Research Fellowship for PhD students: BI_CICP_ OWN-EU_2026(1)

Universidade do Minho; Portugal; On-site; EUR 14,000 - 17,000; Full time

Job summary

Universidade do Minho is seeking a researcher for a 3-month Horizon Europe project fellowship in political science, international relations, or European studies. The candidate will be enrolled in a PhD program and contribute to literature mapping, data collection, and methodological development, with potential contract renewal.

The fellowship supports a monthly maintenance grant, English proficiency requirements at CEFR C1, and a commitment to publish results and participate in consortium

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Political Science, International Relations or European Studies.
• One or more scientific publications on EU enlargement is preferred.
• Fluency in Portuguese and English at CEFR C1 level with official certification.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the implementation of the project from the outset.
• Map scientific literature and data sources focused on political ownership and territorial capital (WP5).
• Support data collection and analysis, including designing and analyzing questionnaires and interviews (WP7).
• Contribute to methodological development, including pilot studies, living labs and scenario-building (WP6/7/8).
• Draft and review scientific reports and working papers for publication.
• Participate in consortium meetings and institutional representation activities.

Skills

Master’s degree

Publications on EU enlargement

CEFR English proficiency (C1)

Portuguese fluency

Education

Master’s degree or equivalent in Political Science/International Relations/European Studies

Job description

Organisation/Company Universidade do Minho Department Escola de Economia e Gestão Research Field Political sciences Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Other Positions Application Deadline 26 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Other Type of Contract Extra Information Research Fellowship Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 12 Nov 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe (other) Reference Number BI_CICP_OWN-EU_2026(1) Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

A call for applications is open for the award of one (1) Research Fellowship (BI) within the scope of the R&D project “Enhancing the Success of Enlargement through the Political Ownership Teritorial Capital Nexus”, reference HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-03, funded by the European Commission through the Horizon Europe programme, under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Political Science, International Relations or European Studies

Recipient category: Students enrolled in a PhD programme in Political Science, International Relations or European Studies.

Requirement for granting the fellowship:

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

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

Applicants’ eligibility:

Candidates who meet the conditions set out in Article 8 of the University of Minho's Scientific Research Grant Regulations are eligible.

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

Candidate eligibility requirements: The following criteria are established to determine suitability for the activities to be undertaken:

a) Hold a Master’s degree or equivalent higher education qualification in Political Science, International Relations or European Studies;

b) Have one or more scientific publications on the European Union enlargement process, with a focus on the Eastern Neighbourhood and Western Balkans considered an advantage

c) Demonstrate fluency in Portuguese and proficiency in written and spoken English at a minimum C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), evidenced by a certificate issued by BabeliUM or another recognised equivalent national or international certifying body, including Cambridge English (CAE/C1 Advanced), IELTS or TOEFL, attesting the required level. Certificates obtained through self-assessment tests or independently completed tests on digital platforms will not be accepted.

Workplan and objectives to be achieved:

The selected candidate shall contribute to the implementation of the project from the outset, undertaking in particular the following activities:

• mapping scientific literature and existing data sources, with a particular focus on the relationship between national actors’ political ownership and territorial capital (WP5);
• supporting data collection and analysis, including the design, administration and analysis of questionnaires and interviews for comparative research on actors’ perceptions of EU enlargement (WP7);
• contributing to methodological development, including pilot studies, living labs and scenario-building methodologies (WP6, WP7 and WP8);
• drafting and reviewing scientific and technical reports, working papers and manuscripts for publication;

participating in consortium meetings and other events, including institutional representation activities.

Applicable legislation and regulations:Research Grant Holder Statute (EBI), approved by Law nº. 40/2004 of August 18, 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 April 28, rectified and republished through Rectification Statement nº. 634/2025/2, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, nº. 132, of July 11.

