COMPETITION FOR GRANTING 1 Research Scholarship - #NOVAID-B075

A tender is open for the attribution of (1) Research Scholarship within the scope of the R&D project “Modelação Matemática de Sistemas de Controlo em Multi-escala: aplicações a doenças humanas” (2022.03091.PTDC), funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P./MCTES through National resources (PIDDAC), under the following conditions:

1. Scientific Area: Mathematics and related areas.

2. Recipients profile/category: Master's degree in mathematics or related areas.

Mandatory requirements: Can apply for this tender, candidates who meet cumulatively the following two requirements:

Requirement 1: - be enrolled in a doctorate, or in a non-academic degree course integrated in an educational project of a Higher Education Institution;

Requirement 2: - have a master's degree in Mathematics or a related area (the documents proving the ownership of academic degrees and diplomas, or the respective recognition when awarded by foreign higher education institutions, are exempted in the application phase for the support in question, being replaced by the candidate's declaration of honor).

Preferred factors: Interest in applications to biology; programming skills in Python; Availability and dedication to the project; Level of English B1 or equivalent, to be verified in an interview.

3. Work Plan:

The work plan fits in point 3 of Task 1 of the project - Mobility behaviour. An important factor in the success of disease control is how the perceived risk of disease impacts on population mobility, both locally and globally. To model the effects of spatial behavior, we will consider: a) spatial models for which the mobility coefficients depend on the perceived risk of the disease; b) hybrid models to consider two sets of models, one with high mobility and the other with low mobility, with transition from one to the other depending on the current state of disease prevalence. Our aim is to develop theoretical results that provide information about the qualitative phenomena that can occur when we consider a spatial structure of the problem and human change in behavior is considered, and also to develop numerical schemes to simulate the spread of the disease.

4. Applicable legislation and regulations:

Law No. 40/2004, of August 18, amended and republished by Decree-Law No. 202/2012 of August 27 (Statute of the Scientific Research Fellow) and amended by Decree-Law No. 233/2012 of October 29, by Law No. 12 /2013 of 29 January, by Decree-Law No. 89/2013, of 9 July and Decree-Law No. 123/2019, of 28 August; Regulation of Research Grants of NOVA.id.FCT – Association for Innovation and Development of FCT; Regulation of Research Grants of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. in force (https://files.dre.pt/2s/2019/12/241000000/0009100105.pdf);

5. Workplace:

The work will be carried out at Centro de Matemática e Aplicações (NOVAMATH) of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa under the scientific supervision of Professor Doutora Paula Cristiana Costa Garcia da Silva Patrício, with the contracting entity being NOVA.id.FCT – Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT.

6. Fellowship duration:

The scholarship will last for 6 (six) months, starting on September 1 (one), 2023, possibly renewable for additional periods of 6 (six) months, up to the maximum limit of the approved funding, under no circumstances exceed the limits defined in the Regulation for the type of scholarship in question, pursuant to article 7 of Regulation no. 950/2019, of 29 November, published in Diário da República, no. 241, 2nd Series , of December 16 (Regulation of FCT Research Grants, I.P).

7. Monthly maintenance allowance amount:

The amount of the scholarship corresponds to €1,199,64, based on the table of values for scholarships awarded directly by FCT, I.P. in the country, with payment made monthly by bank transfer.

8. Selection criteria:

The selection methods to be used will be the following:

A curriculum assessment will be carried out (60%) which will focus on the candidate's merit, in which the following factors will be weighted: a) Academic background - 0 to 10 points, depending on the component of training in mathematics and success in this area; b) Letter of motivation – 0 to 5 points; c) Letter of recommendation – 0 to 5 points; Candidates will be classified on a scale of 0 to 20 points, up to 5 candidates who obtain a score of not less than 13 points in the curriculum evaluation will be admitted for interview. The evaluation in the interview (40%) will focus on topics related to the work plan, previous experience, CV, and commitment and interest in the project theme.

9. Composition of the Selection Jury:

Prof.ª Paula Patrício, NOVAMATH & FCT NOVA, Co-Investigador Principal do Projeto 2022.03091.PTDC (Presidente of the Jury)

Prof. Fabio Chalub, NOVAMATH & FCT NOVA (Efective Jury Member)

Prof.ª Magda Rebelo, NOVAMATH & FCT NOVA (Efective Jury Member)

Prof. Paulo Doutor, NOVAMATH & FCT NOVA (Substitute Jury Member)

Prof.ª Maria do Céu Soares, NOVAMATH & FCT NOVA (Substitute Jury Member)

10. Form of advertising/notification of results:

The evaluation results proposed by the juri will be notified, up to 90 days after the deadline for the submission of applications, by email, of the results proposed by the jury, with access to the minutes and the final ranking list.

After notification, candidates will have 10 working days to comment on the draft decision (prior hearing of interested parties, under the terms of the Code of Administrative Procedure). The final decision will be taken after the expiry of the prior hearing period, again notified to all candidates by e-mail. Of this final decision the candidates can file a complaint within 15 working days (to the e-mail address used for the notification), or an hierarchical appeal, within 30 working days, addressed to NOVA.ID.FCT's Board through the address coord1@novaidfct.pt.

11. Application deadline and form of application submission:

The contest is open from July 3 to July 14, 2023 (until 23:59, local time).

Documentation to be provided in the application: Applications must be formalized, obligatorily, by sending the following documents:

- Curriculum Vitae;

- Motivation Letter;

- Letter of recommendation;

- Copy (simple) of the qualifications certificate (referring to the course average – of each cycle or integrated cycle and marks in the curricular units) or declaration of honor containing the same information as described in point 2.

Procedure of submission of applications: Applications must be sent by e-mail to pcpr@fct.unl.pt. Documentation to be provided at the time of contracting: Proof of enrollment in a doctorate or in a non-academic degree course integrated in na educational project of a Higher Education Institution.

12. Drafts:

The drafts of: i) fellowship contract, ii) final report to be presented by the fellowship holder, iii) final report to be presented by the scientific advisor, and; iv) declaration on honor, can all be found on NOVA.id.FCT website.