Call for 1 Research Fellowship

Ad summary

A call is now open for 1 (one) Research Fellowship (call reference: PT WJCR/005/BI/2024) in the scope of the research-related activities in Psychology of the R&D Unit William James Center for Research (UIDP/04810/2020) at Ispa – Instituto Universitário, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) – FCT, I.P./MCTES, through national funds (PIDDAC).

1. Scientific field: Psychology

2. Funding: Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) – FCT, I.P./MCTES, through national funds (PIDDAC), via the Multiannual Funding of R&D Units 2020 – 2023, and extension of the Programmatic Budget to 2024 (reference: UIDP/04810/2020).

3. Applicants’ Profile

Mandatory requirements:

. Master’s degree in Psychology.

. Candidates must be enrolled, or meet the conditions to enroll, in a Ph.D. Degree or enrolled in a course that does not award an academic degree;

. Excellent communication skills in Portuguese and English.

Preferred factors:

. Previous experience in data collection, especially in digital platforms;

. Previous experience in collecting data from children, parents, and teachers.

4. Requirements for admission to the competition

The following documents must be submitted:

a) Bachelor’s and Master’s (or Integrated Master’s) degree certificate/diploma with the final classification.

b) Detailed Curriculum Vitae.

c) Motivation Letter.   

Only applicants who supply proof to have completed the study cycle leading to a Master’s degree by the end of the application deadline will be admitted. If applicants do not yet have the certificate of completion, a declaration of honor will be accepted, stating that they have completed the qualifications required for the call and that the Master’s diploma/certificate will be dated within the application period. The fellowship award is always contingent upon the presentation of the mandatory proof of academic qualifications.

If an academic degree has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution, it must be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, and the final classification must be converted into the Portuguese evaluation scale, under the terms of the provisions of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of August 16th, which approves the legal regime of recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of Higher Education, attributed by foreign higher education institutions, and of paragraph e) of no. 2 of article 4 of Decree-Law no. 60/2018, of August 3rd.

If the candidate has already requested but is waiting on the recognition of the academic degrees conferred by a foreign higher education institution to be issued, he/she can submit a declaration of honor clarifying that the recognition was requested and will be dated within the application period.

The recognition of foreign academic degrees and diplomas and the conversion of the final classification to the Portuguese classification scale may be requested in any Portuguese public higher education institution or at the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES, for automatic recognition only). Please consult the DGES portal for details: http://www.dges.gov.pt.

5. Requirements for signing the fellowship contracts

The selected candidate must be enrolled in a Ph.D. degree or enrolled in a course that does not award an academic degree integrated with the educational project of a higher education institution. This registration must be completed until the time of contracting the research fellowship.

In the case of diplomas issued by foreign higher education institutions, the recognition of these academic degrees must be presented until the time of contracting the research fellowship and the date of recognition must fall within the application period (as indicated in point 4).

For the purposes of signing the contract, a form with personal information, Ciência ID, a copy of the identification document, and a declaration on exclusive functions exercise might also be requested.

False declarations are reason to cancel the candidacy without prejudice to the application of other sanction measures.

6. Work plan

The work plan will be developed in the context of the research activities of the Multiannual Funding of R&D Units 2020 – 2023, and extension of the Programmatic Budget of the R&D Unit William James Center for Research to 2024, awarded by FCT. Specifically, the fellow will be involved in qualitative and quantitative data collection of studies that examine the relation between child attachment and empathy and pro-social behavior (2kind: From attachment to empathy and prosociality). The fellow will conduct tasks and interviews with children and will run and collect questionnaires from parents and teachers, will create and structure the respective databases, and will conduct data analysis. The fellow will also contribute to the presentation and discussion of findings, and to literature review-related activities (e.g., systematic).

7. Applicable legislation

Law No. 40/2004, of August 18th, as amended by the Decree-Law No. 123/2019, of August 28th, in its current wording (Research Fellowship Holder Statute/Estatuto do Bolseiro de Investigação - EBI); Regulation No. 950/2019, of November 29^th, published in Diário da República, No. 241, Series II, of December 16th (FCT’s Regulation for Research Fellowships/Regulamento de Bolsas de Investigação da FCT - RBI); Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16th (Legal regime of recognition of academicdegrees and diplomas of higher education awarded by foreign higher education institutions); Regulation for Scientific Research Fellowships of Ispa – Instituto Universitário); and other applicable legislation.

