BIG ERA Chair Holder

Instituto Superior Técnico (https://tecnico.ulisboa.pt/pt/) invites applications for full professor tenure track for the position of ERA Chair Holder (https://rea.ec.europa.eu/funding-and-grants/horizon-europe-widening-participation-and-spreading-excellence/era-chairs_en) to begin in early 2023.

This position is a career-oriented appointment for a dedicated, passionate thought leader in Computer Science with expertise in Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies or Design Innovation for Social Good. IST is looking for a world-class researcher who can expand its research and innovation potential in its mission to become a leading research institution in the European Research Area through the BIG EU-funded project. This position is offered under a five-year project which started in Sept. 2021 and is re-opening the position of ERAChair holder with ongoing activities and a partial research team in place.

This prestigious grant is offered in the context of an ongoing ERAChair project and involves a remaining budget of 1.6M€ for three years, including:

• Tenure track faculty appointment (employment contract in public functions), leading to a permanent position after one year of probation period
• Salary commensurate with qualification and experience - index 285 of a public university professor (2022 gross monthly salary of 4 721,07€ x 14 months)
• Relocation expenses
• An existing research team composed of four experienced researchers, two with a background in computer science and two with a background in design innovation
• Salary for hiring two additional full-time researchers at the assistant level and two staff positions
• Existing server infrastructure integrated into the INESC-ID datacenter
• Startup package for exchange of know-how with international partners: CNRS (privacy and dependability), Carnegie Mellon University (security and privacy, HCI), EPFL (blockchain systems), MIT (security and applied cryptography, digital currencies), University of Edinburgh (design informatics), and Politecnico Milano (application industries)
• Access to an already established network of industry partners and end-user organizations, in particular, related to the New European Bauhaus lighthouse project coordinated by IST (Bauhaus of the Seas), which leverages digital (e.g., circular and regenerative) and decentralized technologies (e.g., blockchain and decentralized autonomous organizations - DAOs) deploying innovative forms of adaptation and behavior change in relevant domains such as tourism, cultural heritage, and food chains.

Instituto Superior Técnico is the largest school of Engineering, Science, Technology, and Architecture in Portugal, involving a community of over 10,000 people. It is located in Lisbon, a city influenced by many far-off cultures over time but kept the village feel in eachhistoric neighborhood.

Instituto Superior Técnico aims to contribute to the development of society and promote and share excellence in higher education in the fields of Architecture, Engineering, Science, and Technology. Técnico offers Bachelor, Master, and Ph.D. programs, lifelong training, and develops Research, Development, and Innovation activities, which are essential to provide an education based on the top international standards.

The ERA Chair Holder will continue Técnico’s tradition of interdisciplinary Engineering Research and Design Innovation for Social Good while strengthening innovation and knowledge transfer activities in close collaboration with local and global industrial partners and contributing to the smart specialization strategy of the Lisbon Region in stimulating the up-and-coming ecosystem of digital startups and their economic impact.

The new ERA Chair Holder will become an integral part of Técnico’s community in close collaboration with its two research institutes (ITI/LARSyS and INESC-ID). It is expected that the ERA Chair Holder can drive structural changes in the school and promote the free exchange of knowledge and people across the partner network.

Applicants for the ERA Chair Holder position must have a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering, Design Informatics, or a related field, with a strong research track record in Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Systems or Design Innovation for Social Good. Preference will be given to candidates with industry experience in Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Systems and the creative sectors who are excited by the potential opportunities resulting from increasing the visibility and profile of IST.

Main Tasks:

• Scientific leadership and development of IST, ITI / LARSyS, and INESC-ID in collaboration with the existing structure.
• Successful submission and coordination of Horizon Europe-funded projects.
• Communication and dissemination of scientific activities.
• Technology transfer and interaction with industrial partners, including startups, entrepreneurship, and end-user organizations

Experience/ Expertise:

• Proven track record and high-quality scientific publications in relevant areas for the chair, including computer science, human-computer interaction, design innovation, blockchain, and distributed ledger technologies
• Proven track record in securing significant research funding and experience in managing research projects and labs
• Significant international experience and network
• The ERA Chair holder should have a track record in scientific excellence and demonstrate competence and experience to lead and manage research teams and secure competitive research funding. In particular, the profile of the ERA Chair holder should match the criteria of the R3 (Established Researcher) or R4 (Leading Researcher) levels as defined by the European Framework for Research Careers.

