Research Fellowship (CIPSI-ID-PEX-17129-01)

Centro de Investigação em Psicologia (CIPsi); Portugal; Presencial; EUR 10.000 - 14.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

O Centro de Investigação em Psicologia (CIPsi) da Universidade de Minho pede candidaturas para uma Bolsa de Investigação (BI) com duração de 8 meses, início previsto em novembro de 2026. Envolve recrutamento, avaliação e processamento de dados de neurociência cognitiva, psicofisiologia e análise de imagem médica, com enfoque em IA.

A bolsa é atribuída no âmbito do projeto de investigação, com regime de exclusividade e condições de apoio previstas no edital.

Formación

• Diploma de licenciatura em Psicologia, Neurociência, Engenharia Biomédica, Bioengenharia, Engenharia Informática ou áreas afins.
• Conhecimento de programação em Python.
• Fluência em Português e Inglês, oral e escrita.

Responsabilidades

• Consolidar a formação científica do bolseiro através da integração em atividades de investigação.
• Participar na coleta, organização e gestão de dados de pesquisa.
• Colaborar na avaliação de participantes e na execução de protocolos.

Conocimientos

Python programming

Português

Inglês

Pesquisa

Educación

Bachelor's degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, Computer Engineering, or related fields

Descripción del empleo

Offer Description

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE AWARD OF A RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

Title: Research Fellowship (BI) - 1 vacancy
Reference: CIPSI-ID-PEX-17129-01

A call for applications is now open for the award of 1 (one) Research Fellowship (BI) within the scope of the R&D project “ Exploring the roots of alcohol addiction: from unconscious to conscious cognitive mechanisms - a multilevel analysis using psychophysiological and fMRI measures ” (reference 2024.17129.PEX), PI Sónia Silva Sousa, with funding approved by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, I.P.) and approved by the Supervisory Authority on 24/11/2025, and within the scope of the activities of the Research Centre in Psychology (UI1662), under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Psychology

Recipient category: The position is open to graduates who, on the date of their hiring, can prove enrollment in one of the following study cycles:

Degree-conferring study cycles (fellowship intended for R&D activities by students enrolled in a master's degree);

or

Non-degree-conferring courses (fellowship intended for R&D activities by graduates enrolled in non-academic degree courses integrated into the educational project of a higher education institution).

Requirement for granting the fellowship:

• Applicants may apply without prior registration in the course for which the fellowship is open. The requirement to enroll in a degree-conferring or non-degree-conferring course will be verified on the date of contracting the fellowship.

Only fellowships whose selected applicants present valid proof of enrollment in a degree-conferring or non-degree-conferring course will be contracted, according to the type of fellowship, indicating, respectively, the academic year in progress or its duration (start and term).

Applicants' eligibility:

Candidates who meet the conditions set out in Article 9 of the Research Grant Regulations, Regulation no. 950/2019, of 16 December 2019, of FCT, I.P., are eligible.

Nationals or citizens of other European Union member states, third-country nationals, stateless persons, and citizens with political refugee status may apply for this call.

Candidate eligibility requirements:

• Mandatory requirements:
• Bachelor's degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, Computer Engineering, or related fields;
• Demonstrated interest in research in the areas of medical informatics, medical image analysis, and/or the application of artificial intelligence methodologies to the processing of medical image data;
• Knowledge of programming in Python;
• Fluency in Portuguese and English, both spoken and written.
• Preferential requirements:

The following will be valued:

• Previous experience in research projects;
• Knowledge of or experience in artificial intelligence methodologies applied to the processing of medical image data, namely machine learning and deep learning;
• Previous experience in programming languages applied to data analysis.