8. Workplace and scientific supervision

Each fellowship contract will be signed with ISPA, CRL (contracting entity). The place of work is located at the William James Center for Research (host institution), located at Ispa – Instituto Universitário (Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisbon, Portugal) and, eventually, other locations necessary for the execution of the planned activities, under the scientific supervision of Professor Doctor Manuela Veríssimo.

9. Duration of the fellowships

The fellowship will have an expected duration of 6 months, eventually renewable for periods not exceeding the eligible period of the project, conditioned by the project's budget, and in accordance with the maximum period for research fellowships as indicated in points 4 and 5 of Article 6 of FCT’s Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships.

The fellowship is expected to start in May 2024.

10. Remuneration and other components

The monthly stipend is 1259,64 euros according to the table of monthly maintenance, set by FCT for activities in the exclusive dedication regime, https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf, subject to any updates that may apply, to be paid monthly through bank transfer. Each fellow is also entitled to the applicable voluntary social security system (Seguro Social Voluntário, Decree-Law No. 40/89, of February 1st; EBI – art. 10º), and a personal accidents insurance.

11. Submission of applications

The call is open from March 26th, 2024, to April 10 th 2024, 11PM (Lisbon time).

Applications must be formalized via e-mail to candidaturas.investigadores@ispa.pt, cc to mveriss@ispa.pt and must clearly state the reference of this call in the “Subject” of the e-mail: WJCR/005/BI/2024. Alternatively, applications can be sent via post to Ispa – Instituto Universitário – William James Center for Research – Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal, and received within the specified application period.

Applications must include the following mandatory documents (as indicated in point 4):

1. Copy of the Bachelor’s and Master’s, or Integrated Master’s, degree certificates/diplomas with the final classification.
2. If applicable, and in accordance with point 4 of this call for applications, recognition of the Bachelor´s and Master’s, or Integrated Master’s, if this degree was awarded by a foreigner higher education institution, and respective conversion of the final classification to the Portuguese classification scale.

Alternatively, a declaration of honor clarifying that the recognition was requested and will be dated within the application period.

1. Detailed curriculum vitae (CV).
2. Motivation letter.

All documents must be submitted in PDF format.

The non-compliance with these requirements may determine the rejection of the application.

12. Evaluation and selection criteria

The evaluation and selection process will be conducted according to the merit of the candidate and based on the following (weighted) criteria:

Criterion A: Academic degree based on the final classification indicated in the Bachelor’s and in the Master’s, or Integrated Master’ diploma/certificate (20%);

Criterion B: Previous experience in conducting interviews with children and knowledge in digital platforms, as shown in the candidate’s CV (60%);

Criterion C: Motivation and interest in the field, as shown by the candidate’s motivation letter (20%).

Applications will be evaluated, and candidates ranked, on a 0,00 – 20,00 scale. The final classification will result from the application of the formula:

Final Classification = (Criterion A x 20%) + (Criterion B x 60%) + (Criterion C x 20%)

For tie-breaking purposes, the ranking of the candidates will be based on the classifications assigned to each of the evaluation criteria in the following order of precedence:

Criterion B - Previous experience in conducting interviews with children and knowledge in digital platforms; Criterion C - Motivation and interest in the field; and Criterion A – Academic degrees.

If none of the candidates presents the appropriate and/or necessary skills and competences required for the position and respective work plan, despite fulfilling all the requirements for admission, the Evaluation Panel has the right to not attribute the fellowship.

