Research Grant – neXt Sense – Informatics Engineering, Telecommunications and Informatics...

Announcement for the attribution of a Research Grant - 1 Vacancy

A call is now open for the attribution of 1 (one) Research Grant within the scope of the project “neXt Sense - Safety Connected and Automated Vehicles”, ref. 179491, co-financed by FEDER, through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI) - COMPETE 2020, under Portugal 2020, in the terms of the “Aviso de Abertura de Concurso n.º 11/SI/2021” as defined in paragraph a) of no.1 of article 62nd of “Regulamento Específico do domínio da Competitividade e Internacionalização (RECI)” Ordinance No. 57 -A/2015, of February 27th , in order to execute, develop and participate in the research and development project indicated above.

Scientific area: Computer Science

Specific Scientific Area: Informatics

Recipient category: The open position is intended for candidates holding a master's degree who, on the date of their hiring, prove their enrollment in one of the following courses:

- PhD (in the area or area related to the request in the notice);

- Master's/Integrated Master's (another master's degree in the area or related area to the one requested in the notice);

- Non-conferring degree course, integrated in the educational project of the institution, developed in association or cooperation with one or several R&D units (eg: postgraduate studies, advanced studies, specialized training).

Requirement for granting the fellowship:

• The applicants may apply without prior registration in the course for which the research grant 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 research grants 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 research grants, issued by the academic services of the Higher Education Institution, indicating, respectively, the academic year or its duration (star and term).
• Enrollment in non-certified courses (without curricular units) will not be considered as proof of enrollment.

Candidates profile: candidates must have, at the time of application, a Master's degree in Informatics Engineering, Telecommunications and Informatics Engineering, Computer networks and telematic Services or related fields. Mandatorily, candidates must also have knowledge in

Vehicle Networks and V2X Communications;

Programming Techniques and Paradigms, Java or C/C++ programming languages.

Priority will be given to candidates with consolidated knowledge in:

Development of V2X applications and Mobile applications for Vehicular networks;

Simulation and emulation of networks (eg veins, NS-3) and mobility simulators (SUMO);

Experience of participating in research and development project teams in the area.

Applicants eligibility: Applicants must comply with the eligibility conditions laid down in article 9 of the Research Grants Regulation of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (2019).

Workplan and objectives to be achieved: The work plan is included in the Subprogram SP3 – Positioning and Connectivity for Automotive Sensors, in Activity 11 (Definition of scientific challenges and positioning and connectivity requirements) Activity 12 (Acquisition of critical knowledge necessary for the development of positioning and connectivity challenges) and Activity 13 (Development, proof of concept and validation of the challenges of positioning and connectivity in a laboratory environment), in the profile “Msc Computer Science #2”, which corresponds to the initial period established for the research grant, to be added in any eventual renewals, in a specific document (work plan).

The tasks defined in this plan are generally framed in tasks T11.7 - Definition of the scientific challenges of the objective(s) of V2X Communications and embedded computing for VRU safety, T12.7 - Acquisition of Critical Knowledge necessary for the development of challenges of V2X Communications and embedded computing for VRU safety and T13.13 – Development, proofs of concept and definition of technical specifications for the construction of the laboratory prototype of V2X Communications and embedded computing for VRU safety.

Specifically, this plan consists of the following tasks:

• Analysis of the current state of the art and current standards related to ITS and C-ITS in order to define the requirements of V2X communications and edge computing (Edge/Fog computing) for trajectory analysis (of vehicles and VRUs) and methodologies for accident prediction;
• Development of a software prototype to collect and analyze datasets with geolocated V2X messages in order to predict trajectories (of vehicles and VRUs) and accidents, incorporating machine learning mechanisms;
• Development and testing of software simulation platforms for ITS applications that generate alerts and notifications (V2X and others) in situations of accident prediction between vehicles and VRUs;
• Production of documentation with contributions to project deliverables;
• Participation in all project meetings, regular and extraordinary, collaboration in the production of technical documentation internal to the project, namely requirements specification documents and architecture of the system(s), participation in the management of laboratory experimentation platforms and permanent monitoring of the state of the art.

The evaluation of the work carried out will be verified through the results obtained and expressed in the activities report, which will be elaborated by the researcher.

This research context and methodological approach is adequate for the realization of the master's dissertation, in the case of candidates enrolled in 2nd cycle courses, such as Masters or Integrated Masters, or in Doctoral Courses, for the development of the doctoral thesis.

Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Fellowship Holder Statutes, approved by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18, in its current version published by Decree-Law no. 123/2019 of august 28; Regulation of Scientific Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in “Diário da República”, 2nd series, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021 and Regulation of Research Studentships and Fellowships (RBI) of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. - in force.

Host/Contracting institution and scientific supervision: The workplan will be carried out in the Centro ALGORITMI of University of Minho, located in the Campus Gualtar, under the scientific supervision of the Professor Alexandre Júlio Teixeira Santos, Associate Professor with Habilitation of the Department of Informatics of the School of Engineering of the University of Minho and Professor Maria João Mesquita Rodrigues da Cunha Nicolau Pinto, Assistant Professor of the Department of Information Systems at the School of Engineering of the University of Minho.

