Associate Professor in Computer Science

By order of April 24, 2025, issued by the Rector of the University of Algarve, an international documentary call has been opened for the position of Associate Professor, in the disciplinary area of Computer Science, at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Algarve. The call will be open for a period of 30 working days, starting from the working day immediately following the publication of this notice in the Diário da República (the Official Portuguese Gazette).

This call is governed by the provisions of Articles 37 to 39, 41 to 51, 61, and 62-A of the Estatuto da Carreira Docente Universitária (Statute of the University Teaching Career, forthwith referred to as ECDU), in its current version, as well as the Regulation for the Calling of Personnel for Teaching Careers at the University of Algarve, Regulation no. 520/2010, published in Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 111, on June 9.

This call will be published in the Portuguese Public Employment Exchange (BEP), within two working days after its publication in the Official Portuguese Gazette, as decreed by Law no. 78/2003, of April 23, and on the University’s website, in both Portuguese and English, in accordance with Article 62-A, paragraph 1, of ECDU, in its current version.

The purpose of this call is to fill two (2) positions, in the form of a permanent public employment contract, in accordance with Article 19 of ECDU. The call will end once the positions have been filled.

The Rector may cancel the call for duly justified reasons, under Article 92, paragraphs d), e) and q) of Law 62/2007 of September 10.

In compliance with Article 9, paragraph h) of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, Public Administrations actively promote a policy of equal opportunities for employment and career progression between men and women, taking every possible measure to avoid any kind of discrimination.

I - Admission requirements

1 - Admission requirements: Applicants who meet the following criteria may apply for this call:

• a) Applicants must hold a doctoral degree for more than five years in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field whose specialization is considered appropriate for the subject area in which the call has been opened, as foreseen in Article 41-A of the ECDU;
• i) Holders of a doctoral degree obtained outside Portugal must prove their degree is recognized in Portugal under the terms of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16, and other applicable legislation;
• ii) Applicants to whom the previous subparagraph applies who do not provide proof of recognition before the end of the application period, will be excluded from the call.
• b) Applicants must be fluent in the Portuguese language, both spoken and written.
• i. Non-native speakers of Portuguese must provide proof of proficiency in Portuguese by an officially recognized diploma, from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages of the Council of Europe (proficiency level B1), by the end of the term granted for the contract’s signature, if applicable. Failure to submit the degree recognition document within that period prevents the contract from being signed with the applicant, and the hiring proposal is passed on to the next applicant.
• c) Applicants must meet the general requirements for employment in public functions foreseen in Article 17 of the Law No. 35/2014, of June 20, in its current wording, unless exempted by the ECDU.

2 - Applicants will be excluded from the call procedure if they:

• a) Do not hold a doctoral degree for more than five years in the disciplinary area of Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field whose specialization is considered appropriate for the disciplinary area in which the call has been opened.
• b) Do not hold a recognized doctoral degree, by the closing date of the call, if their qualification is from a foreign institution;
• c) Do not meet the general requirements for employment in public functions foreseen in Article 17 of the General Law on Public Employment, contained in the Annex to Law No. 35/2014, of June 20, in its current wording, unless exempted by the ECDU.
• d) Do not submit the required documents stipulated in the Public Notice, within the designated deadline;

3 - The selection committee will notify the applicants of their exclusion, by e-mail with read receipt, for the purpose of prior hearing.

II – Admission requirements in absolute merit and their assessment:

1 - Acceptance of applicants on the basis of absolute merit will depend on cumulatively meeting the following requirements:

• a) Being authors or co-authors of at least five (5) publications indexed in the SCOPUS database, since 2020, inclusive.
• b) Meet at least two of the following criteria:
  • i) Having coordinated or participated in at least one competitively funded research project;
  • ii) Having supervised or co-supervised a successfully completed doctoral thesis;
  • iii) Have an H-index (SCOPUS) greater than or equal to 9.

2 – A vote against admission on absolute merit must be based on the non-observance of one or more of the criteria set out in the previous paragraph.

