Call for 1 Research Fellowship

Ad summary

The William James Center for Research (WJCR) of Ispa – Instituto Universitário is accepting applications for 1 (one) Research Fellowships for Master’s degree holders (call reference: POTION/022/BI/2023) in the scope of the project “POTION – Promoting social interaction through emotional body odors”, funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Grant Agreement number 824153.

1. Scientific field: Psychology

2. Funding: European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Grant Agreement number 824153.

3. Applicants’ Profile

Mandatory requirements:

Master’s degree, and experience, in the fields of Social, Cognitive, or Experimental Psychology.

Preferred factors:

Preference will be given to candidates who: Have previously performed data collection in a laboratory setup; have advanced knowledge on the collection of electrophysiological measures (e.g, EMG) and sweat samples; have knowledge in literature review, database elaboration, statistical analysis, and relevant software (e.g., BioLab, SPSS, R); have proficiency in the English language, spoken and written.

4. Requirements for admission to the competition

The following documents must be submitted:

a) Master’s degree (or Integrated Master’s degree) 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 the 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 candidates 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 fellowships and the date of recognition must fall within the application period.

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 associated tasks to this research fellowship will comprise providing support to the ongoing project, namely in laboratory data collection, data analysis, promotion and outreach activities. There will be opportunity for the candidate to actively contribute to and be involved in the entire process of the project implementation, ranging from aiding in experimental design and hypothesis to collaborating (and share the respective authorship) in resulting scientific articles. Thus, this is an opportunity for young researchers who wish to strengthen their scientific competences and academic CV.

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 academic degrees 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 Gün R. Semin.

9. Duration of the fellowship

The fellowship has 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 per the provisions of points 4 and 5 of Article 6 of FCT’s Regulation for Research Fellowships.

The fellowship is expected to start in February or March 2023.

10. Remuneration and other components

The fellow will be paid 1144,64€, in accordance to the table of monthly maintenance stipend in Portugal set by FCT for activities in exclusive dedication regime (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/Tabela_de_Valores_SMM_2022.pdf), subject to any updates that may apply, to be paid monthly through bank transfer. The 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 January 5th 2023 to January 18th 2023, 11PM (Lisbon time).

Applications must be formalized via e-mail to drh@ispa.pt and must clearly state the reference of this call in the “Subject” of the e-mail: POTION/022/BI/2023. 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 Master’s, or Integrated Master’s, degree certificates/diplomas with the final classification.
2. Detailed curriculum vitae (CV).
3. 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 candidates will be evaluated and ranked by their curriculum according to the following (weighted) criteria:

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

Criterion B: Previous experience in the scientific field of this position, as shown in the candidate’s CV and motivation letter (40%);

Criterion C: Expertise in data collection in laboratory setup, particularly in electrophysiological measures, and proficiency in data analysis software, as shown in the candidate’s CV and motivation letter (40%).

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 40%) + (Criterion C x 40%)

If deemed necessary candidates ranked in the first 2 positions, that is, with the highest score in descending order, will be interviewed. In the interview, the motivation, English proficiency, and specific knowledge of the candidates will be assessed. In this case, the final classification and ranking of candidates will result from the formula:

                Final Classification (with interview) = Evaluation of the Curriculum (60%) + Interview (40%)

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:

. If the interview is not deemed necessary: Criterion B - Previous experience in the scientific field of this position; Criterion C - Expertise in data collection in laboratory setup, particularly in electrophysiological measures, and proficiency in data analysis software; and Criterion A - Academic degree.

. If the interview is deemed necessary: Criterion B - Previous experience in the scientific field of this position; Criterion C - Expertise in data collection in laboratory setup, particularly in electrophysiological measures, and proficiency in data analysis software; Criterion A - Academic degrees; and Interview.

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 – When candidates submit more than one equivalent 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;

2 – 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;

3 – 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);

4 – 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 Gün R. Semin (Full Professor at Ispa – Instituto Universitário, Scientific Coordinator of the William James Center for Research; President)

Doctor Jorge Martins (Integrated Researcher in the William James Center for Research, Ispa – Instituto Universitário; effective member)

Doctor Nuno Gomes (Integrated Researcher in the William James Center for Research, Ispa – Instituto Universitário; effective member)

Doctor Magda Saraiva (Integrated Researcher in the William James Center for Research, Ispa – Instituto Universitário; alternate member)

Doctor Inês Mares (Integrated Researcher in the William James Center for Research, Ispa – Instituto Universitário; 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 Rectory of Ispa – Instituto Universitário.

In case the selected candidate renounce or withdraw 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/531/rg102_bols_invest_cient_v4.0.pdf