Scholarship for Master’s degree - Project SUMO

MEDITERRANEAN INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT  

-MED-

RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP FOR MASTER'S DEGREE

(1 VACANCY)

3^th July, 2023

A call for tenders is open for 1 vacancy Scholarship for Master’s degree within the scope of the project "Sustentabilidade do Montado - SUMO", with reference PRR-C05-i03-I-000066-LA 6.4, financed by national funds through the “Programa Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência”, under the following conditions:

Scientific area: Business and Economics

Admission requirements:

Hold a Bachelor and/or a Master degree in Agricultural Sciences or Business and Economics or related areas; Some experience in research activities (publication of articles and presentations in conferences) associated with topics of agricultural economics and agribusiness are considered preferential factors.

As set forth FCT Research Scholarship Regulation No. 950/2019 of December 16, 2019, article 3 and 6, candidates for “BI” (Research Grants) must comply as a rule condition for the award of the scholarship, the effective inclusion in study cycles leading to the attribution of academic degrees or in courses not leading to an academic degree. Courses that do not confer an academic degree correspond to the courses provided for in subparagraph e) of paragraph 3 of article 4 of Decree-Law No. 74/2006 of 24 March and must be developed in a higher education institution in association with at least one R&D unit, including a course plan in one or several research areas of the unit.

Work plan: this project intends to turn socioeconomic assessment into a strategic tool for the protection and enhancement of the “Montado” ecosystem. Thus this work plan aims to contribute to that purpose by creating the conditions to have the necessary analytical instruments to assess the socioeconomic sustainability of agroforestry technologies for exploiting the Montado ecosystem at the level of animal breeding, pasture, soil and water conservation and grazing, as well as the different products provided by this ecosystem.

The activities to be carried out within the scope of this grant are the following:

• Carrying out an inventory of products and services from the “Montado”;
• Application of in-depth interviews to the selected farms;
• Identification and operationalization of tools for analysing the sustainability of existing and proposed agroforestry technologies for exploiting and valuing the “Montado”;
• Identification and characterization of agricultural policy measures appropriate to different scales of economic size units.

Applicable legislation and regulations: The granting of the Research Scholarship will be carried out upon the signing of a contract between the University of Évora and the scholarship holder, as set in the template https://www.fct.pt/apoios/Minuta_Contrato_Bolsa.docx , pursuant to the Research Scholarship Statute (Law No. 40/2004 of August 18 and Decree-Law No. 123/2019 of August 28) and in accordance with the legislation and Regulation of Research Grants of the Foundation for Science and Technology, IP in force, regulation nº950/2019 of December 16, 2019: https://files.dre.pt/2s/2019/12/241000000/0009100105.pdf    and other applicable rules.

Place of work: The work will be developed at the Colégio do Espírito Santo (Department of Management) and Palácio do Vimioso (CEFAGE) of the University of Évora, under the scientific guidance of the Professors Maria Raquel Lucas, Pedro Henriques and Rui Fragoso.

Duration of the scholarship: The scholarship will have a duration of 6 months, starting on October of 2023. The scholarship contract may be renewed until the end of the funding project's budget allocation.

Amount of monthly maintenance allowance: The amount of the scholarship corresponds to €1,199.64, according to the table of scholarships awarded directly by FCT, I.P. in Portugal (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_2023.pdf), payments being made monthly, by check or bank transfer.

Selection methods: The selection methods to be used will be the following:

• Curriculum evaluation (CE), considers the final undergraduate and master's degree grades. The former contributes 60% and the latter 40% towards a final weight of 50%;
• Experience and scientific carrier (ESC) in the area, including publications and presentations in scientific meetings, with a weight of 30%;
• Motivation letter (ML), with a weight of 10%;
• Student enrolled in a PhD course (SEP) in area related to the work plan, with a weight of 10%.

If the jury considers it necessary or in case of a tie, an interview with the best candidates could be held. In the case, of the interview be held, its weight will be 20%, and it will be distributed by the criteria of the documental evaluation.

The final grade (FG) of the candidates is obtained by the following formula:

FG=0.5×CE+0.3×ESC+0.1×ML+0.1×SEP

Composition of the Selection Jury:

President: Professor Maria Raquel Lucas

1^st Member: Professor Pedro Henriques

2^nd Member: Professor Rui Fragoso

1^st Substitute member: Professor Carlos Marques

2^nd Substitute member: Professor José Ventura

Advertising/notification of results: The final results of the evaluation will be publicized, through an ordered list by final grade obtained, being the candidate approved notified through email, official.

To ensure the right of prior hearing of interested parties, the Final Classification project will be announced by any written means to all interested parties.

After communicating the provisional list of the results of the evaluation, candidates have a period of 10 working days to express their opinion in a preliminary hearing of interested parties.

Application deadline and submission of applications: The tender is open from 10^th July to 23^th July of 2023 and the results of the selection will be published by 27^th July of 2023.

Applications must be formalized, obligatorily, by sending an application letter with the following documents:Curriculum Vitae, certificate of qualifications and other supporting documents considered relevant.

For the purposes of application, the evidence may be replaced by a declaration of honour signed by the candidate, but the failure to demonstrate that evidence, in the contracting phase, possession of the required degree on the deadline for application or the non-presentation of proof of enrolment in the study cycle or non-degree course, for scholarships with this component, imply the cancellation of the candidate's application.

Academic degrees obtained in foreign countries require registration by a Portuguese Institution in accordance with Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of August 16 and Ordinance No. 33/2019, of January 25th.

The presentation of the certificate is mandatory for the signing of the contract. More information can be obtained at: https://www.dges.gov.pt/pt/pagina/recognition?plid=374 

Applications must be sent by email to:

Professor Maria Raquel Lucas

Unit: CEFAGE of the University of Évora

e-mail: mrlucas@uevora.pt