Research Scholarship: CISUC - UIDB/00326/2020 - Process 773859

CALL FOR RESEARCH INITIATION FELLOWSHIP

Process 773859

University of Coimbra opens a call for one research initiation fellowship, in the framework of the Research Centre for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra (CISUC) (reference: UIDB/00326/2020), financed by Foundation for Science and Technology, IP with national funds (PIDDAC) via the State Budget, in the following conditions:

Scientific area: Networks, services, artificial intelligence.

Skills/Qualifications/Admission requirements: Students enrolled in a Bachelor’s Course in Informatics Engineering or Students enrolled in a Bachelor’s Course in Data Science and Engineering.

Research Initiation Fellowships cannot be awarded to those who have already benefited from research fellowships directly or indirectly financed by the FCT (regardless of the type).

Furthermore, this (these) fellowship(s) can only be awarded to those who do not exceed, with the conclusion of the contract in question, including possible renewals, an accumulated period of one year in this type of fellowship, consecutive or interpolated.

Although the recipients must be enrolled in a cycle of studies leading to the attribution of an academic degree, at the time of application it is not necessary for the candidate to have made such an enrollment, and proof of enrollment must be presented until thefellowship is contractualized. Candidates are only required to meet the requirements to enroll in the training offer. If there are candidates already enrolled (including attending a course), they compete on an equal footing with those who are not enrolled.

Work plan/ Objectives: The work plan comprehends the following tasks:

T1 – introduction to the subject, reading relevant bibliography;

T2 – Experimental platform setup with OpenPLC in containers and virtual machines;

T3 - Execution of Man in the Middle Attacks;

T4 – Data collection for ML modeling;

T5 – Design and evaluation of an ML model for detecting Man in the Middle attacks.

Objective: The intention is to use mechanisms to detect attacks on critical infrastructures in the variant of man in the middle (MiTM). This type of attack is associated with some complexity, namely in terms of detection and even mitigation.

Regime: The attribution of the fellowship does not generate or entitle a relation of a legal-labour nature, and the fellowship is undertaken in an exclusive dedication regime. The fellowship holder is awarded the Fellowship Statute of the UC, 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: Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Coimbra.

Duration: 3 months.

Renewal: Eventually renewable.

Scientific orientation: Professors Bruno Miguel de Oliveira Sousa and Tiago José dos Santos Martins da Cruz.

Financial conditions: The amount of the fellowship is € 446,12 corresponding to the monthly compensation stipulated in the FCT table (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores.phtml.en ), plus personal accidents insurance. The payment will be made by bank transfer. This amount will not be increased during the entire period of the fellowship duration.

Selection methods: CV Evaluation (100%).

Selection criteria: CV Evaluation (100%):

- Knowledge of AI/ML (10%);

- Knowledge of network security (20%);

- Autonomy and critical spirit (40%);

- Domain of English for writing scientific documentation (30%).

Jury responsible for selection: Professors Bruno Miguel de Oliveira Sousa, Nuno António Marques Lourenço and Tiago José dos Santos Martins da Cruz.

In the absence or impediment of any member of the Jury, will be replaced by Professors Vasco Nuno Sousa Simões Pereira e João Nuno Gonçalves Costa Cavaleiro Correia.

Formalization of application: Applications must be performed by sending the following mandatory elements:

1. Curriculum vitae;

2. Motivation Letter;

3. List of grades obtained in the Bachelor's Course;

4. Declaration mentioned below.

Declaration on the honor of the candidate(s) with the indication of the fellowship(s) of the typology to which the contest was held and the respective duration(s).

Applicants with academic degrees obtained abroad will be required to present a Certificate of Recognition in accordance with applicable law. This document is mandatory only in the contractualization phase.

Applications submission: Applications must be sent to the following e-mail addresses: [email protected] and [email protected] (clearly indicating the reference CISUC-LCT-773859).

Submission of applications: Between 16/11/2021 and 30/11/2021.

Submission deadline date: 30/11/2021.

Additional information: The evaluation results will be announced within 90 working days after the end of the applications submission deadline, by notifying the applicants via email. After the announcement of the results, candidates are considered automatically notified to, if they wish to do so, comment on the results on a preliminary hearing period within 10 days after that date. After this, the selected candidates will have to declare in writing their acceptance. 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.

After the contracted period, the fellowship holder and supervisor must prepare the final report in accordance with the respective assessment criteria that were established.

Selection reserve list: N.A.