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering, Design Informatics, or a related field

Benefits:

• Tenure track faculty appointment (employment contract in public functions), leading to a permanent position after one year of probation period
• Salary commensurate with qualification and experience - index 285 of a public university professor (2022 gross monthly salary of 4 721,07€ x 14 months)

• Competitive salary commensurate with qualification and experience
• Relocation expenses
• Salary for hiring two full-time researchers at the assistant level and two staff positions
• Startup package for exchanges of know-how with international partners
• Existing server infrastructure integrated into the INESC-ID datacenter
• Access to industry partners and the Bauhaus of the Seas NEB Lighthouse Project as a testbed for deploying digital and decentralized technologies with end-user organizations

Personal and organizational skills:

• Team management
• Interdisciplinarity
• Ability to establish and maintain international contacts.
• Personal Organization and good time management.
• Good relationships with partners and good negotiation skills.

Selection methods:

• The selection will be made according to an international documental recruitment competition notice published in “Diário da República” (the Portuguese Official Gazette) in the area of Programming Methodology and Technology from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering of Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon - https://dre.pt/dre/detalhe/edital/275-2023-207600486
• This recruitment procedure follows the University of Lisbon Rector’s Order, dated 06 of February of 2023, issued after the confirmation of budget provision and after the confirmation that the position for which this recruitment procedure is open, is foreseen in the IST staff list in which the functions to be carried out is defined as teaching and research activities that constitute the set of duties of a Full Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
• In compliance with paragraph h) of article 9 of the Constitution, the Public Administration, as the employing entity, actively promotes a policy of equality of opportunities between men and women in access to employment and professional development, scrupulously providing for the prevention of any type of discrimination.”  In this sense, the terms 'candidate', 'recruited', 'teacher', and the like are not used in this notice to refer to the gender of people.
• Likewise, no candidate may be privileged, benefited, harmed, or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty on the grounds, in particular, of descent, age, sexual orientation, marital status, family situation, economic status, education, origin or social status, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs, and trade union membership.
• The selection will be made according to the public notice through the curriculum’s evaluation method, which, according to the faculty members’ general duties established in article 4.º of ECDU, is based on the following items:  a) Teaching (20%); b) Research (40%); c) Knowledge Transfer (10%); d) Management activities (15%); e) Scientific and pedagogical project (15%).

Admission requirements:

• Applicants to this recruitment procedure must hold a PhD degree for more than five years, as well as the title of “Agregado”, by the application deadline.
• Holders of a doctorate degree awarded by a foreign institution must demonstrate that the degree has been recognized according to the Portuguese Decree-Law n.º 66/2018, from August 16^th.
• The recognition of the doctorate degree, referred to above, must be obtained before the deadline to sign the contract in case the candidate ranked in an eligible place has been awarded the doctorate degree by a foreign institution.
• Regulations specified in the public notice shall be applied in respect to the confirmation and fulfillment of the admission requirements and grounds of exclusion of the candidates as well as to the Absolute merit approval requirements
• The non-delivery of any document that supports the candidacy by the stated deadline determines the non-admission of the candidacy, which will be reviewed and decided by the President of Instituto Superior Técnico to taking a final decision on the merit.

Documents to submit (in accordance with the rules found in: http://drh.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/job-opportunities):

• Curriculum Vitae with the teaching, research, knowledge transfer and management activities that are relevant for this competition and the ”Google Scholar ID” which enables the identification of the publications list, their respective number of citations, the H-index;
• Most relevant academic contributions over the last 10 (ten) years;
• Scientific and pedagogical project proposed by the candidate on the disciplinary field of Programming Methodology and Technology with an emphasis on blockchain technologies and design innovation for social good.
• Reference letters (max 3) attesting to the candidate's suitability and merit to perform the functions
• A declaration of honor that testifies to the candidate’s fulfillment of the legal requirements for admission to this recruitment procedure.

Composition of the Jury:

• Doctor Srini Devadas, Full Professor, MIT
• Doctor Miguel Castro, Partner Researcher, Microsoft
• Doctor Henrique Madeira, Full Professor, U. Coimbra
• Doctor Rui Maranhão, Full Professor, U. Porto
• Doctor Arlindo Oliveira, Full Professor, IST – U. Lisbon
• Doctor Ana Teresa Freitas, Full Professor, IST – U. Lisbon
• Doctor Francisco Santos, Full Professor, IST – U. Lisbon

Disclaimer: Please note that the application documents will be sent to the European Commission for monitoring purposes. They will be treated in a strictly confidential manner and will be destroyed after the monitoring exercise.