4 PhD Research Grants in the area of Design in the scope of the collaboration protocol between FCT and Research Institute for Design, Media and Culture [ID+]

The Research Institute for Design, Media and Culture [ID+] opens a call for tender for the award of 4 (four) PhD Research Grants, in the area of Design, under the Regulamento de Bolsas de Investigação da FCT (RBI) and the Estatuto do Bolseiro de Investigação (EBI).

The grants will be funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) under the Protocolo de Colaboração para Financiamento do Plano Plurianual de Bolsas de Investigação para Estudantes de Doutoramento, signed between FCT and the Research Institute for Design, Media and Culture [ID+] (reference n. 4057).

Deadline for applications and how to submit applications:

The call is open from November 29, 2022 and 11:59 pm (Lisbon time) on December 29, 2022.

Applications should be sent by e-mail to idmais@gmail.com (email address).

Requirements for Eligibility of the Candidate:

To apply for a PhD Research Grant, you must:

• Have a degree or a master's degree in Design or in areas considered to be related provided that they hold an academic, scientific or professional curriculum especially relevant to the completion of a PhD in Design.

• Permanently and habitually live in Portugal, if the work plan associated with the grant takes place, partially, in foreign institutions (mixed grants), a requirement applicable to both national and foreign citizens.

• Not having benefited from a doctoral or doctoral grant in companies directly funded by FCT, regardless of its duration.

• Not hold a Doctor's degree.

Requirements for Eligibility of Application:

Applications must be formalized by sending the following documents:

• Elements of the identity card/citizen card/passport;

• Curriculum vitae of the candidate, preferably associating the CV, duly updated, in the CIÊNCIAVITAE platform;

• Qualification certificates of the academic degrees held, specifying the final classification and, if possible, the classifications obtained in all the subjects taken, or, alternatively, a declaration of honor by the candidate that he/she completed the degree or master's degree until the end the application deadline;

• Registration of recognition of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions and registration of the conversion of the respective final classification to the Portuguese classification scale, or, alternatively, declaration of honor by the candidate that he/she obtained the recognition of the foreign degree equivalent to that of graduate or master until the end of the application period;

• Work plan to be developed, with the following mandatory elements: (the teaching component of a doctoral programme is not considered part of the work plan), which includes:

Work Plan Summary: title, summary; 4 to 6 keywords; indicate 1 to 3 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030;

State of the art;

Objectives;

Detailed description: methodological approach, description of the tasks to be developed, their interdependencies and interconnection, as well as the corresponding execution deadlines;

Chronogram (document that allows the analysis of the feasibility of the proposed work plan, the applicant must attach a legible chart with the time schedule of the different proposed tasks and the location of each task, when more than one host institution is proposed);

Bibliographical references (APA standard, American Psychological Association);

Ethical issues (if applicable).

• 2 (two) Motivation letters: in which the candidate explains the reasons for his/her application, presenting his/her scientific/professional background and how it fits into the work plan that he/she intends to develop, when applicable, as well as the reasons that justify the adequacy of the proposed research to the mission, objectives and strategic guidelines of ID+, the planned orientation and the Research Group he/she intends to integrate;

• The most representative document of the applicant's scientific/professional career, considered as such, for example, the portfolio of the activity as a designer, a scientific publication, conference communication, panel presentation, scientific report or master's thesis, proof of scientific or professional performance, performance or artistic creation;

• 2 (two) Letters of recommendation signed by the respective issuer. These letters should include the context of the academic and/or professional relationship of the candidate with the person recommending him/her, indicating the reference to this competition, and should not be mere letters of acceptance of an orientation; for example, the letters of recommendation may provide a framework about the maturity and suitability of the candidate's profile to the proposed work plan; letters of recommendation without any identification of their issuer will not be considered;

• Write the application and all documents associated with it, including motivation and recommendation letters, in Portuguese or English.

Regarding the aforementioned eligibility requirements, the following should be noted:

• In the case of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions, and in order to ensure the application of the principle of equal treatment to candidates who hold foreign and national academic degrees, the recognition of these degrees and the conversion of the respective final classification for the Portuguese classification scale is mandatory.

The recognition of foreign academic degrees and diplomas as well as the conversion of the final classification to the Portuguese classification scale can be requested at any public higher education institution, or at Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior (DGES, only in the case of automatic recognition). Regarding this matter, we suggest consulting the DGES portal at the following address: http://www.dges.gov.pt.

• Only candidates who have completed the cycle of studies leading to a Degree or Master's degree by the end of the application period will be admitted. If they do not yet have a course completion certificate, a declaration of honor from candidates that they have completed the necessary qualifications for the purposes of the competition will be accepted by the end of the application deadline. The granting of the grant is always dependent on the presentation of proof of ownership of the academic qualifications necessary.

Work plan:

The work plan is part of the proposal submitted by the candidate, in order to comply with the Requirements for Eligibility of Application.

The research grants for doctoral studies are intended to fund research activities leading to a doctoral degree at the University of Aveiro (Department of Communication and Art) or at the University of Porto (Faculty of Fine Arts) within the Doctoral Programme identified in this announcement. The work plan is within the framework of the proposal presented by the candidates and should be aligned with the objectives and strategic lines of ID+, under scientific supervision that includes one of its integrated doctoral members.

