08/ECUM/CQUM/2023 - Res4ValOr

CALL FOR PROPOSAL FOR POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

Title: Postdoctoral Research Scholarship; 1 vacancy

A call for applications is now open for the attribution of one postdoctoral research fellowship within the scope of the R&D project: Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, and Revaluation of Organic Waste (Res4ValOr) /University of Minho, (08/ECUM/CQUM/2023 - Res4ValOr), co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal (POCTEP) 2014-2020 Program, under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Water Resources and Environment

Recipient category: The BIPD is intended for PhDs in the area of Chemistry, with a specialization in Analytical Chemistry, who cumulatively meet the following requirements:

• Holders of a PhD degree obtained in the three years prior to the date of submission of the scholarship application***;

• Having carried out the research work that led to the award of the PhD degree in a entity distinct from the hosting unit (Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction, School of Engineering at the University of Minho)**;

• Not exceeding, with the celebration of the contract in question, including possible renewals, an accumulated period of three years in this type of scholarship, either consecutive or alternating.

• Immediate availability to start work.

Candidates who do not cumulatively meet the described requirements will be excluded."

Other requirements to consider preferably:

• Research experience in the field of organic waste recovery and physical-chemical characterization of compost.

• Advanced training in the domain of techniques: FTIR-ATR; TGA; AGNES and Elemental Analysis.

• Co-author scientific publications in the field of organic waste recovery/ physical-chemical characterization of compost.

** Different R&D Units are included, even if located in the same Organic Unit (UOEI) of UMinho (no. 4 and 5 of article 7 of the FCT I.P Research Grant Regulation, in force)

***Documents proving the ownership of academic degrees and diplomas, or their respective recognition when they have been awarded by foreign higher education institutions, when applicable for the type of scholarship in the call for applications, may be waived at the application stage, being replaced by declaration of honor of the candidate, with the verification of this condition occurring only in the phase of contracting the scholarship. This statement must attest facts that occurred on a date prior to the application. In situations of divergence between the information contained in the declaration and the documentation submitted for the purpose of contracting the grant, only the information contained in the latter will be considered. If it is verified that the documents proving the ownership of the academic degree and diploma, or the respective recognition under the terms of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16, do not correspond to the classifications awarded in the evaluation of the academic path and may, consequently, change the candidate's ranking, the fellowship contracting will not be done.

Applicants eligibility: Applicants must comply with the eligibility conditions laid down in article 9 of the Research Grants Regulation of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (2019).

Work plan and objectives: The aim of the project is to enhance the value of compost produced from urban waste by using it in wastewater treatment. The work to be carried out includes: 1. Conducting laboratory tests, including: i) characterizing the physical-chemical properties of the compost; ii) conducting tests for retention of emerging organic pollutants in compost-based materials; iii) evaluating the influence of abiotic parameters on retention processes; iv) determining the efficiency of pollutant retention in batch tests (at the laboratory scale) and in filtration columns (at pilot scale); 2. Participating in the composting activities promoted by the project; 3. Collaborating in different support tasks for the project's development, including data analysis, article writing, and report preparation.

Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Fellowship Holder Statutes, approved by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18, in its current version published by Decree-Law no. 123/2019 of august 28; Regulation of Scientific Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in “Diário da República”, 2nd series, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021 and Regulation of Research Studentships and Fellowships (RBI) of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. - in force.

Host/Contracting institution and scientific supervision: The work plan will be developed at the Center for Territory, Environment and Construction, School of Engineering at the University of Minho, located on the Azurém Campus, Guimarães, under the scientific supervision of Professor Paulo Ramísio (Assistant Professor of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Minho) and of Professor Fátima Bento (Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minho).

Fellowship duration: The scholarship will last for 5 months, non-renewable, starting in February 2023.

Amount of the research grant: The value stipend (Monthly Maintenance Allowance) is 1686 euros, per month, in accordance with the stipends values published by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT I.P.) in the country (Annex I – Monthly Stipends Values for the maintenance allowances of the FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships) and Annex II of the Regulation of Scientific Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in “Diário da República”, 2nd series, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021, according to the applicable regulation.

Payment is made on the 23st of each month, through bank transfer to the Bank Identification Number of the fellow identified in the contractualization process.

Other components of the research grant: (define the other components of the research grants, in accordance with the no. 5 of the article 18º of the FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships, no. 950/2019 of 16-12-2019 or article 21º of the Regulation of Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), accordingly with the regulations applicable).

Other benefits: Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Security (Social Security contributions), corresponding to the 1st level of discounts (for research grants with a total duration 6 months or higher) and personal accident insurance.

Exclusivity regime: The grantee will perform the activities under exclusivity, as foreseen in article 5º of the Research Fellow Statutes and applicable regulations.

Selection panel: Prof. Doutora Maria de Fátima Malveiro Bento (President), Prof. Doutora Ana Cristina Gomes Cunha (Effective member),  Prof. Doutor Paulo Jorge Ramísio Pernagorda (Effective member), Prof. Doutora Ana Paula Bettencourt Estevão (Substitute member), and Prof. Doutora Maria Dulce Silva Geraldo (Substitute member).

