1 Postdoctoral Research Grant 

Call open for applications for a postdoctoral research grant within the framework of project ValorWaste - Valorisation and Integration of Extractive Waste Towards the Sustainability of Raw Materials Industry, financed by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., through national funds within the framework of the M-ERA-NET3 network “ERA-NET Cofund in raw materials , under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Mining Engineering

Admission requirements:

Candidates who cumulatively meet the following requirements may apply for this grant:

a) Hold a PhD degree in Mining Engineering / Environmental Engineering / Chemical Engineering, or similar areas, obtained in the last three years before the application to this grant;

b) The Post-doctoral research is carried out in a host entity other than the one where the research work that led to the award of the PhD degree was developed.

c) Do not exceed, with this scholarship contract, including renewals, an accumulated period of three years in this type of scholarship, followed or interpolated.

If the degree has been awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of the Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of august 16th, and any formalities established there must be fulfilled until the time of signing the contract.

Activity Outline: 

1. Research carried out as part of the ValorWaste project. Integration into the project's research team, with lines of research associated with the Center for Natural Resources and Environment - CERENA.

2. Development and implementation of a postdoctoral project in a line of research directly related to the ValorWaste project. The work carried out should contribute to meeting the objectives of the following project WPs:

• WP2: Valorization of Mining Waste (T2.1: Assessing mineral processing to valorize waste materials; T2.2: Assessing the potential of hydrometallurgical recovery of CRMs; T2.3: Method selection and route modelling);
• WP4: Life-cycle assessment, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and legal compliance (T4.1: Screening life cycle assessment for waste minimization and optimization of mining sites reclamation and proposal for increasing sustainable performance in the value chain; T4.2: Regulatory Compliance Assessment with existing and planned EU strategies);
• WP5: Data Management and Analytics (T5.1: Data sources pre-processing and storage; T5.2: Data analytics);
• WP6: Sustainable business perspective and roadmap for EU (T6.1: Design of a sustainable business strategy and waste valorization route implementation plan; T6.2: Definition of a strategic plan for EU based on lessons learned);
• WP7: Project Dissemination (T7.2: Improve Public Perception on Raw Materials Industry; T7.3: Dissemination of project results).

Legislation and regulations: Law Nº. 40/2004, of 18th August, in its current wording (Statutes of Scientific Research Fellow) and Regulation of Research Grants of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in force ( https://www.fct.pt/financiamento/programas-de-financiamento/bolsas/ ) and Regulation of Research Grants of University of Porto.

Work place: The work will be developed at the Department of Civil and Georesources Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), under the scientific supervision of Professor Maria de Lurdes Proença de Amorim Dinis.

Grant duration: Initial duration of 12 months, with starting date predicted to May 2025, on exclusive basis regime, eventually renewable, up to the maximum of 3 years but not exceeding the end of the project.

If it is not possible to ensure the duration of 12 months estimated in the previous paragraph, this duration will be adjusted according to the end date of the project, and provided that the minimum duration of 3 consecutive months is guaranteed, in accordance with paragraph 6 of article 7 of the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P.

Stipend: The grant stipend amounts to 1851,00€ according to the table of values of the grants awarded directly by FCT, I.P. in the Country. The payment will be made by bank transfer.

Selection procedure: The selection of the grant holder will be based on a curricular evaluation, which will focus on the merit of the candidate, and an interview that will be held to the candidates whose classification in the curricular evaluation is equal to or higher than 10 points for that component of the evaluation process. The evaluation criteria for the curricular component are:

- Academic profile of the applicant: PhD in Mining Engineering / Environmental Engineering / Chemical Engineering (5 points); PhD in related areas (3 points);

- Participation in R&D projects in an area relevant to the research project (5 points); Participation in R&D projects in areas related to the research project (3 points);

- Relevant publications (1-5 points);

- Motivation letter that will allow evaluation of the candidate's English proficiency and motivation (1-5 points).

The ranking of the interviewed candidates will be based on the following criteria and weights:

- Score of the CV evaluation - weight of 60%.

- Interview (1-5 points) - weight of 40%.

If none of the candidates achieves a minimum final score of 12 points, the scholarship will not be awarded.

Selection Jury:

President: Professor Maria de Lurdes Proença de Amorim Dinis

Effective member: Professor Maria Cristina da Costa Vila

Effective member: Professor Rui Jorge Coelho de Sousa

Supplementary member: Professor Aurora Magalhães Futuro da Silva

Supplementary member: Doctor Carina Andreia Esteves da Costa

Advertisement of final decision: The results of the evaluation will be released to the candidates

by email to the email address indicated in the application process.

Deadline for applications and form of presentation of the applications:

The call is open from 18/03/2025 to 31/03/2025

Applications must be formalized by email to mldinis@fe.up.pt and to recursoshumanos@fe.up.pt, should clearly state the reference FEUP – ValorWastePosDocUP, and must include:

• Motivation Letter,
• Certificates evidencing academic degree,
• Curriculum Vitae,
• Declaration on honour that the candidate fulfills the requirement contained in paragraph c) of the admission requirements (template below);
• other documents considered relevant by the applicant.

Declaration on honor

I, (identification of the fellow), holder of the Citizen Card / Visa / Residence Permit no., Valid until, declare under honor, under the terms of paragraph e) of no. 3 of article 7.º of the Regulation of the Research Grants from FCT, IP - Regulation no. 950/2019, of 16 December, which will not exceed, with the scholarship contract in question, including possible renewals, an accumulated period of three years in this type of scholarship, followed or interpolated.

Porto, ___ / ___ / _____

__________________________________

(Signature of Candidate)