Note for the evaluation of Criterion A:

1 – The final average of Bachelor’s + Master’s in a pre- or post-Bologna course results from the simple arithmetic average of the final classification obtained in the 1st cycle (Bachelor’s degree) and the final classification obtained in the 2nd cycle (Master’s degree);

2 – In the case of Integrated Master’s degrees awarded by institutions that do not issue certificates with discrimination of the final classifications of 1st and 2nd cycles, the final classification indicated in the Integrated Master’s degree certificate after the completion of the cycle of studies will be considered;

3 – In the case of submission of an Integrated Master’s certificate and a pre-Bologna or 2nd cycle Master's degree, the final classification of the Integrated Master’s will be considered;

4 – When candidates submit more than one equivalent Master’s, or Integrated Master’s, degree (equivalent number of ECTS), the Evaluation Panel will decide which academic degree is best suited for the pursuit of the research plan and which should, therefore, be considered for Criterion A. Other course(s) presented by the candidate can eventually be considered for Criterion B;

5 – The Evaluation Panel will award the minimum score (10 points on a 0 – 20 scale) required for obtaining a degree in Portugal when the submitted Portuguese certificate does not mention the final classification;

6 – The Evaluation Panel will award the minimum score (10 points on a 0 – 20 scale) required for obtaining a degree in Portugal when candidates submit a declaration of honor indicating they have completed the cycle of studies leading to a Master’s degree by the application deadline but do not present the concomitant certificate (as indicated in point 4 of the call for applications);

7 – The Evaluation Panel will award the minimum score (10 points on a 0 – 20 scale) required for obtaining a degree in Portugal when degree certificates/diplomas issued by foreign institutions are not recognized in Portugal and/or do not have the respective final classifications converted to the Portuguese evaluation scale (as indicated in point 4 of the call for applications).

13. Composition of the Evaluation Panel

• Professor Doctor Manuela Veríssimo (Full Professor at Ispa – Instituto Universitário, Integrated Researcher of the William James Center for Research; President)
• Professor Doctor António J. Santos (Full Professor at Ispa – Instituto Universitário, Integrated Researcher of the William James Center for Research; Effective member.
• Prof. Doctor Carla Fernandes (Assistant Professor at Ispa – Instituto Universitário, Integrated Researcher of the William James Center for Research; Effective member)
• Prof. Doctor Maryse Guedes (Assistant Professor at Ispa – Instituto Universitário, Integrated Researcher of the William James Center for Research; Alternate member)
• Prof. Doctor Marília Fernandes (Assistant Professor at Ispa – Instituto Universitário, Integrated Researcher of the William James Center for Research; Alternate member)

14. Communication of results

The results will be notified no later than 90 working days after the closing date for submission of applications to the e-mail address provided by the applicants.

15. Deadlines and procedures for preliminary hearing, complaint, and appeal

After communicating the provisional list of the results, applicants who want to dispute the results have a period of 10 working days to request a preliminary hearing, per Articles 121 and following of the Administrative Procedure Code (CPA). The final decision will be communicated after examining the arguments presented at the preliminary hearing. After this communication, the selected candidate has 10 working days to accept, in writing, the awarded fellowship. Otherwise, withdrawal or renouncement of the fellowship will be considered, unless a proper justification is presented.

After the final decision, a complaint may be placed within 15 working days or, alternatively, an appeal within 30 working days, both counting from the notification date. Applicants who wish to submit a complaint or an appeal should address their complaint to the Rector of Ispa – Instituto Universitário.

In case the selected candidate renounces or withdraws from the fellowship, the Evaluation Panel can notify and award the fellowship to the candidate(s) in the subsequent position(s), if applicable, and according to the final ranking list.

16. Templates for the research fellowship contract and for the final reports by the fellow and by the supervisor

The template for the research fellowship contract as well as the template for the final reports to be created by the fellow and by the supervisor, and concomitant evaluation criteria, can be found in the Ispa – Instituto Universitário’s Regulation for Scientific Research Fellowships (Appendices 2, 3, and 4) at:

https://intranet.ispa.pt/sites/default/files/users/10008/rg102_bols_invest_cient_2023_0.pdf

17. Non-discrimination and equal access policy

ISPA, CRL actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access policy, wherefore no candidate can be privileged, benefited, impaired, or deprived of any rights whatsoever, or be exempt from any duties based on ancestry, age, sex, sexual preference, marital status, family and economic conditions, education, origin or social conditions, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, origin territory, language, religion, political or ideological convictions, and union membership.

18. Disabled candidate: According to DL nº. 29/2001 of February 3rd, disabled candidates have a preference in an equal classification situation, which supersedes any legal preference. Candidates must declare, on their honor, on their application form during the selection period under the regulations above, their respective disability degree, the type of disability, and the communication/expression mean to be used.