Research Grant | project i9rCB, POCI-01-0247-FEDER-070066, in CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials

A tender is hereby opened for the award of one Research Grant (RG), in the framework of the project i9rCB (Processo contínuo inovador de produção de Negro de Fumo Recuperado Reforçante para uma economia circular, POCI-01-0247-FEDER-070066, in CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials in the following conditions:

1. Scientific area: Chemical Engineering

2. Source of Funding: European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program (POCI)

3. Admission requirements:

The candidates must be PhD students or enrolled, or apt to become enrolled, in a course not conferring an academic degree, and must hold an Integrated Master degree in Chemical Engineering (or a 1^st and 2^nd cycles in Chemical Engineering organized in accordance with the principles of the Bologna Process), with a minimum grade of 16 in the Portuguese scale (0 – 20). 

Students with knowledges in the areas of production and characterization of virgin or recovered carbon black.

The proof of enrolment must be made available until the contract is awarded, and the candidate may attach a declaration of honor to confirm that they meet the requirements for enrolment in an integrated master's degree, master's or doctoral program or in a course that does not confer an academic degree.

In the case of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions they must be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, with the conversion of the respective final grade to the Portuguese grading scale, 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: Applicants are eligible if they comply with paragraph a) of no.1 of article 2, of the Research Fellow Statute in the wording given by Decree-Law no. 123/2019, of August 28th, and also the provisions of article 9 of the Scientific Research Grant Regulations of the University of Aveiro.

5. Work Plan: Research work and design of a demonstration plant for the production of recovered carbon black.

6. Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Fellow Statute, as amended by Decree-Law No. 123/2019, of August 28th; 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).

7. Workplace: The work will be carried out at CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, under the scientific supervision of Professors Maria Inês Portugal Branco and Mário Quialheiro Simões.

8. Duration of the grant: The duration of the grant, which is expected to start in February of 2023, is limited to the period of the funding approved, June of 2023, and cannot go beyond the maximum limits defined in nos. 5 and 6 of 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. Amount of monthly maintenance allowance: The amount of the grant corresponds to € 1.144,64, according to the table of values of monthly maintenance allowances, set out in Appendix III of the Scientific Research Grant Regulation of the University of Aveiro, subject to any updates that may occur and are applicable. The fellow may also be reimbursed for the amount corresponding to the Voluntary Social Security, in case of adherence to this plan.

10. Selection methods: The selection methods to be used will be as follows: the applications that meet the admission requirements will be assessed by the two followings items and weights: (i) CV assessment (80 %), and relevant project and simulation skills for the work plan (20 %). (ii) In case of doubt, the two top-graded candidates will be invited for an interview, and, in this case, the formal assessment will weigh 70 % and the interview will weigh 30 %. The CV assessment will consider: the final grade of the Integrated Master in Chemical Engineering (or the weighted averages of the 1^st and 2^nd cycles in Chemical Engineering); knowledge and skills related with production and characterization of carbon black; design and simulation; any knowledge in the areas of the work plan; knowledge of written and spoken Portuguese and English languages. The interview will be conducted in Portuguese and in English simultaneously.

11. Composition of the Selection Jury: Professor Maria Inês Portugal Branco (Chair), Professor Mário Quialheiro Simões and Doctor José Pedro Salgado Aniceto (full members), and Professors Francisco Avelino da Silva Freitas and Ana Margaria Barros Timmons as alternate members.

12. Deadline for applications and how to submit applications: The call is open from 27^th of January to 9^th of February of 2023, and only applications submitted within the deadline will be admitted.

Applications must be formalized by sending a letter of application accompanied by the following documents: i) certificate of qualifications with the final grade of the Integrated Master (or certificate of qualifications with the final grades of the 1st e 2nd cycles) and other courses the candidate may hold; ii) curriculum vitae, dated and signed by the candidate; iii) declaration of honor; iv) other documents deemed relevant by the candidate or that prove the elements mentioned in the CV; v) e-mail address to which, by such indication, they accept to be notified for all purposes within this procedure.

Applications should be sent by e-mail to inesport@ua.pt, with the subject “Bolsa de Investigação i9rCB Demo”.

13. Form of publication/notification of results: The results of the evaluation shall be made public no later than 60 working days after the closing date for submission of applications and shall be notified to the applicants. The candidates are informed, in a prior hearing, under the terms established in the Code of Administrative Procedure, of the probable meaning of the final decision, and may, within 10 working days of this notification, express their opinion on this decision. The final results may be appealed to the Rector, to be submitted within 10 working days from the respective notification.

14. Tender duration: The final ranking list of candidates will be valid until 28^th of February of 2023 for the purpose of constituting a reserve list for selection.

The models of the grant contract and of the final report to be prepared by the grant holder and the supervisor are available at Research fellows - sgrh - Universidade de Aveiro (ua.pt).