Research Grant duration: The grant will take place for a period of 6 months, with a provisional starting date on July 2022. The research grant contract can be eventually renewable for additional periods up to:

• 1 year: masters enrolled in non-conferring courses that do not award an academic degree (the total duration of the research grant cannot exceed an accumulated period of 2 years, consecutive or interpolated; a fellow cannot accumulate more than 2 years in this typology of research grants;
• 2 years: Master students;
• 4 years: PhD students.

Under no circumstances may research grants exceed the maximum duration of the project and/or the applicable legislation.

Remuneration of the research grant: The remuneration (Monthly Maintenance Allowance), accordingly with the remuneration values published by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT I.P.) in the country, is the following:

• PhD students: 1144,64 euros
• Masters enrolled in non-conferring courses that do not award an academic degree: 1144,64 euros
• Master and integrated master students: 875,98 euros

Annex I – Monthly Stipends Values for the maintenance allowances of the FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships) and Annex II of the Regulation of Scientific Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in “Diário da República”, 2nd series, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021, according to the applicable regulation. (http://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores )

Payment is made on the 23rd of each month, through bank transfer to the Bank Identification Number of the fellow identified in the contractualization process.

Other benefits: Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Insurance (Social Security contributions), corresponding to the 1st Echelon of the IAS (Indexante dos Apoios Sociais - Index of Social Support), 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.

Selection panel: the Jury is composed by the following elements:

• President, Doctor Alexandre Júlio Teixeira Santos, Associate Professor with Habilitation of the Department of Informatics of the School of Engineering of the University of Minho;
• Effective member, Doctor Maria João Mesquita Rodrigues da Cunha Nicolau Pinto, Assistant Professor of the Department of Information Systems at the School of Engineering of the University of Minho;
• Effective member, Doctor António Luis Duarte Costa, Assistant Professor of the Department of Informatics at the School of Engineering of the University of Minho;
• Substitute member, Doctor Bruno Alexandre Fernandes Dias, Assistant Professor of the Department of Informatics at the School of Engineering of the University of Minho;
• Substitute member, Doctor Joaquim Melo Henriques Macedo, Assistant Professor of the Department of Informatics at the School of Engineering of the 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: The applications assessment will focus on the merit of the candidate, following the selection methods, valued on a scale of 0 to 20 values.

Merit of the Candidate (MC) – 100%

Academic path, with a weighting of 50%;

Arithmetic final grade of the master degree, with a weighting of 60%

Master degree field, with a weighting of 30%

Bachelor degree field, with a weighting of 10%

Personal Curriculum, with a weighting of 45%;

Knowledge of Vehicular Networks and V2X communications, with a weighting of 35%;

Knowledge and experience in programming techniques and paradigms, in particular in the development of vehicular applications for vulnerable road users, with a weighting of 20%;

Experience in research projects and activities, with a weighting of 20%

Quantity and quality of scientific publications indexed in Scopus or ISI Web Of Science, with a weighting of 25%.

Motivation letter (mandatory), with a weighting of 5%.

The degree field and the quantity and quality of scientific publications will be evaluated according to the tables established in the criteria definition minutes, previously drawn up.

Final classification formula: The final ranking of candidates who complete the procedure will be expressed on a scale from 0 to 20 values and will result from the weighted arithmetic average of the quantitative classifications obtained in each selection method, according to the following formula:

MC = (a*0.50) + (b*0.45) + (c*0.05)

In which a = (a.1*0.60 + a.2*0.30+ a.3*0.10)

In which que b = (b.1*0.35+ b.2*0.20 + b.3*0.20 + b.4*0.25)

Candidates who obtain a valuation lower than 9,50 values in any of the selection methods are considered excluded from the final valuation.

The jury may use selection interviews to the three best-ranked candidates. The competency assessment interview aims to obtain, through an interpersonal relationship, information about professional behavior, directly related to the competencies considered essential for the exercise of the functionIn case the jury conducts interviews, the selection methods change, becoming the following:

Merit of the Candidate (MC) – 100%

Academic path, with a weighting of 30%;

Arithmetic final grade of the master degree, with a weighting of 60%

Master degree field, with a weighting of 30%

Bachelor degree field, with a weighting of 10%

Personal Curriculum, with a weighting of 45%;

Knowledge of Vehicular Networks and V2X communications, with a weighting of 35%;

Knowledge and experience in programming techniques and paradigms, in particular in the development of vehicular applications for vulnerable road users, with a weighting of 20%;

Experience in research projects and activities, with a weighting of 20%

Quantity and quality of scientific publications indexed in Scopus or ISI Web Of Science, with a weighting of 25%.

Motivation letter (mandatory), with a weighting of 5%.

