in the selection panel minutes, will be send to the applicants by email until 90 working days from the applications deadline.

If case of unfavourable results, the candidates have a period of 10 working days to comment, if desired, in a prior hearing to interested parties, pursuant to articles 121 and 122 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (DL no. 4 / 2015 of January 7th).

Complaint and appeal procedures: The final results of the evaluation will be published through an ordered list (alphabetically, by final grade obtained), posted in a visible and public place of the host unit, as well as by email to all applicants, enclosing for that purpose, the minutes of the jury deliberations.

The selected candidate must inform its willingness to accept the grant, in writing. In case of rejection, the fellowship will be awarded to the next candidate in the ordered list of applicants.

The final decision can be contested within 15 working days, by sending to the President of the jury the corresponding claim. Interested parties may also submit an optional hierarchical appeal, addressed to the Pro-Rector for Scientific Projects and Research Management, Professor Doctor Sandra Paiva.

Constitution of a selection reserve list: The applicants ranked in the next positions on the ordered list will be included in a selection reserve list, which can be used until 31/12/2023.

Application deadline and submission: The call for applications is open for a period of 10 working days from the date of publication on the Euraxess portal. Applications must be formalized by sending an application letter with the following documents:

• Elements of identity card/citizen card/passport;
• Candidate's curriculum vitae;
• Certificates of academic degrees and detailed description of the candidate's academic path;
• Research project, with a maximum of three pages, in accordance with the research objectives of CMAT and to be developed during the doctoral programme under the supervision of an integrated member or a collaborator member of CMAT;
• Letter of acceptance of the research project, signed by the CMAT supervisor(s);
• Motivation letter, where the candidate must explain his/her academic background and the reasons for his/her application;
• Two recommendation letters by recognized professors or researchers in Mathematics, sent directly by them by email to candidaturas@cmat.uminho.pt and bolsas@ecum.uminho.pt with the subject CMAT_BID_NameSurnameCandidate;

The application and all related documents, including motivation and recommendation letters, must be written either in Portuguese or in English.

Applications must be sent by email to bolsas@ecum.uminho.pt, indicating the reference of the call for applications in Subject: 40/ECUM/CMAT/2023-UIDB/00013/2020. Applications submitted by other means will not be accepted.

Fellowship contractualization: The fellowship will be attributed by signing a fellowship contract between the University of Minho and the fellow, accordingly with the contract minute (annex IV of the Regulation of Research Fellowships 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, as indicated in 2.4 of the FCT document: “Rules for Granting and Management of Grants within the scope of R&D projects, including infrastructure projects, the multi-annual financing program for R&D units and other FCT financing instruments (Version 2021)”.

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.

The activities under the fellowship contract can only began after proper authorization by the contracting entity.

Term and cancellation of fellowship contracts: Without prejudice to the other causes provided the fellowship regulations (FCT and UMinho) and in the Statute of the Research Fellow, the fellowship ends with the completion of the work plan, as well as with the expiration date for which it was granted or renewed.

At the end of the fellowship, 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 scholarship.

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.