Organisation/Company Maiêutica - Cooperativa de Ensino Superior, C.R.L. Department University of Maia/CPUP Research Field Computer science » Informatics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Undergraduate Positions Country Portugal Application Deadline 18 Jun 2025 - 18:00 (Europe/London) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Jul 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number 2024.07577.IACDC Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE AWARD OF 1 (ONE) INITIATION TO RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (BII) AT MAIA UNIVERSITY - Ref. BII_AISPO_2025-06
A call is now open for the award of 1 (one) Initiation to Research Fellowship (BII), under the conditions set out below. This call is governed by the Research Fellowship Holder Statute, approved by Law No. 40/2004 of 18 August, as amended, by the FCT Research Fellowship Regulation, approved by Regulation No. 950/2019 of 16 December, and by other applicable national and European legislation.
* FUNDING
The Initiation to Research Fellowship (BII) is funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. (FCT), through the project LOSS-J – Locate, Organize, Summarize, Suggest, and Justify (Ref. 2024.07619.IACDC). The project aims to develop software that integrates large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and knowledge graph technologies to enhance interaction with PDF documents by enabling question answering, justification, and visual representation.
* SCIENTIFIC AREA
Computer Science and Information Science.
3. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS
3.1. The following individuals are eligible to apply for this call:
a. Nationals or citizens of other Member States of the European Union;
b. Citizens of third countries;
c. Stateless persons;
d. Citizens holding political refugee status.
3.2. Applicants who meet the above criteria are eligible to apply, provided they also meet one of the following conditions:
a. Hold a Bachelor's degree in the scientific field of Computer Science or Information Science;
b. Be enrolled in a Bachelor's degree program in the scientific field of Computer Science or Information Science.
3.3. The research initiation fellowship will preferably be awarded to candidates who demonstrate:
a. Proficiency in English (to be duly demonstrated through certificates/diplomas, written works/articles in English, or the ability to maintain a conversation in English);
b. Previous experience in academic activities in areas relevant to the work plan (e.g., optimization, operations research, machine learning, or related topics);
c. Interest in and suitability for scientific research in the AISPO Project (optimization techniques, machine learning, predictive models, recommendation and decision support systems).
4. WORK PLAN
The activities to be carried out by the fellow include:
a. Systematic literature review related to optimization and predictive modeling;
b. Development of a model to represent swimming pools;
c. Collection, analysis, and processing of historical data from swimming pools;
d. Data normalization, handling of missing data, selection of relevant features, algorithm selection, performance analysis, and parameter tuning;
e. Participation in team meetings and report writing;
f. Writing scientific articles;
g. Participation in scientific dissemination activities related to the results.
5. DURATION OF THE FELLOWSHIP
The fellowship will be granted on an exclusive basis and is expected to last for 7 (seven) months, starting on July 1, 2025. Any extension is subject to a request and prior authorization from the competent authorities.
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8. PLACE OF WORK DEVELOPMENT
The work will be carried out at the facilities of LIACC – Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, either at the University of Porto or at the University of Maia, under the scientific supervision of Professor Luís Paulo Reis, the principal investigator of this project. This does not preclude the right to appoint other Scientific Supervisors and potential Co-supervisors from LIACC, if necessary to fulfill the objectives of the Work Plan and the Project.
Where to apply
E-mail projetos@maieutica.pt
Requirements
Research Field Computer science » Informatics Education Level Undergraduate
Skills/Qualifications
3. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS
3.1. The following individuals are eligible to apply for this call:
a. Nationals or citizens of other Member States of the European Union;
b. Citizens of third countries;
c. Stateless persons;
d. Citizens holding political refugee status.
3.2. Applicants who meet the above criteria are eligible to apply, provided they also meet one of the following conditions:
a. Hold a Bachelor's degree in the scientific field of Computer Science or Information Science;
b. Be enrolled in a Bachelor's degree program in the scientific field of Computer Science or Information Science.
Specific Requirements
3.3. The research initiation fellowship will preferably be awarded to candidates who demonstrate:
a. Proficiency in English (to be duly demonstrated through certificates/diplomas, written works/articles in English, or the ability to maintain a conversation in English);
b. Previous experience in academic activities in areas relevant to the work plan (e.g., optimization, operations research, machine learning, or related topics);
c. Interest in and suitability for scientific research in the AISPO Project (optimization techniques, machine learning, predictive models, recommendation and decision support systems).
Languages ENGLISH Level Good
Languages PORTUGUESE Level Mother Tongue
Research Field Computer science » Informatics Years of Research Experience None
Additional Information
6. FELLOWSHIP COMPONENTS, FORM, AND FREQUENCY OF PAYMENT
6.1. The monthly stipend amount is €651.12, in accordance with the table of fellowship amounts directly awarded by FCT, I.P. in Portugal (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Tabela_valores_SMM_2025.pdf ).
6.2. The fellowship is paid monthly via bank transfer.
6.3. All fellows are covered by personal accident insurance for research activities, funded by FCT.
6.4. All fellows not covered by any social protection scheme may exercise the right to social security by enrolling in the voluntary social insurance regime, in accordance with the Code of the Contributory Schemes of the Social Security Welfare System. FCT will cover the resulting contributions within the terms and limits set out in Article 10 of the Research Fellowship Holder Statute (EBI).
7. APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS
This call is governed by this Notice of Opening, the FCT Research Fellowship Regulation, approved by Regulation No. 950/2019, published in the 2nd Series of the Diário da República on December 16, 2019, the Research Fellowship Holder Statute approved by Law No. 40/2004, of August 18, in its current version, and by all other applicable national and European legislation.