Work plan, objectives to be achieved and evaluation criteria:

The work plan aims to consolidate the scientific training of the fellowship holder through their integration into research activities in the areas of cognitive neuroscience, behavioral and psychophysiological assessment, medical image analysis, and the application of computational methodologies to research data processing.

a) Work plan:

• Literature review relevant to the project, namely in the areas of alcohol use, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral and psychophysiological assessment, fMRI, and artificial intelligence methodologies applied to the processing of medical image data;
• Support in the preparation and organization of research materials, including assessment protocols, questionnaires, experimental/behavioral tasks, and databases;
• Support in the recruitment, screening, scheduling, and follow‑up of participants throughout the data collection process;
• Collaboration in participant assessment, including the administration of questionnaires, behavioral/experimental tasks, and other instruments included in the research protocol;
• Support in the collection of quantitative data, including behavioral, psychophysiological, and magnetic resonance imaging data;
• Organization, coding, anonymization, and management of research documentation and data;
• Support in the processing, quality control, visualization, and preliminary analysis of behavioral, psychophysiological, and medical image data;
• Development or adaptation, under supervision, of Python scripts for data organization, processing, and analysis;
• Support in the development, testing, and analysis of computational models and artificial intelligence methodologies applied to the processing of medical image data;

Collaboration in the preparation of scientific and technical‑scientific reports, conference communications, and scientific articles.

b) Objectives to be achieved:

• Contribute to the implementation of the recruitment, assessment, and data collection procedures planned for the project;
• Ensure the proper organization, coding, anonymization, and systematization of the data collected;
• Contribute to the processing and preliminary analysis of behavioral, psychophysiological, and medical image data;
• Develop basic skills in Python programming applied to the organization, processing, and analysis of research data;
• Support the development and testing of computational approaches applied to the processing of medical image data;

Contribute to the production of reports, scientific communications, and other project dissemination outputs.

c) Evaluation criteria:

• Degree of completion of the tasks foreseen in the work plan;
• Quality of the organization, coding, anonymization, and management of research data;
• Rigor in the application of assessment, data collection, and data processing protocols;
• Technical quality of the processing, visualization, and preliminary data analysis tasks carried out under supervision;
• Degree of development of skills in Python programming and computational methodologies applied to the project;
• Quality of collaboration in reports, scientific communications, and other dissemination outputs;

Ability to integrate into the team, meet deadlines, develop progressive autonomy, and demonstrate scientific rigor.

Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Grant Holder Statute (EBI), approved by Law no. 40/2004 of 18 August, in its current wording; FCT Research Grant Regulations, approved by Regulation no. 950/2019, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, of 16 December 2019, in its current wording; and the University of Minho Scientific Research Grant Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations (RBIC)), approved by Order no. 4998/2025, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, no. 81, of 28 April, rectified and republished through Rectification Statement no. 634/2025/2, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, no. 132, of 11 July.

Host/Contracting institution and scientific supervision: The work plan will be carried out at the Research Centre in Psychology (CIPsi) of the School of Psychology of the University of Minho, located on the Gualtar Campus, Braga, under the scientific supervision of the project's PI, Dr. Sónia da Silva Sousa, Assistant Professor, and the coordination of Professor Adriana Sampaio, Director of CIPsi.

Fellowship duration: The fellowship will last for 8 (eight) months, with a provisional starting date in November 2026. The fellowship may, eventually, be renewed up to the maximum limit allowed by the project and/or applicable legislation, up to a maximum of:

• 2 years: when awarded to a student enrolled in a Master’s programme;
• one year, when awarded to graduates enrolled in non‑degree‑conferring study cycles (they may only be awarded to those who do not exceed, with the conclusion of the fellowship contract in question, including possible renewals, an accumulated period of two years, consecutive or non‑consecutive).

Amount of the monthly maintenance allowance (SMM): The amount of the fellowship corresponds to 1090.98 euros/month, according to the FCT fellowship values table in Portugal ( http://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores ) and the University of Minho Scientific Research Fellowship values table, updated annually by decision of the Management Board.

Payment is made by the 23rd of each month, by bank transfer to the Bank Identification Number of the fellowship holder indicated in the contracting process.

Other benefits: Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Insurance, if the candidate chooses to receive it, corresponding to the 1st level of the contribution base (for fellowships with a duration equal to or longer than 6 months), and personal accident insurance.

Exclusivity regime: The fellowship holder will perform the activities under an exclusivity regime, as provided for in Article 5 of the Research Grant Holder Statute.

President: Sónia da Silva Sousa, Assistant Professor at the School of Human and Social Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro.

Effective member: Manuel Alberto Crego Barreiro, Auxiliary Researcher, Research Centre in Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Minho.

Substitute member: Diego Pinal Fernandez, Auxiliary Researcher, Research Centre in Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Minho.