The first effective member will substitute the President of the selection panel in case of impediment, being nominate the first substitute member in the place of the first effective member.

Criteria and procedures for applications assessment and selection: The evaluation of the applications will focus on the candidate's merit (MC), taking into account their academic record, including: publications in specialty journals (A1); presentation of communications at conferences (A2); other relevant elements for personal curriculum evaluation, such as scientific recognition awards, scientific dissemination activities with impact on the community (A3), and a motivation letter and/or recommendation letter (A4), rated on a scale of 1 to 5, and is calculated by the formula and according to the reference table:

MC = (A1 x 0.5) + (A2 x 0.2) + (A3 x 0.1) + (A4 x 0.2)

The Jury may resort to an Interview (ENT) for candidates classified in the first 5 positions, with the Jury evaluating the following sub-criteria: Interpersonal skills (B1); Knowledge demonstrated in the competition area (B2); Motivation (B3); Language skills (B4), which will be valued on a scale of 1 to 5 according to the formula:

ENT = (B1 x 0.3) + (B2 x 0.4) + (B3 x 0.2) + (B4 x 0.1)

In the case of an interview taking place, the final classification (CF) of the candidate will be obtained by applying the following formula:

CF = (MC x 0.6) + (ENT x 0.4)

In the case of no interview taking place, the final classification (CF) will be obtained by applying the following formula:

CF = MC

The academic degrees and diplomas documents, or their respective recognition when awarded by foreign higher education institutions are not mandatory in the application phase, being replaced by a declaration of honour of the candidate with the contents of academic results. The documents of academic qualification or respective recognition will be required in the contracting phase and must attest facts that occurred on a date prior to the application. In situations of divergence between the information contained in the declaration and the documentation submitted for contracting the grant, only the information contained in the latter will be consider. If the documents proving the ownership of the academic degree and diploma, or the respective recognition under the terms of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16, do not correspond to the classifications awarded in the evaluation of the academic path, which can change the candidate's ranking, the fellowship won’t be contracted.

Disclosure of results: The provisional results of applications, based in the selection panel minutes, will be send to the applicants by email until 90 working days from the applications deadline.

If case of unfavourable results, the candidates have a period of 10 working days to comment, if desired, in a prior hearing to interested parties, pursuant to articles 121 and 122 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (DL no. 4 / 2015 of January 7th).

Accordingly to paragraph a) of nª1 of article 124 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (Decree-Law nº 4/2015 of January 7), a prior hearing for interested parties is waived in order to allow compliance with the financial execution of the project, since the concession period is 5 months and the project ends in June 2023.

Complaint and appeal procedures: The final results of the evaluation will be published through an ordered list (alphabetically, by final grade obtained), posted in a visible and public place of the host unit, as well as by email to all applicants, enclosing for that purpose, the minutes of the jury deliberations.

The selected candidate must inform its willingness to accept the grant, in writing. In case of rejection, the fellowship will be awarded to the next candidate in the ordered list of applicants.

Application deadline and submission: The call for applications is open during 10 days from the date of publication

Applications must be formalized, mandatorily, by sending an application letter accompanied by the following documents: curriculum vitae; certificate of qualifications or declaration of the candidate (if applicable); letter of interest; letters of recommendation (one); other documents considered relevant to the assessment of the scientific and professional path.

Applications must be sent by email to bolsas@ecum.uminho.pt, indicating the reference of the call for applications 08/ECUM/CQUM/2023 - Res4ValOr in Subject. Applications submitted by other means will not be accepted.

Fellowship contractualization: The fellowship will be attributed by signing a fellowship contract between the University of Minho and the fellow, accordingly with the contract minute (annex IV of the Regulation of Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in Diário da República, 2nd Série, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021, as indicated in 2.4 of the FCT document: “Rules for Granting and Management of Grants within the scope of R&D projects, including infrastructure projects, the multi-annual financing program for R&D units and other FCT financing instruments (Version 2021)”.

The contract may only be concluded after all the documentation required is collected, which must take place within a maximum period of 6 months [including evidences of doctoral degree our its recognition in Portugal, under Decree-law no. 66/2018 of august 16th].

Once all the documentation has been received, the contracting entity has a period of 60 working days to conclude the scholarship contract. Once received, the fellow must return the contract duly signed within 15 working days.

The activities under the fellowship contract can only began after proper authorization by the contracting entity.

Term and cancellation of fellowship contracts: Without prejudice to the other causes provided the fellowship regulations (FCT and UMinho) and in the Statute of the Research Fellow, the fellowship ends with the completion of the work plan, as well as with the expiration date for which it was granted or renewed.

At the end of the fellowship, the grantee is obliged to present a Final Report of the work carried out, in accordance with the objectives and evaluation criteria defined with the scientific advisor, within 30 days after the end of the scholarship.

The final report must be prepared in accordance with Annex I of the Scientific Research Fellowships Regulation of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in Diário da República, 2nd Série, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021.

Note: The information above required should be submitted in the Euraxess Portal[1], in the fields reserved for those purposes[2].