Interview, with a weighting of 40%. The interview will be classified in a scale from 0 to 20 values, according to the following criteria:

Motivation, with a weighting of 10%,

Knowledge of the project area, namely in vehicular networks, V2X communications, embedded systems, distributed application programming, Java and C/C++ programming, road safety alert applications, detection of VRUs and danger situations, with a weighting of 70%;

Language skills, with a weighting of 20%;

Final classification formula: The final ranking of candidates who complete the procedure will be expressed on a scale from 0 to 20 values and will result from the weighted arithmetic average of the quantitative classifications obtained in each selection method, according to the following formula:

MC = (a*0.30) + (b*0.25) + (c*0.05) + (d*0.40)

In which a = (a.1*0.60 + a.2*0.30 + a.3*0.10)

In which b = (b.1*0.35+ b.2*0.20 + b.3*0.20 + b.4*0.25)

In which d = (d.1*0.10 + d.2*0.70 + d.3*0.20)

Candidates who obtain a valuation lower than 9,50 values in any of the selection methods are considered excluded from the final valuation.

The jury reserves the right not to award the research grant if candidates with the appropriate profile are not presented to the competition.

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 honour 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, which can change the candidate's ranking, the fellowship won’t be contracted.

The degree recognition must include the respective conversion of the final classification obtained in the foreign qualification, to the Portuguese classification scale. Candidates who do not comply with these terms, when there is a selection method in which the final grade of the course is indicated as an evaluation criterion, the jury will assign a classification of 0 (zero) values in that component.

In the application stage, when a declaration of honor is presented in replacement of degree recognition by a Portuguese higher education institution, and the degree recognition process has not yet been completed, the indication of the final grade of the academic degree will not be admitted as evidence for evaluation, when there is a selection method in which the final course grade is indicated as an evaluation criterion. Thus, in this situation, or when presenting only a certificate of qualifications from a foreign institution, the jury will assign a classification of 0 (zero) values in the aforementioned selection method.

Disclosure of results: The provisional results of applications, based in the selection panel minutes, will be sent to applicants by email, within a maximum period of 90 working days from the term of submission of applications, pursuant to article 12 of the RBI of FCT.

If case of unfavorable results, the candidates have a period of 10 working days to comment, if desired, in a prior hearing to interested parties, pursuant to articles 121 and 122 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (DL no. 4 / 2015 of January 7th).

Complaint and appeal procedures: The final results of the evaluation will be published through an ordered list, by final grade obtained, posted in a visible and public place of the host unit, as well as by email to all applicants, enclosing for that purpose, the minutes of the jury deliberations.

The selected candidate must inform its willingness to accept the grant, in writing. In case of rejection, the fellowship will be awarded to the next candidate in the ordered list of applicants.

The final decision can be contested within 15 working days, by sending to the President of the jury the corresponding claim. Interested parties may also submit an optional hierarchical appeal, in the terms of the number 3 of article 13 of Regulation of Scientific Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC).

Application deadline and submission: The call for applications is open from June 13th to 29th , 2022.

Applications must be formalized, mandatorily, by sending an application letter accompanied by the following documents: Curriculum Vitae, qualifications certificates necessary for evaluating the requirements and selection criteria mentioned in the call or declaration of honor of the candidate (if applicable), and motivation letter. Optionally, the candidate may send other documents considered relevant for the application.

The example of declaration of honor can be found in the call in Portuguese, accessible through the URL https://crossmappingthefuture.com/#jobopportunities .

The selected candidate must certify that he/she has a qualified digital signature until the contracting phase of the research grant. More information is available on the UMinho portal: https://www.uminho.pt/PT/Teletrabalho/Paginas/AssinaturaDigital.aspx or on the Portal: https://www.autenticacao.gov.pt/ .

Applications must be sent by email to [email protected] , indicating the reference of the call in “Subject”. Applications submitted by other means will not be accepted.

Failure to indicate the call reference, the lack of any of the documents required in the application, or sending/delivering it to a location other than the one indicated above, may imply its exclusion. The call reference should resemble something like NS/XXXX/YEAR.

Fellowship contractualization: The fellowship will be attributed by signing a fellowship contract between the University of Minho and the fellow, accordingly with the contract minute (annex IV of the Regulation of Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in Diário da República, 2nd Série, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021, as indicated in 2.4 of the FCT document: “Rules for Granting and Management of Grants within the scope of R&D projects, including infrastructure projects, the multi-annual financing program for R&D units and other FCT financing instruments (Version 2021) ”. (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/Normas_de_Atribuicao_de_Bolsas_202... )

The contract may only be concluded after all the documentation required is collected, which must take place within a maximum period of 6 months [including evidences of doctoral degree or its recognition in Portugal, under Decree-law no. 66/2018 of august 16th].

Once all the documentation has been received, the contracting entity has a period of 60 working days to conclude the research grant contract. Once received, the fellow must return the contract duly signed within 15 working days.

The activities under the fellowship contract can only began after proper authorization by the contracting entity.

Term and cancellation of fellowship contracts: Without prejudice to the other causes provided the fellowship regulations (FCT and UMinho) and in the Statute of the Research Fellow, the fellowship ends with the completion of the work plan, as well as with the expiration date for which it was granted or renewed.

At the end of the fellowship, the grantee is obligated to present a Final Report of the work carried out, in accordance with the objectives and evaluation criteria defined with the scientific advisor, within 30 working days after the end of the research grant.

The final report must be prepared in accordance with Annex I of the Scientific Research Fellowships Regulation of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in Diário da República, 2nd Série, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021.

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