CALL FOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

Associação para o Desenvolvimento da Aerodinâmica Industrial - ADAI opens a call for 1  research fellowship, in the framework of project NITROTEC, reference 21357, financed by the Programa Temático Inovação e Transição Digital (COMPETE 2030) do Portugal 2030, in the following conditions:

Scientific area(s): 

Environmental engineering.

Skills/ Qualifications

The competition is open to national, foreign, and stateless candidates who hold a bachelor's degree in the field of environmental engineering or a related field, and holders of a scientific curriculum that shows an appropriate profile for the activity to be developed, namely, experience in topics related to life-cycle assessment and industrial ecology.

Work plan/ Objectives

The scholarship to be awarded aims at consolidating the scientific training of the fellow through the development of research work. Specifically, through his/her participation in Activity 2 – Development and optimization of the functionalized cellulose propellant system, namely in the tasks: 2.3 – Design, development and optimization of the functionalized cellulose propellant system for 12.7 mm caliber; 2.4 – Design, development and optimization of the functionalized cellulose propellant system for 155 mm caliber; 2.5 – Life cycle analysis and life cycle cost assessment. In addition, he/she will also be involved in Activity 3 – Integration, tests and experiment of the demonstrators. He/she will also participate in meetings and writing technical reports and scientific papers (ativities 4 & 5)

Regime:

The attribution of the fellowship does not generate or entitle a relation of a legal-labor nature, and the fellowship is undertaken in an exclusive dedication regime. The fellowship holder is awarded the Fellowship Statute of ADAI, in its current wording, according to the Research Fellowship Holder Statute, and according to the Regulation for Research Fellowships of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., both in their current wording.

Location:

Work will be developed within the activities of the Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics of the Associated Laboratory in Energy, Transport and Aeronautics (ADAI-LAETA). The workplaces are the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Coimbra or other places that are necessary for the execution of the work plan

Duration: 

The fellowship will last for 6 months on an exclusive basis, with the possibility of renewal, but never beyond the project's end date, in accordance with the FCT Research Fellowship Regulations and the ADAI Scientific Research Fellowship Regulations.

Renewal: 

The scholarship's eventual renewal will be determined in art. 6 of the Regulation of Research Scholarships of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P.

Scientific orientation: 

The work will be carried out under the scientific supervision of Professor José Baranda Ribeiro, within the activities of the Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics of the Associated Laboratory for Energy, Transport and Aeronautics (ADAI-LAETA).

Financial conditions:

The amount of the fellowship is 1090,98€ corresponding to the monthly compensation stipulated in the FCT table (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores.phtml.en), plus personal accident insurance, the possible reimbursement of the social security (Seguro Social Voluntário– should the recipient decide for the first level contributions), and the tuition in case the recipient decides to attend a PhD program. The payment will be made by bank transfer.

Selection Methods:

All applications submitted within the deadline and containing all required documents will be evaluated.

Selection Criteria: 

Curriculum evaluation (60%) and interview (40%).

In the curricular evaluation, the following elements will be considered: i) adequacy of previous training (10%); ii) CV (50%). The CV will be divided into the final classification of the 1st training cycle (15%), the final classification of the 2nd training cycle (15%), practical knowledge in scientific research (15%), and the number of relevant scientific publications in the project area (5%). In evaluating the 1st and 2nd training cycle grades, the school where this training was carried out and the grade percentile obtained will also be considered.

During the interview, the following will be evaluated: i) knowledge related to the work (15%); ii) fluency of speech and capacity to convey ideas orally (10%); iii) command of the English language (10%) and iv) behavior and politeness (5%).

The jury reserves the right to exclude candidates who do not show the background and skills to carry out the work plan (a minimum evaluation of 70%). Ultimately, the jury might not award the fellowship to any candidate.

In the case of academic degrees and higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions,  they must be accompanied by the respective certificates of recognition and grade conversion. Failure to submit these documents will result in a score of ‘0’ (zero) in sub-criterion AC1-academic background.

If the first-placed candidate does not accept the scholarship or withdraws the scholarship during the work program, the second-placed candidate may be invited to accept the scholarship. This procedure may be repeated, according to the decision of the grantee's supervisors, respecting the order of the list in the minutes of the selection process in subsequent cases of non-acceptance or withdrawal. 

Jury responsible 

President – Professor José Baranda Ribeiro

1st vogal – Professor José Carlos Góis

2nd vogal – Professor Carla Rodrigues

All panel members, including the coordinator, will commit to respect the responsibilities of the evaluation process, such as the duties of impartiality, conflicts of interest, and confidentiality. At all times during the evaluation process, confidentiality is fully protected and ensured to guarantee the independence of all opinions produced.

Applications: 

The following documents are mandatory, under penalty of exclusion from the Call, and must be sent by email to recursos.humanos@adai.pt:

- letter of motivation, where the applicant must mention if he/she is available to start the scholarship; 

- Curriculum Vitae, with indication of email and telephone contact;

- Certificate of qualification with a detailed academic history (courses and corresponding grading) and other relevant certificates

- evidence of registration on a master course 

- Copy of relevant publications, when applicable

Submission date

30th June 2026

Form of publication/ notification of results

The evaluation results will be publicized, through a list sorted by final grade obtained, via email.

Additional information

The evaluation results will be announced within 90 working days after the end of the application submission period by notifying the applicants via email. After the announcement of the results, candidates are automatically notified to comment on the results during a preliminary hearing period within 10 days after that date if they wish to do so. After this, the selected candidates must declare their acceptance in writing. Unless a justification worthy of consideration is presented, if the declaration is not submitted within the referred period, it is considered that the candidate waivers the fellowship. In case of resignation or withdrawal of the selected candidate, the next candidate with the highest evaluation score will be notified immediately.

Once the selection process is completed, the fellowship contract will be drawn up in accordance with the draft contract provided by the FCT.

Selection reserve list

The selection reserve list must be available throughout the project.