Host/Contracting institution and scientific supervision: The work plan will be carried out at CICP – Research Centre in Political Science, University of Minho, Gualtar Campus, Braga, without prejudice to the possibility of another location being designated for the performance of the contracted activities, under the scientific supervision of Professor Alena Vysotskaya Guedes Vieira and the coordination of Professor António Tavares.

Fellowship duration: The fellowship will last 3 months, with an expected start in December 2026. It may be renewed up to the maximum limit permitted by the project and/or applicable legislation.

Amount of the research grant: The monthly maintenance allowance is €1,359.64, in accordance with the University of Minho Research Fellowship rates, updated annually by decision of the Management Board.

Payment is made by the 23rd day of each month by bank transfer to the bank account identified by the fellow during the contracting process.

Other components of the research grant:Define other scholarship components, as provided for in Article 21º of the University of Minho's Scientific Research Scholarship Regulations.

Other benefits: Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Insurance, if the candidate chooses to receive it, corresponding to the 1st level of discounts (for research grants with a total duration 6 months or higher) and personal accident insurance.

Exclusivity regime:The grantee will perform the activities under exclusivity, as foreseen in article 5º of the Research Fellow Statutes and applicable regulations.

President: Professor Alena Vysotskaya Guedes Vieira, Associate Professor with Habilitation at the School of Economics and Management and Political Science, University of Minho;

First full member: Marco Antonio Catussi Paschoalotto, Assistant Professor at the School of Economics and Management and Political Science, University of Minho;

Second full member: Maria Céu Pinho Ferreira Pinto Arena, Associate Professor with Habilitation at the School of Economics and Management and Political Science, University of Minho;

Substitute member: Edna Sofia Falorca Costa, Assistant Professor at the School of Economics and Management and Political Science, University of Minho.

The first effective member will substitute the President of the selection panel in case of impediment, being nominate the first substitute member in the place of the first effective member.

Criteria and procedures for applications assessment and selection: Applications will be assessed on candidate merit, using the following criteria scored on a scale of 0 to 5:

Candidate Merit – CM (100%):

a) AQ - Academic qualifications (30%): final grades of academic degrees will be assessed;

b) RE - Experience in research projects (30%): experience participating in and implementing research projects funded or co-funded by European programmes, such as Horizon Europe, or equivalent research projects, taking into account the relevance of duties, level of responsibility and suitability for the work plan; c) Scientific output (25%):

c) SO - quality and relevance of scientific publications (articles, books and book chapters) to the project topics, particularly EU enlargement, the Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans;

d) ML - Motivation letter (15%): clarity of presentation, knowledge of the project objectives and the ability to demonstrate the relevance of the applicant’s skills and experience to the work plan (maximum 2,000 characters, including spaces).

The final candidate merit score will be calculated using the following formula:

Note: Applicants with degrees obtained abroad must present proof of recognition of qualifications in Portugal and conversion of the final classification obtained in them to the Portuguese classification scale or declaration under the terms indicated in the previous point. Candidates who do not comply with one of these provisions, the selection panel will assign “0” in the grade of the graduation and/or master course. Candidates will be evaluated on the remaining parameters.

Application deadline and submission: Applications are open from 12 to 26 November 2026, for a period of 10 working days counted from publication of the announcement on the EURAXESS portal.

Applications must be submitted by email to [e-mail] , indicating the call reference in the subject line. Only applications received within the specified deadline and accompanied by the following documents will be accepted:

a) Candidate's updated curriculum vitae;

b) Certificates of the academic degrees obtained or, if applicable, the candidate's declaration of honor that he/she has completed the degrees required in the notice by the application deadline (not applicable to research initiation grants).

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

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 scholarship, 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 the terms of Decree-Law n. º 66/2018, of August 16, do not correspond to the classifications awarded in the assessment of the academic career and may consequently alter the candidate's ranking, the scholarship will not be contracted;

c) Proof of English-language proficiency in accordance with the “Candidate eligibility requirements” section of this announcement;

d) Letter of motivation;

e) Other documents that the candidate considers relevant to the evaluation process.

