Research Grant - Edital BI-ISISE-UMINHO-WiNHERIT-1

Universidade do Minho - ISISE; Portugal; On-site; EUR 12,000 - 17,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Reembolso de Segurança Social Volunt&#

Seguro de Acidentes Pessoais

Job summary

A Universidade do Minho – ISISE procura um/a Investigador/a à 1.ª Fase para integrar atividades no âmbito de Engenharia Civil, com foco em perfis de janelas e estruturas de madeira. O/a selecionado/a deverá estar inscrito/a em Doutoramento ou num curso não conferente de grau académico, com experiência em estruturas de madeira e em atividades experimentais.

O apoio é concedido através de uma bolsa de investigação com duração de 9 meses, iniciando-se em dezembro de 2026, com condições

Qualifications

• Mestrado em Engenharia Civil ou áreas relacionadas.
• A elegibilidade rege-se pelo Regulamento de Bolsas de Investigação, n.º 950/2019, da FCT IP.
• À altura da contratação, comprovar matrícula em Doutoramento ou num curso que não confere grau académico relacionado com a área pretendida.
• Fatores preferenciais: conhecimento em Estruturas de Madeira; experiência prévia em trabalho experimental com madeira.

Responsibilities

• Desenvolvimento do plano de trabalho dentro da área de Engenharia Civil, incluindo perfis de estruturas de madeira.
• Definição da geometria do perfil e da definição de componentes.
• Ensaios numéricos e experimentais e otimização do projeto; suporte na entrega de entregáveis científicos.

Skills

Timber Structures

Experimental work with timber

Education

Master's degree in Civil Engineering

PhD enrolment in Civil Engineering or related field

Job description

Organisation/Company Universidade do Minho - ISISE Department ISISE Research Field Engineering » Civil engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Master Positions Application Deadline 10 Nov 2026 - 23:00 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Not Applicable Job Status Not Applicable Offer Starting Date 27 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Reference Number COMPETE2030-FEDER-02969800 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

RESEARCH FIELD: Civil Engineering or related fields.

RECIPIENT CATEGORY:

• Degree courses: Students enrolled in a PhD.
• Non-conferring degrees courses: Masters enrolled in non-academic degree courses.

CANDIDATES PROFILE / CANDIDATE ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Mandatory requirements:

In order to apply, the candidates must possess:

• A Master's degree in the field of Civil Engineering, or related fields;
• Applicants must comply with the eligibility conditions set out in Article 9 of the Research Grant Regulations, No. 950/2019, of 16-12-2019, of FCT I.P..

At the time of the respective hiring, candidates must prove that they are enrolled in one of the following courses:

• PhD in the field of Civil Engineering, or related fields;
• In a Course that do not confer an academic degree, in the area or area related to that requested in the tender.

Preferential factors:

• Knowledge in Timber Structures ;
• Previous experience in experimental work with timber ;

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, issued by a Higher Education Institution, according to the type of the fellowship, indicating the academic year or its duration (start and term).

APPLICATION / ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The call is open from 27/10/2026 to 10/11/2026 (23:00 – Europe/Lisbon).

Failure to comply with the deadline for submitting the application, such as failure to submit or late submission of the application and the documents referred to in points 2) to 4), determines the exclusion of the application.

Regarding the above mentioned admissibility requirements, the following should be noted:

• In the case of a degree granted by a foreign higher education institution, and in order to ensure the application of the principle of equal treatment to candidates holding foreign and national academic degrees, it is mandatory to recognize the degree and convert the respective final grading to the Portuguese grading scale. The academic degrees and diplomas documents, or their respective recognition when awarded by foreign higher education institutions are not mandatory in the application phase, being replaced by a declaration of honor of the candidate with the contents of academic results. The documents of academic qualification or respective recognition will be required in the contracting phase and must attest facts that occurred on a date prior to the application. In situations of divergence between the information contained in the declaration and the documentation submitted for contracting the grant, only the information contained in the latter will be consider. If the documents proving the ownership of the academic degree and diploma, or the respective recognition under the terms of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16, do not correspond to the classifications awarded in the evaluation of the academic path, the fellowship won’t be contracted.
• 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 respective criteria. Candidates will be evaluated on the remaining parameters.
• Only candidates who have completed the required qualification by the end of the application period will be admitted. If they do not yet have the official degree certificate, a declaration of honor from the candidate stating that he/she has completed the qualifications required by the end of the application period, will be accepted. At the time of the respective hiring the candidate must present the official degree certificate.

DURATION OF THE RESEARCH GRANT

The research grant will last for 9 months, with a provisional starting date in December 202 6 , not renewable.