Eligibility criteria
3. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS
3.1. The following individuals are eligible to apply for this call:
a. Nationals or citizens of other Member States of the European Union;
b. Citizens of third countries;
c. Stateless persons;
d. Citizens holding political refugee status.
3.2. Applicants who meet the above criteria are eligible to apply, provided they also meet one of the following conditions:
a. Hold a Bachelor's degree in the scientific field of Computer Science or Information Science;
b. Be enrolled in a Bachelor's degree program in the scientific field of Computer Science or Information Science.
Selection process
9. SELECTION METHODS
9.1. The evaluation of applications will be carried out through a Curriculum Assessment (60%) and an Interview (40%). Candidates will be ranked based on the following criteria.
9.2. The Curriculum Assessment (60%), based on the documents submitted with the application, takes into account:
a. The applicant’s qualifications, as per section 3.2 (50%):
- 20 points for case a. (Bachelor’s degree);
- (ECTS/180) × 20 points for case b., where ECTS represents the number of approved ECTS credits in the relevant Bachelor's degree program.
b. The motivation letter, which should describe the candidate's academic and/or professional background (50%).
9.3. The score obtained in the Curriculum Assessment parameters is expressed on a scale from 0 to 20 points, rounded to two decimal places. Each candidate’s score will be the average of the scores given by each jury member.
9.4. The Interview (40%) assesses the following parameters:
a. The candidate's motivation (15%);
b. Overall assessment of the competencies considered important for the development of the work plan and suitability of the profile (85%).
9.5. The Interview score is expressed on a scale from 0 to 20 points, rounded to two decimal places. Each candidate’s score will be the average of the scores given by each jury member.
9.6. Based on the assessment, the jury will draw up a ranked list of candidates with their final score, expressed on a scale from 0 to 20 points, rounded to two decimal places. In the event of a tie, the President of the jury has the casting vote.
9.7. The jury reserves the right not to select any candidate if it considers that none of the applicants meet the required profile.
10. COMPOSITION OF THE SELECTION JURY
The jury is composed of:
* Dr. Alexandre Sousa (University of Maia; Member),
Additional comments
***THIS INFORMATION DOES NOT REPLACE THE FULL READING OF THE CALL FOR APLICATION***
11. APPLICATION PERIOD AND SUBMISSION METHOD
11.1. The call is open from June 4 to June 18, 2025.
11.2. Applications must be submitted via email to projetos@maieutica.pt, with CC to conselhogestao@umaia.pt, using the subject line: Research Initiation Fellowship BII_AISPO_2025-06.
11.3. Applications must include the following documents:
a. Proof of the Bachelor's degree previously obtained by the candidate (if applying under 3.2 a), or, in the case of 3.2 b, a certificate listing completed courses and corresponding ECTS credits;
b. Curriculum vitae;
c. Motivation letter addressed to the jury members, describing the candidate’s academic and/or professional background, reasons for applying, and alignment with the work plan described in section 4 of this Notice;
d. A declaration by the candidate, signed under honor commitment, confirming that the work plan will be carried out on an exclusive basis;
e. Any other relevant supporting documents.
11.4. Eligible candidates will be interviewed online on June 20, 2025, between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM.
12. FELLOWSHIP AWARD REQUIREMENTS
12.1. Research initiation fellowship contracts are managed in accordance with FCT regulations, and the following documents must be submitted upon award of the fellowship for contractual purposes:
a. Copy of documents proving civil, tax, and, if applicable, social security identification numbers;
b. Copy of academic degree certificates;
c. Copy of proof of enrollment/attendance in the Bachelor’s program described in 3.2 b;
d. Declaration from the supervisor accepting responsibility for overseeing the work plan, as per Article 5-A of the Research Fellowship Holder Statute (template provided by FCT);
e. Detailed work plan.
12.2. The award of the fellowship is also contingent upon:
a. Full compliance with the requirements of this Notice;
b. A positive evaluation of the application in accordance with this Notice;
c. No unjustified breach of duties under a previous FCT-funded fellowship contract.
12.3. Failure to submit the required documents within the deadline indicated in the conditional award communication will result in forfeiture of the award and closure of the process.
13. RESULT ANNOUNCEMENT / NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE
13.1. The evaluation results will be published as a ranked list by final score on the website of the University of Maia – UMAIA (www.umaia.pt ) within 10 working days after the application deadline. Candidates will also be notified of the preliminary decision by email for the purposes of a prior hearing. They will have 10 working days to respond, after which the decision becomes final in the absence of any comments.
13.2. If comments are submitted, the final decision will be communicated within 10 working days.
13.3. Candidates may submit a complaint within 10 working days of the final decision or appeal to the executive body of the funding entity within 30 working days, in accordance with Article 12 of the FCT Research Fellowship Regulation.
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15. PERSONAL DATA
15.1. The entity responsible for processing the personal data of candidates collected within the scope of this recruitment procedure is Maiêutica, Cooperativa de Ensino Superior, C.R.L. (Maiêutica).
15.2. Maiêutica ensures that the personal data, collected in physical or digital form and regardless of its nature, is processed responsibly, through appropriate policies and measures aimed at preventing unauthorized access and use or potential intrusions, minimizing risks, and contributing to its security.
15.3. The Institution does not provide or transfer personal data in its possession to third parties, except for the purpose of complying with duly framed regulatory or legal obligations.
15.4. The collected personal data will be retained for a maximum of 6 months, counted from the end of the legally and regulatorily established retention period for the Project.
15.5. At any time, the data subject may contact the Institution via the email dpo@maieutica.pt to request changes to their personal data.
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