The execution of the planned work plan will be under the scientific supervision of an integrated doctoral researcher from ID+.

Type and duration of the grants:

Research grants for doctoral studies are intended to fund the carrying out of research activities leading to the achievement of the academic degree of Doctor in Portuguese universities.

The research activities leading to a doctoral degree will take place at the ID+, which will be the host institution for the fellows, although the work may be carried out in collaboration with more than one institution.

The research activities leading to a doctoral degree for the selected fellows must be framed within the activities and strategy plan of the ID+ and must be developed within the scope of the following Doctoral Programme:

- Doctoral Programme in Design (3rd Cycle), joint PhD of the University of Aveiro and the University of Porto.

The work plan can take place fully or partially in a national institution (in-country fellowship or mixed fellowship, respectively).

The duration of the grants is, as a rule, annual, renewable up to a maximum of four years (48 months), and cannot be awarded for a period of less than 3 (three) consecutive months.

In the case of a mixed scholarship, the period of the work plan taking place in a foreign institution cannot exceed 24 months.

Additional information

Benefits

Grant financial elements

Grant holders receive a monthly maintenance allowance in accordance with the table in Annex I of the RBI. The amount of the grant corresponds, at the moment, to €1,144.64, according to the table of monthly maintenance allowance amounts set out in Annex I of Regulation no. 950/2019, subject to any updates that may be applicable, under the terms of no. 2 of article 18 of Regulation no. 950/2019, of November 29th, published in Diário da República, no. 241, Series II, of December 16th (Research Grants Regulation of FCT, I.P.).

The grant may also include other elements, under the terms set out in article 18 of the RBI and for the amounts provided for in Annex II.

All grant holders benefit from personal accident insurance in relation to research activities, supported by FCT.

All grant holders who are not covered by any social protection scheme can ensure the exercise of the right to social security by joining the Seguro Social Voluntário, under the terms of the Código dos Regimes Contributivos do Sistema Previdencial de Segurança Social, with FCT assuring the charges resulting from contributions under the terms and within the limits set out in article 10 of the EBI.

Payments due to the grantee are made by bank transfer to the account identified by the grantee. Payment of the monthly maintenance allowance is made on the first working day of each month.

Payments for the registration, enrollment or tuition fees are made by FCT directly to the national institution where the scholarship holder is registered or enrolled in the doctorate.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants are eligible if they are:

• National citizens or citizens of other member states of the European Union;

• Citizens of third States;

• Stateless persons;

• Citizens benefiting from political refugee status.

To apply for a PhD Research Grant, you must:

• Have a degree or a master's degree in Design or in areas considered to be related provided that they hold an academic, scientific or professional curriculum especially relevant to the completion of a PhD in Design.

• Permanently and habitually live in Portugal, if the work plan associated with the grant takes place, partially, in foreign institutions (mixed grants), a requirement applicable to both national and foreign citizens.

• Not having benefited from a doctoral or doctoral grant in companies directly funded by FCT, regardless of its duration.

• Not hold a Doctor's degree.

Regarding the aforementioned eligibility requirements, the following should be noted:

• In the case of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions, and in order to ensure the application of the principle of equal treatment to candidates who hold foreign and national academic degrees, the recognition of these degrees and the conversion of the respective final classification for the Portuguese classification scale is mandatory.

The recognition of foreign academic degrees and diplomas as well as the conversion of the final classification to the Portuguese classification scale can be requested at any public higher education institution, or at Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior (DGES, only in the case of automatic recognition). Regarding this matter, we suggest consulting the DGES portal at the following address: http://www.dges.gov.pt.

• Only candidates who have completed the cycle of studies leading to a Degree or Master's degree by the end of the application period will be admitted. If they do not yet have a course completion certificate, a declaration of honor from candidates that they have completed the necessary qualifications for the purposes of the competition will be accepted by the end of the application deadline. The granting of the grant is always dependent on the presentation of proof of ownership of the academic qualifications necessary.

Selection process

Evaluation criteria

The evaluation takes into account the merit of the candidate and the merit of the candidate's proposal.

Applications considered eligible will be scored on a scale of 0 (zero) to 5 (five) in each of the following evaluation criteria:

Criterion A – Merit of the candidate, with a weight of 60%;

• Subcriterion A1 - Academic merit (reflecting grades of academic degrees), with a weighting of 50% of the candidate's merit;
• Subcriterion A2 - Personal background (reflecting the candidate's scientific, professional and academic career, when applicable, and his/her motivation to attend this study cycle), with a weighting of 50% of the candidate's merit. In the evaluation of this point the letter of motivation will be considered, as well as the letters of recommendation and the most representative document of the candidate's scientific/professional background.

Criterion B – Merit of the candidate´s proposal, with a weight of 40%;

• Subcriterion B1 - Substantiated relevance of the object of study;
• Subcriterion B2 - Scientific quality of the state of the art and methodology of the work plan;
• Subcriterion B3 - Feasibility of the work plan.

