Call for Expressions of Interest under the CMU Portugal Visiting Faculty and Researchers Program (project refª CMU-P Gestão 2023)

Call for Expressions of Interest under the

CMU Portugal Visiting Faculty and Researchers Program (project refª CMU-P Gestão 2023)

The Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program (CMU Portugal) through Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Lisboa (INESC-ID) – as host institution “Entidade de Enquadramento” - and with the support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) is announcing a Call for Expressions of Interest under the Visiting Faculty and Researchers Program, for visits to Carnegie Mellon University in 2023. This Program is one of the key educational initiatives of the CMU Portugal partnership, under which individuals holding a doctoral degree and affiliated with Portuguese Higher Education Institutions or Research Labs, can spend up to two (2) months working in research, education and innovation at Carnegie Mellon University to experience its culture and best practices.

CMU Portugal will support up to ten (10) beneficiaries through the project CMU-P Gestão 2023 under FCT regulations “Subsídio a Atividades de Transferência de Conhecimento e Tecnologia”, pending on funding available by FCT/MCTES through national funds and under the following conditions:

Duration

14 days to 2months depending on the proposed work plan that must end before December 31^st 2023.  

Legislation

The current call is open under FCT regulations “Subsídio a Atividades de Transferência de Conhecimento e Tecnologia” (Regulamento nº913/2021 - Diário da República n.º 201/2021, Série II de 2021-10-15, páginas 84 - 92).

Internship components

The monthly amount of the internship is €2.550,00. Apart from the monthly amount of the internship the beneficiaries will also have covered, up to €600,00, their health insurance while at CMU. The beneficiaries rights and duties are fully described in articles 15 and 18 of FCT´s “Subsídio a Atividades de Transferência de Conhecimento e Tecnologia” regulations.

Objectives / summary

In the Visiting Faculty and Researchers Program the beneficiaries can spend two weeks to two months working in research, education and innovation at Carnegie Mellon University, to experience its culture and best practices. Through the Visiting Faculty and Researchers Program the beneficiaries will have a formal appointment as a visiting scholar member at CMU; will be hosted in a research group; join a teaching team in a specific area of interest; and be invited to participate in various activities. More information is available on the CMU Portugal Website.

Scientific supervision

The activities developed under the Visiting Faculty and Researchers Program will be supervised by the CMU Portugal Program Directors Inês Lynce, full professor of IST and researcher at INESC-ID Lisboa, and Nuno Nunes, full professor at IST, researcher at LarSys, and invited researcher at INESC-ID Lisboa. The beneficiaries will hold a courtesy appointment at INESC-ID while the visit is ongoing. The beneficiaries will be also integrated in a Department and/or Research Centre at CMU and will have a CMU Faculty host. The supervisors and host institution rights and duties are described in articles 16, 17, 19 and 20 of FCT´s “Subsídio a Atividades de Transferência de Conhecimento e Tecnologia” regulations.

Required education Level and research experience

Only Portuguese citizens or foreign citizens with permanent residence in Portugal are eligible to participate in the Visiting Faculty and Researchers Program. The candidate should hold a doctoral degree by the time of the application and be affiliated with a Portuguese Higher Education Institution or/and Research Lab. Preference is given to candidates with professional and academic work aligned with the CMU Portugal main research areas.  Proficiency in English is required.

Evaluation criteria

The evaluation and selection of the candidates takes place in accordance with articles 11 and 12 of FCT´s “Subsídio a Atividades de Transferência de Conhecimento e Tecnologia” regulations. The evaluation process will be chaired by the CMU Portugal Program Directors and conducted by the CMU Portugal Scientific Directors on a scale of 0-5 considering the “Quality and depth of the academic work” (10%), namely the academic degrees held by the candidate; lecturing and/or academic activities in which the candidate participated and/or organized (such has non-degree educational programs, training programs, workshops, and other courses. Relevant international educational experiences will be valorized; “Quality and depth of the research work” (20%), namely the participation in research projects and authorship of peer-reviewed scientific publications. Relevant international experiences will be valorized; the “Scientific robustness of the work plan proposed” (25%), which should be aligned with the promotion of activities of knowledge and technology transfer within the framework of the FCT regulations under which the call is open; the “Professional experience of the candidate” (15%), namely work experience  in academia, industry or other type of organization; its “Alignment with the main research areas of the CMU Portugal Program” (15%); and the “Relevance of the  work developed by the host at CMU in the scope of the CMU Portugal Program” (15%). Applications with a final classification of ≤ 3,00 will not be selected for admission.  The selection process is expected to take one month after the applications deadline, and all the applicants will receive feedback by e-mail.

In accordance with FCT´s “Subsídio a Atividades de Transferência de Conhecimento e Tecnologia” regulations (article 11, paragraph 9), there will be no hearing of interested parties’ period. From the final decision, a complaint can be filed within 15 working days, or, alternatively, an appeal may be filed within 30 working days, both counted from the respective notification. Candidates who choose to submit a complaint must address their pronunciation to the FCT Board of Directors with delegated competence. Candidates who choose to submit an appeal must address the same to the FCT Board of Directors.

The jury, that will convene in June,is composed by the following members:

Results

The final evaluation results will be publicized through an ordered list in the CMU Portugal Program website page “Admissions and scholarships”, and the candidates will be notified of the jury´s decision by e-mail.

Contract

A contract between INESC-ID and the beneficiaries will be celebrated according to the FCT´s “Subsídio a Atividades de Transferência de Conhecimento e Tecnologia” regulations, article 13, 3).

Internship report and sanctions

Until 60 work days after the successful completion of the research period at CMU, beneficiaries will have to present to CMU Portugal an internship report which details the activities that were developed under the Visiting Students Program, together with assessments from the internship supervisors and host institution in Portugal (in accordance with articles 18 to 20 of FCT´s “Subsídio a Atividades de Transferência de Conhecimento e Tecnologia” regulations). In case the beneficiaries do not fulfil any of the regulations requirements, sanctions may take place according to article 22 of FCT´s “Subsídio a Atividades de Transferência de Conhecimento e Tecnologia” regulations.