Research Fellowship (BI) (Reference REQUIMTE 2026-68)

EURAXESS Ireland; Porto; Hybrid; EUR 14,000 - 17,000; Full time

Job summary

REQUIMTE offers a Research Fellowship in Porto, Portugal, on the ReWASTE4H2O project. The position focuses on preparing and characterizing biochars from industrial wastes and monitoring water pollutants, with duties spanning MOF synthesis, waste treatment, and material characterization under LAQV@REQUIMTE supervision.

The fellowship lasts 12 months (renewable to 24 months) starting December 2026, with a monthly stipend of €1,359.64 plus social security and work insurance.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or similar and enrollment in a doctoral program or related courses.
• Experience in preparing and characterizing biochars from industrial wastes.
• Experience in analytical methods for monitoring water pollutants.

Responsibilities

• Involved in Tasks 1, 2, 4 and 6 of the ReWASTE4H2O project.
• Synthesize MOFs via hydrothermal, solvothermal or microwave routes for carbon materials.
• Pre-treat and activate industrial wastes and impregnate with metallic precursors.
• Assist PI, supervise undergraduates, and help prepare publications and progress reports.

Skills

Biochar prep

Biochar characterization

Analytical methods

Education

Master's degree in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering

Job description

Organisation/Company REQUIMTE - Rede de Quimica e Tecnologia Research Field Chemistry » Physical chemistry Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Master Positions Application Deadline 20 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

A Research Fellowship (BI) (Reference REQUIMTE 2026-68) on the project ReWASTE4H2O funded by FEDER funds (COMPETE 2030) and national funds by FCT/MECI, operation no. 15750, with reference COMPETE2030-FEDER-00685700, is available at REQUIMTE.

Main research field: Materials Engineering

Admission requirements: Master's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or similar, and enrollment in a doctoral program or enrollment/attendance of a non‑degree course taught by a higher education institution in conjunction with an R&D unit. Proven experience in the preparation and characterization of biochars from industrial wastes, in particular from agricultural, forestry and food industries. Proven experience in the characterization of biochars and application for the removal of pollutants from model‑solutions and wastewater. Proven experience in analytical methods for monitoring of water pollutants.

In case the Master degree was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of Decree‑Law no. 66/2018 of 16th August, and all formalities established therein must be complied with at the signature of Fellowship contract.

Working plan: In the framework of project ReWASTE4H2O, the candidate will be involved in Tasks 1, 2, 4 and 6 of the project. Task 1 – Preparation of adequate MOF precursors involves the synthesis of metal‑organic frameworks (MOFs) through hydrothermal, solvothermal and microwave‑assisted techniques for application in the preparation of carbon materials. Task 2 – Treatment and activation of industrial wastes involves the pre‑treatment of raw industrial wastes, thermal and chemical activation processes, and impregnation with metallic precursors. Task 4 – Structural characterization of the prepared materials involves the use of characterization techniques for the structural and morphological determination of the newly developed materials. In Task 6 – Project management, will assist the Principal Investigator (PI) of the project in the supervision of undergraduate students, assist in the preparation of publications and progress reports.

Work Place: The work will be conducted at Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, under the supervision of Carlos Miguel Cardeal Enes Granadeiro (Researcher at LAQV@REQUIMTE).

Duration: The fellowship will have duration of 12 months, possibly renewable for equal period for up to 24 months, starting on December 2026.

Monthly stipend:

Monthly stipend is €1.359,64 according to the stipends established by FCT, I.P. in Portugal ( https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM-202… ). Payment will be made by bank transfer on a monthly basis. The successful candidate will also be entitled to the reimbursement of Social Security payments (Seguro Social Voluntário) and work insurance.

Selection criteria

The selection methods will be:

• 1. Evaluation of the Curriculum Vitae – 80%
• Quality and coherence of the CV – 20%
• Oral and poster communications in scientific conferences in the area of the call – 5%
• Valorization of wastes from the agricultural, forestry and food industries – 15%
• Structural and morphological characterization of biochars (FTIR, Raman, XPS, SEM/EDS) – 15%
• Design of Experiments (DoE) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) – 10%
• Analytical methods for monitoring of water pollutants (fluorimetry, UV-Vis spectroscopy) – 15%
• Clarity, objectivity and alignment of motivation with the objectives of the ReWASTE4H2O project – 20%

In the case of admitted candidates whose evaluation does not differ more than 10% from that obtained by the best positioned candidate, the jury will interview these candidates. In this situation, the value of the interview is 30%.

The jury will not award the current scholarship to candidates with a final classification lower than 50%.

Jury composition

Publicity and communication of results

The ranking of applications will be published at a visible and public area of REQUIMTE facilities, and all candidates will be informed by email about the result of their application.