For the purpose of deciding on the award of grants, candidates will be ranked according to the weighted average of the classification obtained in each of the two criteria, translated by the following formula:

Final Classification = (0,60 × A) + (0,40 × B)

For tie-breaking purposes, candidates will be ranked on the basis of the classification awarded for each of the evaluation criteria in the following order of precedence: criterion A (Merit of the Candidate), criterion B (Merit of the candidate's proposal).

Important notice for applicants with diplomas issued by foreign higher education institutions:

• Applicants with diplomas issued by foreign higher education institutions may apply and will be evaluated with the same criteria as applicants with diplomas issued by Portuguese institutions, provided that they present, in application, proof of recognition of the academic degrees and of the conversion of the final classification to the Portuguese classification scale under the terms of the applicable legislation.
• Applicants with recognized foreign degrees who do not present proof of the conversion of the final classification into the Portuguese classification scale will be assessed with the minimum classification (0 points) in sub-criterion A1.
• In any case, scholarship contracts with applicants with diplomas issued by foreign institutions will only be awarded upon presentation of the proof of recognition of the academic degrees and conversion of the final classification, as indicated above.

Candidates whose application is assessed with a final classification of less than three points (3,000) are not eligible for a scholarship.

Bonus for Candidates with Disability

Candidates with a disability of 90% or more will be offered a 20% bonus on Criterion A - Candidate Merit. Candidates with a degree of disability equal or superior to 60% and less than 90% will have a bonus of 10% in the same criteria. The degree of incapacity shall be proven through the presentation, in candidature, of the “Atestado Médico de Incapacidade Multiuso” – AMIM, issued according to the Decree-Law No. 202/96, of 23 of October, in its current version.

The evaluation panel is made up of the following elements:

• Vasco Afonso da Silva Branco (UA) (Panel Coordinator)

• Heitor Manuel Pereira Pinto da Cunha e Alvelos, Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto (permanent member)

• Joana Maria Ferreira Pacheco Quental, Universidade de Aveiro (permanent member)

• Paula Cristina Almeida Tavares, Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave (permanent member)

• Maria Helena Ferreira Braga Barbosa, Universidade de Aveiro (alternate member)

• Júlio Fernando Dolbeth e Costa Henriques da Silva, Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto (alternate member)

Form of publication/notification of results

The evaluation results are communicated via e-mail to the e-mail address used by the candidate to send the application/indicated in the application.

Deadline and procedures for complaint and appeal

After the communication of the provisional list of assessment results, candidates have a period of 10 working days to, if they wish, speak at a preliminary hearing of interested parties, in accordance to Articles 121 et seq. of the Code of Administrative Procedure (Código de Processamento Administrativo, CPA).

The final decision will be made after the analysis of the pronunciations presented in the preliminary hearing of interested parties. A complaint may be lodged against the final decision within 15 working days, or, alternatively, an appeal may be lodged within 30 working days, both counting from the respective notification. Candidates who choose to submit a complaint must address their pronunciation to the member of the FCT Board of Directors with delegated competence. Candidates who choose to appeal must address the same to the FCT Board of Directors.

Additional comments

Applicable legislation and regulations

The process is governed by this Opening Notice, by the FCT Research Grants Regulation, approved by Regulation No. 950/2019, published in the II Series of the DR of 16 December 2019, by the Research Grant Holder Statute approved by Law No. 40/2004, of 18 August, as amended, and by all other applicable national and EU legislation.

Research Grant contracts’ requirements

The following documents must be sent for the purposes of contract:

a) Copy of the civil, tax and, where applicable, social security identification document(s);

b) Copy of the qualifications certificates of the academic degrees held;

c) Presentation of recognition of foreign academic degrees and conversion of the respective final classifications to the Portuguese classification scale, if applicable;

d) Candidate's proposal

e) Document proving enrollment in one of the Doctoral Programs identified in this Notice;

f) Statement by the supervisor(s);

g) Document proving the candidate's acceptance by the institution where the research activities will take place;

h) Updated document proving compliance with the exclusive dedication regime.

Failure to deliver any of the documents necessary to complete the grant contracting process, within 6 months from the date of communication of the decision, implies the expiry of said grant and the termination of the process.

Funding

The grants awarded under this call for proposals will be financed by FCT with funds from the State Budget and, when eligible, with funds from the European Social Fund, to be made available under PORTUGAL2020, through, in particular, the Northern Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020), Regional Operational Program of the Center (Centre 2020) and the Regional Operational Program of Alentejo (Alentejo 2020), in accordance with the regulatory provisions established for this purpose.

Grants renewal terms and conditions

The renewal of the grant always depends on a request submitted by the grantee, within 60 working days prior to the start date of the renewal.

Information and publicity of funding granted

In all R&D activities directly or indirectly funded by the grant, namely, in all communications, publications and scientific creations, as well as theses, carried out with the support provided for the grant, mention must be made of financial support from FCT and the Fundo Social Europeu, in accordance with the graphic standards of each operational programme.

Non-discrimination and equal access policy

FCT and the University of Aveiro promote a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, so that no candidate can be privileged, benefited, harmed or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty on grounds.