1 (one) research fellowship for a master student or bachelor enrolled in a non-academic degree course (BI), area Computer Science (ref.ª HORUSNEXTGEN_BSc11)

University of Beira Interior; Portugal; On-site; EUR 11,000 - 13,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Beira Interior offers a research fellowship for a bachelor or master student in Computer Science to contribute to the HORUS NEXTGEN project within the Computer Science Department. The role involves designing, developing, and integrating AI agents into the HORUS platform with a focus on secure, auditable operations.

The fellowship starts January 2027 and runs until 30 June 2027, with potential renewal.

Qualifications

• Hold a BSc in Computer Science and meet the requirements to enrol in a study cycle leading to a master degree or enrolled in a non-degree course.

Responsibilities

• Design and integrate AI agents into the HORUS platform to automate and support tasks in offender management.
• Ensure human oversight, permission controls and auditable logging for all actions.

Skills

English proficiency

Education

Bachelor degree in Computer Science

Job description

Organisation/Company University of Beira Interior Department Informatics Research Field Computer science » Informatics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Bachelor Positions Application Deadline 23 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/London) Country Portugal Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number HORUSNEXTGEN_BSc11 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

A call is open for the allocation of 1 (one)research fellowship for a master student or bachelor enrolled in a non-academic degree course (BI), within the Research Project entitled HORUS 360IOMS NEXTGEN -Next Generation Intelligent Offender Management System , operation code COMPETE2030-FEDER-01316200 (n.º 17739), funded by COMPETE 2030 Programme through the Portugal 2030 and the European Union, taking place at the Computer Science Department of the University of Beira Interior, under the following conditions:

Research Field: Computer Science

Objectives:

The activity involves designing, developing and integrating AI agents into the advanced prison management platform (the HORUS AI platform). Supported by the large language model tailored to the OMS context, these agents should be able to interpret user requests, query the system’s modules and databases and carry out, in a controlled manner, tasks that support offender management. The solution will include human oversight, permission control and action traceability mechanisms, ensuring its security and compliance.

Work plan:

Design and integration of AI agents into the HORUS platform:
This task addresses the development of an AI agent architecture that automates and supports recurring tasks of prison practitioners, linking the LLM with the existing OMS functionalities. The main objectives are: Identification of automatable tasks: Identify, with the stakeholders, the processes in which agents can add value (e.g. searching and cross-referencing information in individual case files, preparing reports, managing schedules and generating alerts), defining the scope of action of each agent. Multi-agent architecture: Design and implement specialised agents and an orchestration mechanism that coordinates them, using tool calling (function calling) and standardised integration protocols to securely access the platform’s APIs and databases. Oversight and security: Ensure human validation of actions with significant impact (human-in-the-loop), compliance with user access profiles, auditable logging of all actions and protection against misuse such as prompt injection.

Evaluation: Measure the success rate, reliability and execution time of the tasks carried out by the agents in representative scenarios built with synthetic data. This task is crucial to increase the efficiency of offender management processes while keeping control and accountability in the hands of practitioners.

Applicable legislation and regulations:

Research Fellowship Holder Statute, approved by Law No. 40/2004, of 18 August, in its current wording (amended by Decree-Law No. 123/2019, of 28 August); Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships of the Foundation for Science and Technology (Regulation No. 950/2019) published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, No. 241, 16 December 2019; Regulation for Research Fellowships of the University of Beira Interior - RBIUBI (Regulation No. 100/2020) published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, n.º 27, 7 February 2020.

Work location:

The work will be developed at the HULTIG, Computer Science Departmentunder the scientific supervision of Doctor Sebastião Pais ( [e-mail] ).

Fellowship duration and conditions:

The fellowship expected to start in January 2027 will run until 30 June 2027 (the project’s end date) and may, if necessary, be renewed, subject to approval of an extension to the project’s end date. The activity is in the regime of exclusive dedication in accordance with the RBIUBI.

Selection Committee: Applications will be assessed by a panel as follows:

Documents for application:

The candidates should present:

. Detailed Curriculum Vitae ;

. Certificate of completion of the previous degree;

.Other documents considered relevant;

. Declaration of honor from the candidate stating that he/she meets the conditions for being awarded the scholarship BI according to Article 6 of the RBIUBI.