WORK PLAN AND OBJECTIVES

The work plan to be developed falls within Activity A2 – Development of window frame profiles, aiming to carry out the following tasks:

• Development of glued-laminated timber elements (battens)
• Definition of the profile geometry and component definition
• Numerical and experimental studies and optimisation

The work plan also includes support for the execution of the project deliverables, including scientific publications and periodic reports.

HOST INSTITUTION AND SCIENTIFIC SUPERVISION

The work will be carried out at ISISE - Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering - Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering of the University of Minho, located at Azurém (Guimarães), under the scientific supervision of Doctor Jorge Manuel Gonçalves Branco and coordination of Doctor José Manuel Sena Cruz.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The evaluation of the applications will focus on the merit of the candidate, by applying the following criteria on a scale of 0 to 5 points:

Candidate's Merit – CM (100%):

• Criterion A - Academic path, considering the final classification obtained in the Academic Degree or the grades of the Curricular Units (with an average of 10 - 0 values; with an average of 11 - 1 value; with an average of 12 - 2 values; with an average of 13 - 3 values; between 14 and 17 - 4 values; between 18 and 20 - 5 values) - 30%;
• Criterion B -Personal curriculum, considering research and publication knowledge in the project area (knowledge in the context of Timber Structures - 5 values; strong knowledge in areas related to the ones identified in the call - 3 values; knowledge in other research areas - 2 values; no knowledge - 0 values) - 50% ;
• Criterion C - Letter of Motivation (up to 5 values) - 20%.

The final classification of the Candidate’s Merit (CM) will be obtained by applying the following formula:

CM = (A*0 , 30 ) + (B*0,50) + (C*0 , 20 )

Candidates with CM less than 3.5 points are immediately excluded.

The Selection Panel reserves the right not to award the research grant in the competition based on the evaluation results of the applicants and their suitability for the project objectives.

SELECTION PANEL

The Selection Panel is composed by the following elements:

• President: Doctor Jorge Manuel Gonçalves Branco , Assistant Professor with Habilitation of the Civil Engineering Department , ISISE, School of Engineering, University of Minho.
• Effective members: Doctor Dinis Miguel Campos Leitão , Assistant Professor of the Civil Engineering Department , CTAC , School of Engineering, University of Minho, and Doctor Sandra Maria Gomes Monteiro Silva, Assistant Professor of the Civil Engineering Department, ISISE, School of Engineering, University of Minho .
• Substitute members: Doctor André Moura Leitão Cerejeira Fontes, Assistant Professor, Lab2PT, School of Architecture, Arts and Design, University of Minho, and Doctor Carlos Alberto Maia Dominguez , Assistant Professor , Lab2PT , School of Architecture, Arts and Design , University of Minho.

If the President of the Selection Panel is unavailable, he/she shall be replaced by the first effective member. The first substitute member will replace the effective member.

The Selection Panel, including the President, undertake the commitment to respect a set of responsibilities essential to the evaluation process, such as the duties of impartiality, of stating any potential situations of conflict of interest and confidentiality.

COMUNICATION OF RESULTS

The results of the evaluation are announced by email to all candidates, attaching, for this purpose, the minutes of the jury's deliberations, within a maximum period of 60 working days from the deadline for submission of applications.

Candidates are informed, at a preliminary hearing, in accordance with Articles 121 and 122 of the Administrative Procedure Code (DL nº 4 / 2015 of January 7), of the likely outcome of the final decision, and may comment within 10 working days of this notification.

COMPLAINT AND APPEAL PROCEDURES

The selected candidate must indicate, in writing, the intention to accept the grant, within 10 working days of notification of the grant award.

The final decision can be contested, having 15 working days for this purpose, or an appeal may be lodged with the Rector within 30 working days, both after the respective notification.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FINAL AWARDING OF THE GRANT

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) .At the time of hiring, the following documents must be sent:

• National Identity Card/Citizen Card/Passport/Visa/Title of Residence;
• Copy of the certificate of the academic degree;
• Presentation of the certificate of recognition of foreign academic degree and conversion of the respective final grading into the Portuguese grading scale, if applicable;
• Document proving enrollment in the Doctoral Program or in a Course that does not confer an academic degree, identified in this application;
• Science ID;
• NIB/IBAN (document of the Bank with the name of the candidate);
• Tax Identification Number (NIF);
• Digital mobile key (digital signature).

The contract may only be concluded after all the documentation required is collected, which must take place within a maximum period of 6 months.Once all the documentation has been received, the contracting entity has a period of 60 working days to conclude the scholarship contract, in accordance with nº3 of the Article 14º the University of Minho Regulations (RBIC).