3 - In order to assess the absolute merit of the applicants, each member of the selection committee will independently submit a list of the applicants that do not meet the requirements indicated in paragraph 1 of point II, and provide a written justification for their decision, and shall then proceed to vote on each of those proposals, in accordance with Article 50, paragraph 1, subparagraph b) of the ECDU, no abstentions being allowed.

4 - An application will be rejected on absolute merit if a majority vote in favor of this is reached, by the members of the selection committee present at the meeting. The justification for the applicants will form an integral part of the meeting minutes.

5 - The selection committee will notify applicants of the exclusion based on absolute merit, by means of e-mail with a receipt of delivery, for the purpose of a preliminary hearing.

III — Application instructions

1 – The application must be submitted by means of a request available on the website of the University https://www.ualg.pt/procedimentos-concursais addressed to the Rector of the University of Algarve, and may be submitted:

• a) In person at the Human Resources Department, situated on floor 0 of the Library Building at the Penha Campus of the University of Algarve, in Faro; or
• b) By registered mail, posted no later than the deadline for submitting the applications, addressed to: Serviços de Recursos Humanos, Campus da Penha, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.

2- The application for admission to the call, dated and signed, must include the following documents, in PDF format, in Portuguese or English:

• a) Valid identification document at the date of application;
• b) Certificates proving academic qualifications in a field relevant to the call;
• c) One (1) copy of the curriculum vitae, dated and signed, organized according to the evaluation parameters, which includes the scientific, pedagogical and other activities relevant to the mission of higher education institutions, carried out by the applicant, considering the selection and ranking criteria set out in Point V of this Notice and the list of works to be presented in accordance with the following paragraph;
• d) One (1) copy in PDF format of each of the works selected by the applicant, a maximum of five (5), as being the most representative, namely with regard to their contribution to the development and evolution of the disciplinary and scientific area in which the call is open, under the terms and for the purpose of Article 50, paragraph 6, subparagraph a), of the ECDU and, optionally, a document explaining the relevance of the selected publications;
• e) Document framing the applicant's pedagogical activity, if any, as foreseen in Article 50, paragraph 6, subparagraph b) of the ECDU;
• f) Indication of the results of the pedagogical surveys, and Students' Perception of Teaching and Learning carried out in relation to the curricular units for which the applicant has been responsible, when they exist and if applicable, as foreseen in Article 50, paragraph 6, subparagraph b) of the ECDU;
• g) Other documents which the applicant considers further demonstrate his/her scientific performance, pedagogical skills, and other relevant activities and which would constitute a legal basis for ranking candidates, should the selection committee deem them appropriate and duly proven;
• h) Document with a career development plan containing objectives, scientific and pedagogical development plan, and synopsis of the line of research that the applicant intends to implement, with a maximum of 6 pages, without columns and with a minimum font size of 10 points;
• i) A criminal clearance certificate attesting to the fact that the applicant is not banned from working in government service or from exercising the professional functions for which he/she is applying;
• j) A statement confirming that the applicant has the physical robustness and mental profile indispensable for the exercise of the functions in question;
• k) An up-to-date vaccination certificate.

3 - The documents referred to in paragraphs i) to k), may be waived during the submission stage of the application, provided that the applicants declare under oath the situation in which they find themselves in relation to each of these requirements. The failure to make a written declaration constitutes grounds for exclusion. The delivery of these documents will be required, should the applicant be selected for the vacancy.

4 - The PDF documents required in paragraphs a) to h) should be delivered in a pen-drive, which should be searchable and contain the entries of publications associated with clickable links (links) to the documents/domains that contain the publication, which may be recorded in the same digital media or exist in a repository for free access in the Internet. There should also be clickable links to the web pages of the entities or events referred to in the curriculum vitae, and when relevant, and feasible, to the web pages of the courses (curricular units) for which the applicant has been responsible.

