Research fellowship (RF), in the framework of the project “DurableFRP – Towards Durability Design of FRP Composites for Civil Engineering Structures”

1 - Title

RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (RF)

2 - Offer description

3 – Financing source

Budget of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Foundation for Science and Technology) in its SB (State Budget) component.

4 – Scientific area

Civil Engineering

5 - Duration

6 – Reserve list

A reserve list for selection shall be drawn up for a 6-month period as from the date of the final decision of this call.

7 – Activity Regime

All the work shall be developed on an exclusive dedication regime, as per the provisions laid down in the Research Fellowship Holder Statute, approved by Law no. 40/2004, 18 august, as it stands, and in the FCT Regulations for Studentships and Fellowships, which can be consulted on FCT and LNEC websites.

The selected candidate will carry out the following activities within the DurableFRP project, which involves an experimental and analytical study on the durability of fiber-rein-forced polymer composite materials and structures: (i) De-velopment of a database with results of tests on the durability of FRP composites; (ii) Development of durability degradation models for FRP composites.

The selected candidate must also actively participate in the dissemination of the results obtained under the DurableFRP project, by the preparation of scientific papers, papers to conferences and scientific reports.

Preferred factors: previous experience in FRP and proficiency in English.

9 - Location

Workplace: LNEC – National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, I.P.

Avenida do Brasil, 101 – 1700-066 Lisboa

País: Portugal

Website: https://www.lnec.pt

Email: [email protected]

The above activities will be conducted at the Materials Department of LNEC, without prejudice to temporary activities carried out at the University of Minho, in Guimarães or at the Instituto Superior Técnico, in Lisbon.

10 - Qualifications

Eligible applicants can be those holding an MSc degree in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, materials engineering, or in related fields or enrolled in a postgraduate program.

11 – Scientific supervision

The assistant researcher Susana Bravo Cabral da Fonseca, from the Materials Department of LNEC, shall be responsible for supervising the scientific activities.

12 - Monthly allowance

The Grant shall include a monthly allowance in the amount of € 1,199.64. The Research Fellow shall also be entitled to the applicable social security system and to insurance against personal accidents at work.

13 - Selection methods and criteria

The evaluation of the applications shall be based on the Applicant’s Merits (MC), and the following evaluation criteria shall be scored on a 0 to 20 scale.

Applicant’s merits:

• Academic Background (PA) – scores of the academic degrees required by this call – 50%
• Professional Résumé (CP) – scientific and professional career – 30%
• Interview with the selection jury (ES) – 20%

Hence:

MC = (0.5 * PA) + (0.3 * CP) + (0.2 * ES).

The jury is entitled to decide not to award the Grant if the quality of the applicants is deemed below par.

14 - Selection jury

15 - Application documents

• Letter of motivation (maximum: one A4 page).
• Degree certificate, with indication of the partial scores and final classification.
• Document stating the score obtained in each curricular unit of the course the applicant is attending.

Foreign certificates shall be valid only if they are dully endorsed by an issuing entity, or if a recognition/equivalence document is produced stating that the foreign qualifications correspond to the same Portuguese qualifications.  The respective scores can only be used if they are officially converted to the Portuguese scoring scale (by DGES – Direção Geral do Ensino Superior or by a public higher education institution), even if the foreign classification corresponds to a 1 to 20 scale.

• Official document of enrollment in the degree course defined in paragraph 10 of the present notice.

Should the candidate be unable to produce such document, without any fault on his/her part, he/she may replace it by a sworn declaration stating that he/she has been enrolled in the said degree course and undertaking to submit the said document at the time of the signature of the contract.

• Detailed Curriculum Vitae.
• Other documents (optional), such as letters of reference and supporting documents of internships or complementary courses considered as relevant for the purposes of this Grant

• Official document stating that the applicant is enrolled in the degree course defined in 10.
• Necessary information for preparing the contract.

16 – Deadline for applications

Between 26th February and 08th March 2024

17 - Formalization of applications

The applications shall be formalized by one of the following means:

• Electronic mail addressed to [email protected] ., until 24h00 of the last day of the stipulated time limit
• directly to the Setor de Arquivo e Expediente Geral of LNEC, at Avenida do Brasil, 101, 1700-066 Lisboa.
• registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt addressed to LNEC, I.P., Avenida do Brasil, nº101, 1700-066 Lisboa; the date of delivery considered for the purpose of compliance with the stipulated time limit being the date of registration

In the last two cases, the applications shall be delivered in a sealed envelope, bearing the following information on the outside:

«Concurso para atribuição de uma bolsa de investigação (BI), no âmbito do projeto “DurableFRP – Towards Durability Design of FRP Composites for Civil Engineering Structures”.

18 - Notification of results

The final score of each evaluation stage shall be advertised in a list sorted by the final score obtained; all applicants being notified by electronic mail. The results shall also be published on the Recruitment page of LNEC’s website.

19 -  Deadlines and procedures for preliminary hearing, claims and appeals

Once the provisional ranked list of the evaluation results has been communicated, applicants who have an unfavorable provisional decision may use their right to dispute it during the preliminary hearing phase (if requested), which takes place within10 working days, according to the Administrative Procedure Code (CPA). The final decision shall be disclosed after the analysis of applicants’ arguments presented in the preliminary hearing. Final decision can be claimed within15 working days or, alternatively, appealed to the Board of Directors, within 30 working days, after the communication of the final results, respectively.

20 -  Further information

Additional information can be obtained by phone: +351 218 443 892 or +351 218 443 216 or by electronic mail to the address referred to in 15. The applicants living outside Portugal can also refer to the portal EURAXESS Portugal .

21 -  Standard fellowship contract

Available on the Recruitment page of LNEC’s website.

22 -  Model of the final report to be prepared by the research fellow and supervisor

Available on the Recruitment page of LNEC’s website.