Payments are made by bank transfer on the 23rd of each month to the Bank Identification Number of the fellow identified in the contratualization process.

OTHER BENEFITS

• Reimbursement of the Voluntary Social Insurance,if the candidate chooses to receive it, corresponding to the 1st tier of the contribution base (for grants of 6 months or more) 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.

TERM AND CANCELLATION OF GRANT 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 as on expiry of the period for which it was granted or renewed.

At the end of the grant, the grantee is obliged to present a Final Report of the work carried out, in accordance with the objectives and evaluation criteria defined with the scientific advisor, within 60 working days after the end of the grant.

The Final Report must be prepared in accordance with Annex I of the University of Minho Scientific Research Grant Regulations (RBIC).

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS

Research Fellowship Holder Statutes, approved by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18, in its current version; FCT Research Fellowship Regulation, approved by Regulation nº 950/2019, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, of December 16, 2019, in its current wording; University of Minho Scientific Research Grant Regulations (RBIC), approved by Order n. 4998/2025, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, n. 81, of April 28, rectified and republished through Rectification Statement n. 634/2025/2, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, n. 132, of July 11.

NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL ACCESS POLICY

University of 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.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

You can find the Portuguese version of the application, templates for the declaration of honor and final report at:

I, XXXXX (name), candidate for the (type of scholarship) vacancy within the scope of the project (name or project reference), published on the Euraxess portal, with the reference XXXXX (ref. announcement), declare under honor that I have completed the academic degree (academic degree), qualifying for the type of scholarship in this competition, specifically the course (designation), from XXXXX (degree-granting university), on the date XX/XX/XXXX, with a final average of XX.

Since I am unable to present proof of qualifications until the end of the competition, I declare that I undertake to present said certificate until the date of the conclusion of the fellowship contract, in case of being selected for the vacancy in this competition .

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

(Location), (date).

The declarant,

________________________________

(full name of the candidate)

______________________

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

Diploma Recognition

XXXXX (name), applicant to the research fellowship vacancy under the I&D project XXXXX (title or reference), published in the Euraxess portal, reference XXXXX, hereby declares to have a degree on XXXXX (name of the course), concluded in the University of XXXXX, on the XX/XX/XXXX, with the final grade of XXXXX.

I have submitted my diploma for recognition in the University of XXXXX, according to the Decree-Law nº 66/2018 of August 16th, concluded in the XX/XX/XXXX, with the final grade of XXXXX.

I further declare that I undertake to present proof of my diploma recognition obtained under the Portuguese Law, until the date of the conclusion of the fellowship contract, in case of being selected for the vacancy in this competition.

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

(Location), (date).

The declarant,

________________________________

(full name of the candidate)

______________________

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 III

Declaration of Honour

I, _________________________ (full name), candidate for the competition _______________________ (reference of the call), within the scope of the project _____________________ (title of project), hereby declare, upon my honour, that I am solely and exclusively responsible for the veracity of the information contained in my Curriculum Vitae.

I further declare, under penalty of exclusion from this competition, that I fulfil all the following requirements for the award of the Research Fellowship (BI) for which I am applying, namely:

To be enrolled in an Integrated master’s or master’s degree programme (2nd Cycle of Higher Education), or in a doctoral programme (3rd Cycle of Higher Education), or in a non-degree course, as required in the call.

Not to exceed, with the execution of this new fellowship contract and its planned renewals, the cumulative duration of:

• 2 years, when the fellowship is awarded to students enrolled in a master’s degree;
• 2 years, when the fellowship is awarded to graduates or masters enrolled in a non-degree course (the total duration of the fellowship may not exceed a cumulative period of two years, whether consecutive or not);
• 4 years, when the fellowship is awarded to students enrolled in a doctoral programme.

To meet and comply with the eligibility requirements set forth in the Call, as well as those established the applicable regulations for the award of Research Fellowships by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the Research Fellowship Regulations of the University of Minho (currently in force), and in the Statute of the Research Fellow (EBI).

To provide, at the fellowship contracting stage, the supporting documents proving that I meet the requirements for admission to this competition, specifically:

• Proof of enrolment in an Integrated Master, Master, Doctoral, or non-degree course;
• Recognition record of academic degrees and record of conversion of the respective final classification into the Portuguese grading scale, in the case of degrees awarded by a foreign higher education institution.

To perform the duties of a fellow on an exclusive basis, under the terms set out in Article 5 of the Statute of the Research Fellow and in the applicable research fellowship regulations.

Being true, this declaration shall be dated and signed by me.

(Location), (date).

The declarant,

________________________________

(full name of the candidate)