Form of publication/notification of results: Evaluation results will be published in a single ranking list (alphabetically or by final score), displayed in a visible public location at the host unit, and sent by email to all candidates, together with the minutes recording the selection panel’s decisions, within a maximum of 60 working days following the application deadline.

Candidates are informed, at a preliminary hearing, in accordance with Articles 121 and 122 of the Administrative Procedure Code, of the likely outcome of the final decision, and may comment within 10 working days of this notification.

A complaint against the final decision may be submitted within 15 working days, or an appeal to the Rector within 30 working days, in both cases following notification of the decision.

Within 10 working days of notification of the grant award, the applicant must declare their acceptance in writing. In case of non-acceptance, the next highest ranked applicant will be notified immediately.

Constitution of a selection reserve list: Candidates ranked in subsequent positions on the final ranking list will be included in a reserve list, which may be used for up to two months after the conclusion of the competition.

Fellowship contractualization:The scholarship is awarded through the signing of a contract between the University of Minho and the scholarship recipient, in accordance with the draft contract in Annex II of the University of Minho Regulations (RBIC).

The contract can only be signed after receipt of all the documentation required for the type of scholarship, which must occur within a maximum period of 6 months, including proof of academic degrees or diplomas, as well as enrollment in non-degree study cycles or courses, as applicable.

Once all the documentation has been received, the contracting entity has 60 working days to sign the scholarship contract, in accordance with nº3 of the Article 14º the University of Minho Regulations (RBIC).

Term and cancellation of fellowship contracts:Without prejudice to the other grounds laid down in the University of Minho's Scientific Research Scholarship Regulation and in the Research Fellow Statute, the scholarship will cease on completion of the contracted work plan, as well on expiry of the period for which it was granted or renewed.

The final report must be submitted to the scientific advisor, in accordance with the defined objectives and evaluation criteria, no later than 60 working days after the end of the scholarship and must be drawn up in accordance with Annex I of the Regulations of the University of Minho.

Non-discrimination and equal access policy: Universidade do Minho actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, so that no candidate may be privileged, benefited, harmed or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty due, namely, to ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and trade union membership.

Annex I

Declaration of Honor

I, (full name), candidate for the vacancy for the award of a (type of scholarship), within the scope of the project (name or reference of the project), published on the Euraxess portal, with the reference (ref. notice), declare on my honor that I have completed the academic degree of (academic degree), qualifying for the type of scholarship in the competition, namely the course (designation), by the (University conferring the degree), on the date XX/XX/XXXX, with a final average of XXXXX values on the YY scale.

As it is not possible for me to present proof of qualifications until the end of the competition, I declare that I undertake to present the aforementioned certificate at the conclusion of the scholarship contract, in the event that I am selected for the vacancy in the competition.

As this is true, I hereby date and sign this declaration.

(Place), (date).

__________________________

(full name)

NOTE: The declaration may only 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 purpose of contracting the scholarship, only the information contained in the latter will be taken into account.

Annex II

Declaration of Honor

I, (full name), bearer of identification document number (XXXX), candidate for a research grant (type of grant), within the scope of the project (name or reference of the project), published on the Euraxess portal, with the reference (ref. call for proposals), declare on my honor that (I have not received any research grants to date / I have received the following research grants) under the Research Grant Holder Statute.

University

Project

Type of Grant

Duration

Start

Term

As this is true, I hereby date and sign this declaration.

(Place), (date).

__________________________

(full name)

Where to apply

E-mail [e-mail]

Requirements

Research Field Political sciences » Other Education Level Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Details are described in the "Offer Description" section.

Specific Requirements

Details are described in the "Offer Description" section.

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent

Languages PORTUGUESE Level Excellent

Additional Information

Details discribe in the job discription section.

Eligibility criteria

Details discribe in the job discription section.

Selection process

Details discribe in the job discription section.

Additional comments

Details discribe in the job discription section.