A call for application is now open for the attribution of 1 (one) Research Fellowship, with reference 105/2024/BI/AgendasPRR, for development of scientific and technological research activities, under the scheme «Agendas Mobilizadoras para a Inovação Empresarial», namely InsectERA project, at the CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials Research Unit, at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, with the following conditions:

1. Scientific Area: Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and related areas.

2. Funding entity: funded by the PRR - Recovery and Resilience Plan and by the NextGenerationEU, through the scheme «Agendas para a Inovação Empresarial». 

3. Admission Requirements: candidates must be Students enrolled in a Doctoral programme or Master enrolled in a non-awarding degree course at the University of Aveiro in the Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering and related areas scientific field. The candidates must also present the following mandatory requirement: have an average of at least 15 points from the last academic degree obtained.

The proof of enrolment must be made until the contract signing date, and the candidate may attach a declaration of honor to confirm that they meet the admission requirements.

If the qualification has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution it must be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, under the terms of the provisions of article 25 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, and any formalities established therein must be fulfilled by the date of the hiring act.

4. Eligibility: candidates who comply with provisions of paragraph a) nº1 from article 2 of the Statute of the Research Fellow are eligible, as amended by Decree-Law nº 123/2019, of 28 of August, and also the provisions of article nº 9 of the Scientific Research Grant Regulations of the University of Aveiro.

5. Work Plan: Currently, there is an urgent need to identify alternative protein sources, in which insects show great potential to contribute to global food sustainability. This work aims to develop a new sustainable technology using aqueous solutions of bio-based ionic liquids (ILs) for the extraction and purification of proteins from edible insect flour, targeting their application in food products. The ILs will be synthesized and characterized, followed by their application in aqueous solution for protein extraction. The operational conditions will be optimized to maximize the yield of extraction and purification. The protein profile and content of the extracted proteins will be determined, and the IL-enriched protein extracts will be employed to create aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) for the purification of target protein. The most efficient ABS will be used in a continuous process, utilizing centrifugal partition chromatography, to evaluate the scale-up of the technology. Additionally, eco- and cytotoxicity assays will be conducted on the selected ILs and the isolated proteins.

6. Legislation and regulations: the fellowship assignment will be done according to the Statute of the Scientific Research Fellow, published in Decree-Law nº 123/2019, of 28 of August; Scientific Research Grant Regulation of the University of Aveiro, Regulation No. 292/2020, published in Diário da República No. 61, Series II, of March 26th; Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16th (Legal regime of recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of higher education awarded by foreign higher education institutions) (available at https://www.ua.pt/en/sgrh/bolseiros).

7. Place of work: the work will take place at the Chemistry Department of the University of Aveiro, under the scientific supervision of Doctor Mara Freire.

8. Duration of the grant(s): the research fellowship will last for 12 (twelve) months, with an expected starting date on the 1st November 2024. The fellowship may be renewed up to the maximum limit of approved funding, during the project implementation period, and without exceeding the duration limits defined for the type of fellowship in article 9 of Regulation no. 292/2020, of February 28th, published in Diário da República, no. 61, Series II, of March 26th (Scientific Research Grant Regulation of the University of Aveiro).

9. Monthly allowance: The monthly allowance is € 1.259,64 according to the table of values of monthly allowance set out in Attachment III of the Regulation on Scientific Research Scholarship of University of Aveiro, subject to any updates that may occur if applicable. In the case the candidate is enrolled in a doctoral programme, he/she will receive an additional monthly supplement up to 229,20€, foreseen in the Rectoral Order nº58 -REIT/2022 – University of Aveiro. The supplement value will be precisely defined according to the doctoral programme in which the candidate is enrolled. The payment will be made by bank transfer. The candidate may also be reimbursed for the amount corresponding to the Voluntary Social Security, in case of adherence.

10. Selection method: the selection methods to be used include Curricular Evaluation, with the option Interview in case the Jury considers that do not have the conditions of deciding based on Curricular Evaluation. The sub criteria to be assessed under Curricular Evaluation (with a weight of 0 - 20  points) are: 

- Average of the last academic degree obtained (70%); 

- R&D experience in the scientific area of ​​the competition and Proven scientific experience (30%). 

If the jury considers that do not have the conditions for deciding based on Curricular Evaluation, an interview may be held, where the final score will be 70% for curricular evaluation and 30% for interview.

The jury reserves the right to not admit candidates for interview that do not reach the minimum classification of 10 points (in a scale from 0 to 20 points), as well as not to assign the research fellowship if among candidates there is no one who has a minimum final classification of 10 points. 

11. Members of the Jury: President: Doctor Mara G. Freire, Coordenating Researcher; Permanent members: Doctor Ana Paula M. Tavares, Doctorate equivalent to Assistant Researcher and Doctor Emanuel Capela, Junior Researcher; Substitute members: Doctor Márcia C. Neves, Doctorate equivalent to Assistant Researcher and Doctor Augusto Pedro, Junior Researcher.

12. Period for submission of applications: the call is open between 10th September 2024 and 24th September 2024. Only applications received in this period will be considered for evaluation. Applications must be submitted by e-mail to recr-agendasprr@ua.pt with identification of the reference number in the email subject.

Applications should include the following mandatory documents: certificate(s) of qualifications, curriculum vitae, declaration of honor, application form, motivation letter and other documents considered relevant. The candidate should also indicate the e-mail address to be notified for all purposes within the scope of this procedure. 

Failure to comply with the deadline for submission of the application, as well as the incorrect formalization of the application, result in the exclusion of the application.

13. Publication/notification of results: the results of the evaluation will be published within 60 working days after the final date of submission of the application, whereas the candidates will be notified by email. For the purposes of prior hearing of interested parties, the deadline of 10 working days after notification is set, as provided for in the Code of Administrative Procedure. At the end of the period for hearing the interested parties, and in the absence of any response from them, the list of candidates will become final. Candidates may lodge a complaint against the final decision within 10 working days after notification of the final decision, by appealing to the Rector.

14. Research fellowship duration: The final ranking list of candidates will be valid for 12 months for the purpose of constituting a reserve list for selection. 

University of Aveiro, 6th September 2024

Dcotor Mara Freire

PT version: Universidade de Aveiro (ua.pt)