Publication/notification of results:

The final results of the evaluation process will be published in a sorted list, by the final classification obtained, and posted in a visible and public place of the Faculty of Engineeringof the University of Beira Interior. The candidate(s) will be notified of the decision by e-mail.

Requirements

Research Field Computer science » Informatics Education Level Bachelor Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

- Hold a BSc’s degree in the scientific field of Computer Science and meet the requirements to enrol in a study cycle leading to a master degree or enrolled in course that does not confer an academic degree .

BIs awarded to graduates who attend courses that do not confer an academic degree can only be granted for a maximum period of one year.

BIs awarded to graduates who are enrolled in courses that do not confer an academic degree can only be awarded to those who do not exceed, with the conclusion of the fellowship contract in question, including any renewals, the accumulated period of two years in this type of fellowship, followed or interpolated.

If the required academic degree has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution, the requirements of Decree-Law 66/2018, of 16th August and Ministerial Order no. 33/2019, of 25th January, shall be obeyed. The presentation of the certificate(s) recognizing foreign academic degrees is mandatory for the signing of the fellowship contract. More information can be obtained at: https://www.dges.gov.pt/en/pagina/degree-anddiploma-recognition .

The proof of registration in the2nd cycle or in non-degree course is required for the fellowship contractualization.

Languages ENGLISH Level Good

Internal Application form(s) needed

A monthly maintenance allowance will be granted in accordance with the Annex I of the RBIUBI, with the amount of 1.090,98 € according to the updated values that can be consulted at https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM-2026.pdf . The fellowship holder will have a personal accident insurance and can choose to be covered by the voluntary social insurance. These values will be added to the amount of monthly maintenance allowance.

Eligibility criteria

- Hold a BSc’s degree in the scientific field of Computer Science and meet the requirements to enrol in a study cycle leading to a master degree or enrolled in course that does not confer an academic degree .

BIs awarded to graduates who attend courses that do not confer an academic degree can only be granted for a maximum period of one year.

BIs awarded to graduates who are enrolled in courses that do not confer an academic degree can only be awarded to those who do not exceed, with the conclusion of the fellowship contract in question, including any renewals, the accumulated period of two years in this type of fellowship, followed or interpolated.

If the required academic degree has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution, the requirements of Decree-Law 66/2018, of 16th August and Ministerial Order no. 33/2019, of 25th January, shall be obeyed. The presentation of the certificate(s) recognizing foreign academic degrees is mandatory for the signing of the fellowship contract. More information can be obtained at: https://www.dges.gov.pt/en/pagina/degree-anddiploma-recognition .

The proof of registration in the2nd cycle or in non-degree course is required for the fellowship contractualization.

Selection process

The selection process will comprise two assessment stages:

• 1ststage – Curriculum evaluation;
• 2nd stage – Interview, which may be conducted by videoconference

The 1st-stage assessment uses the following criteria: Curriculum Vitae/Academic record (45%); alignment of the candidate’s profile with the project based on relevant experience in the tasks described in the work plan (45%); fluency in spoken and written English (10%).

The three candidates with the highest scores after the 1st stage will advance to the 2nd stage.

In the final ranking, each stage will carry equal weight (50%).

Additional comments

Applicable legislation and regulations:

Research Fellowship Holder Statute, approved by Law No. 40/2004, of 18 August, in its current wording (amended by Decree-Law No. 123/2019, of 28 August); Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships of the Foundation for Science and Technology (Regulation No. 950/2019) published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, No. 241, 16 December 2019; Regulation for Research Fellowships of the University of Beira Interior - RBIUBI (Regulation No. 100/2020) published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, n.º 27, 7 February 2020.

Complaint and Appeal Procedures:

After communication of the provisional lists of the results in the different phases of the selection process (Admission and Exclusion, Curricular Evaluation and Interview), the candidates have 10 working days topronounce their disagreement, under the terms of article 121 and the Código do Procedimento Administrativo . If any allegations are presented, the final decision will be issued after the analysis of the statements presented during the prior hearing of interested parties. After the statutory deadline of 10 working days, the proposal for the final classification and ranking of the candidates becomes definitive.