Call for 1 Research Fellowship

The Applied Psychology Research Center Capabilities & Inclusion (APPsyCI) of Ispa – Instituto Universitário is accepting applications for 1 (one) Research Fellowships for a Bachelor degree holder (call reference: TP/002/BI/2023) in the scope of the project “Therapeutic Playback Theatre: impact study” (2022.07713.PTDC), 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 FCT 2022 Call for Research and Development Projects in all Scientific Domains.

3. Applicants’ Profile

3.1 Mandatory requirements:

Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, preferably in Psychology is Psychological Sciences. Proficiency in the English language, both spoken and written.

3.2 Preferred factors:

Previous experience working in teams, previous experience and involvement in research activities, literature review, and project management. Knowledge of project management software, Excel, SPSS, and AMOS. Scientific publications will be valued. The ideal candidate should have previous experience in clinical psychology, and/or in the field of performative arts/theater, namely improvisional theater.

4. Requirements for admission to the competition

The following documents must be submitted:

a) Bachelor’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 Bachelor’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 Bachelor’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 Master’s degree, integrated Master’s 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

This project, in its initial component (first 6 months) aims to provide the basis for the implementation of training in Therapeutic Playback Theater (TPT), the study of its effectiveness and the development of an implementation manual for future applications. So, the scholarship will work on the following activities:

- support for project management, with administrative and execution tasks;

- support for the recruitment and selection of the team of therapists who will receive TPT training;

- support for the recruitment and selection of the team of participants in the TPT groups;

- support for literature review;

- support for the development of the implementation manual.

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 29th, 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 Applied Psychology Research Center Capabilities & Inclusion (APPsyCI) (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 António Gonzalez.

9. Duration of the fellowships

Each 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 March 2023.

10. Remuneration and other components

Each fellow will be paid 875,98€, 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. 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 January 26th to February 10th 2023, 11PM (Lisbon time).

Applications must be formalized via e-mail to cgi@ispa.pt,cc toappsyci@ispa.pt and must clearly state the reference of this call in the “Subject” of the e-mail: TP/002/BI/2023. Alternatively, applications can be sent via post to Ispa – Instituto Universitário, 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 degree certificate/diploma with the final classification (and its recognition and conversion to the Portuguese grading system, if applicable).
2. Detailed curriculum vitae.
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

In a first stage, candidates will be evaluated and ranked based on their academic merit and motivation, through the evaluation of their curriculum and motivation letter and according to the following (weighted) criteria:

Criterion i): Academic degree (20%), based on the final classification indicated in the Bachelor’s diploma/certificates;

Criterion ii): Previous experience in the scientific field of this position (clinical psychology, improve theater), as shown in the candidate’s CV (20%);

Criterion iii): Previous experience in project management activities in the scope of the project (30%).

Criterion iv): Other activities relevant for the project and work plan (10%)

Criterion v): Motivation and interest in the field, as shown by the motivation letter (105)

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 i) x 20%) + (Criterion ii) x 20%) + (Criterion iii) x 30%) + (Criterion iv) x 10%) + (Criterion v) x 20%)

For tie-breaking purposes, and if deemed necessary by the jury, candidates ranked in the first 3 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 (70%) + Interview (30%)

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 ii) - Previous experience in the scientific field of this position; Criterion iii) - Previous experience in project management activities; Criterion iv) – Other relevant activities, and Criterion i) - Academic degree.

. If the interview is not deemed necessary: Criterion ii) - Previous experience in the scientific field of this position; Criterion iii) - Previous experience in project management activities; Criterion iv) – Other relevant activities, Criterion i) - Academic degree, 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 i):

1 – When candidates submit more than one equivalent Bachelor’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 i). Other course(s) presented by the candidate can eventually be considered for Criterion iv);

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 Bachelor’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

President, Prof. Doctor António Gonzalez (Assistant Professor at ISPA-Instituto Universitário and Integrated Researcher at APPsyCI)

Member, Prof. Doctor Margarida Pedroso Lima (Associate Professor at Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação, University of Coimbra)

Member, Prof. Doctor Paulo Martins (Assistant Professor at Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, University of Lisbon)

Alternate Members: Prof. Doctor Teresa Almeida Rocha (Assistant Professor at ISPA-Instituto Universitário and Integrated Researcher at APPsyCI); Prof. doctor Albertina Oliveira (Assistant Professor at Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação, University of Coimbra)

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 one or both the selected candidates renounce or withdraw from the fellowships, 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

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 of 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.

Pursuant to DL nº. 29/2001, of February 3rd, disabled candidates have 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 means to be used.