In case of impediment of the President of the selection panel, the President will be replaced by the first effective member, and the substitute member will be appointed to replace the effective member. All members of the selection panel, including the President, undertake to respect a set of responsibilities essential to the evaluation process, such as the duties of impartiality, disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest, and confidentiality.

Criteria and procedures for application assessment and selection: Firstly, the evaluation of applications will focus on the candidate's merit, applying the following evaluation criteria, valued on a scale from 0 (non‑existent) to 5 (excellent) points:

A. Candidate's Merit (MC) - MC evaluation, weighted at 60%, taking into account the following parameters and their respective weightings:

A1 - Academic Background, reflecting the classifications of the academic degrees obtained, weighted at 30%;

A2 - Personal Curriculum, reflecting the scientific and professional trajectory, weighted at 60%, according to the following parameters:

A2.1 - Adequacy of the academic and scientific background to the areas of the project, namely Cognitive Neuroscience, addictive behaviors, medical informatics, medical image analysis, and/or artificial intelligence methodologies applied to the processing of medical image data (25%);

A2.2 - Previous experience or involvement in research activities, including recruitment, participant assessment, and the collection, organization, and management of research data (20%);

A2.3 - Knowledge of or experience in Python programming and/or other quantitative data analysis tools (20%);

A2.4 - Knowledge of or experience in the analysis of behavioral, psychophysiological, neuroimaging, and/or medical image data (20%);

A2.5 - Proficiency in Portuguese and English, both spoken and written (15%).

A3 - Letter of motivation written in Portuguese or English, weighted at 10%.

The Candidate Merit (MC) classification will be obtained by applying the following formula:

MC = (A1 x 0,3) + (A2 x 0,6) + (A3 x 0,1)

The 3 (three) candidates with the best MC scores or, in the event of a tie, the 4 (four) best‑scoring candidates with a score equal to or greater than 3.5 points in the MC will be admitted to the interview phase.

B. Interview (ENT) - The ENT, weighted at 40%, will be conducted in Portuguese and/or English and will be evaluated on a scale from 0 (non‑existent) to 5 (excellent) points, taking into account the following parameters and their respective weightings:

B1. Attitude and Critical Thinking, reflecting the candidate's attitude, language skills, interpersonal skills, and argumentative ability (30%);

B2. Motivation, reflecting the candidate's motivation to perform the duties (50%);

B3. Overall Assessment, reflecting general knowledge of the research area to be developed (20%).

The final interview assessment will be obtained by applying the following formula:

ENT = (B1 x 0,3) + (B2 x 0,5) + (B3 x 0,2)

The candidate's Final Classification (CF) will be obtained by applying the following formula:

CF = (MC x 0,6) + (ENT x 0,4)

The position can only be awarded to candidates whose final classification is equal to or greater than 3.5 points, taking into account the weighted average between MC (60%) and ENT (40%).

Note: Applicants with degrees obtained abroad must present proof of recognition of qualifications in Portugal and conversion of the final classification obtained therein to the Portuguese classification scale, or a declaration under the terms indicated above. Candidates who do not comply with one of these provisions will be assigned a score of “0” by the selection panel for the bachelor's and/or master's course grade. Candidates will be evaluated on the remaining parameters.

Application deadline and submission: The call for applications is open from 13 to 26 October 2026 (23:59, Lisbon time).

Required documents include:

• Candidate's curriculum vitae, in Portuguese or English;
• Certificates of qualification for all academic degrees held, obligatorily specifying the final classification and, if possible, the classifications obtained in all completed curricular units, or, alternatively, the candidate's declaration of honor stating that he/she completed the required degree by the application deadline;

For degrees obtained abroad, the record of recognition of the academic degrees and the record of conversion of the respective final classification to the Portuguese classification scale must be presented, or, alternatively, a candidate's declaration of honor.

This declaration must attest to facts that occurred prior to the application. In the event of a discrepancy between the information contained in the declaration and the documentation submitted for the purposes of contracting the fellowship, only the information contained in the latter will be considered. If it is found that the documents proving the academic degree and diploma, or their recognition under Decree‑Law no. 66/2018 of 16 August, do not correspond to the classifications awarded in the assessment of the academic background and may consequently alter the candidate's ranking, the fellowship will