Research Fellowship for Psychology Master Students - PsytrAIn

Universidade Lusófona´s Research Center for Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab; Portugal; On-site; EUR 7,800 - 8,900; Full time

Job summary

Universidade Lusófona´s Research Center for Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab in Porto invites applications for a First Stage Researcher (R1) up to PhD level. The position is funded under COFAC for the PsytrAIn project and requires enrollment in a master’s program in Psychology with English and Portuguese proficiency.

The 6-month fellowship starts 1 December 2026 and includes mutual supervision and performance-based evaluation.

Qualifications

• Proficiency in English and Portuguese languages.
• Master’s degree in Psychology required.
• Open to students enrolled in a master’s program in Psychology at Universidade Lusófona.

Responsibilities

• Carry out research activities under supervision at HEI-Lab and related locations in Porto.
• Contribute to project activities for PsytrAIn: AI-Driven Avatar Platform for Clinical Training in Psychology.
• Participate in evaluation processes and selection procedures as described by the jury.
• Engage in R&D tasks and assist in organization of assessments and training activities.

Skills

English proficiency

Portuguese proficiency

Education

Master’s degree in Psychology

Job description

First Stage Researcher (R1) (Up to the point of PhD)

About

• Scientific area: Psychology
• Funding source: The Initiation Research Fellowship and all the complements associated, will be financed by COFAC, under the project “PsytrAIn: An AI-Driven Avatar Platform for Clinical Training in Psychology” [FAZER+/ILIND/HEI-Lab/1/2026, https://doi.org/10.62658/FAZER/HEI-LAB/1/2026 ].
• Recipients: Initiation Research Fellowship - intended for Universidade Lusófona’s students who meet the necessary conditions mentioned below.
• Eligibility of candidates: National citizens or citizens of other member states of the European Union; Citizens of third countries; Stateless persons; Citizens benefiting from political refugee status
• Admission Requirements:
• Student enrolled in a master’s degree of Psychology from Universidade Lusófona;
• Proficiency in English and Portuguese languages.

7. Workplace and scientific supervision: Research activities will be carried out at HEI-Lab – Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab / Universidade Lusófona – Centro Universitário do Porto and at other locations required for the research activities in the Porto District and Metropolitan Area of Porto, under the scientific supervision of Professor Andreia Geraldo. The fellowship contract will be signed with COFAC.

8. Fellowship length: 6 months, with an expected start date of 1 December 2026.

9. Financial conditions of the fellowship: The performance of functions as a grant holder will be carried out on an exclusive basis, in accordance with article 5 of the Research Grant Holder Statute and applicable research grant regulations.

The monthly value of the fellowship is €701,12 per month, according to the FCT, I.P. table of monthly maintenance allowances for research fellowships in Portugal, as updated.

Each fellow is also entitled to have a personal accident insurance and the applicable voluntary social security system (Seguro Social Voluntário; SSV). SSV can be awarded when the fellowship lasts at least 6 months.

11. Assessment and selection of applications:

Applications considered admissible will be scored on a scale of 0 to 100 in each of the following evaluation criteria:

• Criterion A – Final grade for bachelor’s degree in Psychology or the mean between the bachelor’s degree grade and the grade of the 1st year of the master degree in Psychology (50% each grade), with a weight of 60%
• Criterion B – Integrated assessment of the candidate's curricular and/or professional trajectory, based on an overview of their scientific merits, with a weight of 40%

For the purposes of deciding on granting scholarships, candidates will be ranked according to the weighted average of the classification obtained in each of the two criteria, translated by the following formula:

For tiebreaker purposes, the ranking of candidates will be based on the classifications assigned to each of the evaluation criteria in the following order of precedence: criterion A, criterion B.

The Jury may decide to call the three best-ranked candidates for an interview, applying, in this case, the following evaluation sub-criteria:

a. Interpersonal skills (20%)

b. Knowledge and motivation demonstrated in research in the area of competition (60%)

If an interview is carried out, the final Merit and Interview classification will be obtained by applying the following formula:

Final Classification = (Merit*0.6) + (Interview*0.4)

The jury may not award the scholarship if the quality of the candidates is lower than intended.

The candidate will be asked to participate in R&D activities taking place at the Lusófona University (Porto) .

12. Notification of candidates: Applicants will be notified of the evaluation decision by email, via the email address provided for this purpose.

Applicants have 10 working days after notification to lodge a complaint, addressed to the Chair of the Jury.

The final decision will be communicated after the arguments presented at the preliminary hearing have been analyzed. Following this communication, the selected candidate must confirm acceptance of the fellowship in writing and state that they meet the requirements to accept the planned start date of the fellowship contract, within a maximum of 5 working days, to [e-mail] .

In the event of refusal, the grant will be awarded to the next applicant on the final ranking list.

13. Jury composition: Effective members: Professor Ana Filipa Oliveira, Professor Marta Sousa and Diogo Carreiras

Organisation

Organisation name Universidade Lusófona´s Research Center for Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab Organisation Country Portugal