5 – The curriculum vitae and respective appendices must be systematized in the order of the parameters and factors listed in point V of this Announcement. Failure to comply with this order may result in information not being considered for evaluation, the same applying to the accessibility of the links, the functioning of which must be verified by the candidate, so that the members of the selection committee have access to the information.

6 - According to Article 7, paragraph 2 of the Regulation governing calls for the contracting of lecturing personnel for the University of Algarve, the hiring committee may request additional documentation related to the submitted curriculum.

IV – Public Hearings

1 - The selection committee may, under equal circumstances for all applicants, decide to hold public hearings, pursuant to the terms of Article 50, paragraph 4, subparagraph b) of the ECDU and pursuant to Article 7, paragraph 2, of the Regulation governing calls for the contracting of lecturing personnel for the University of Algarve;

2 - If the call selection committee decides to hold the hearings referred to in the previous paragraph, the conditions and scheduling of the hearing shall be announced to the applicants at least eight (8) days in advance.

V - Evaluation parameters and seriation in relative merit, respective weighting and final valuation system

The curricular evaluation focuses on the activities developed by the applicants in the disciplinary area of the call, and its adequacy to the position of Associate Professor, considering the following parameters and respective weightings:

• A) Scientific performance (50%);
• B) Pedagogical capacity (30%);
• C) Other activities relevant to the University's mission (20%).

The evaluation is based on the factors indicated below and will be expressed on a scale of 0-100 points.

A) Scientific Performance, with a weighting of 50%. In the assessment of scientific performance, the following factors will be considered:

• i) Scientific production - Quality and quantity of scientific production in the subject area for which the call is open (books, book chapters, articles in indexed international journals), expressed, in particular, by the number and type of publications in indexed international journals and by the recognition given to it by the scientific community (taking into account the quality and number of indexed international publications and their recognition by the scientific community) (40%);
• ii) Coordination or participation in externally funded research projects, taking into account the results obtained, both scientifically and in terms of impact on the subject area for which the call is open (30%);
• iii) Supervision of academic work: supervision of advanced training, namely supervision of master's and doctoral degrees (10%);
• iv) Recognition by the scientific community: Awards from scientific societies, invited lectures at scientific meetings, participation as an editor of international journals, reviewer of publications in international journals, of applications for research grants or advanced training and of scientific projects, coordination and participation in program committees of scientific events (10%);
• v) Career development plan. The potential contribution of the submitted document to the scientific and pedagogical development of the subject area of the call will be evaluated (10%).

B) Pedagogical capacity, with a weighting of 30%. In the evaluation of pedagogical capacity, the following factors will be considered:

• i) Lecturing duties in the subject area for which the call is open, taking into account the number and diversity of the units lectured (30%);
• ii) Production of teaching materials. Quality and quantity of lecturing materials produced by the applicant, as well as pedagogical publications (40%);
• iii) Coordination and promotion of new pedagogical projects, reform and improvement of existing projects, leadership in accreditation or certification processes (15%);
• iv) Participation on academic examination boards (15%).

C) Other relevant activities for the University's mission, with a weighting of 20%. In the evaluation of other relevant activities, the following factors will be considered:

• i) University extension activities, namely, provision of consultancy services; participation in national and international projects and organizations of scientific, professional or cultural interest; participation in scientific or training projects that promote interaction with society (10%);
• ii) Holding university management positions and functions at the university level, organizational units, departments, research units, and services, including in other bodies of the national and international S&T system (60%);
• iii) Participation in selection panels for the recruitment of staff (20%);
• iv) Other management positions of recognized public interest in the area of the call (10%).

VI - Selection process in relative merit

1 - The methodology for selection in relative merit is the following:

• a) During the meeting, each member of the selection committee will submit a written document, which will be annexed to the meeting minutes, stating their own ordering of the applicants, of the applicants’ scientific performance, pedagogical skills and other relevant activities, and their respective weights. At each ballot, every member of the selection committee will abide by the ordering they submitted, and abstentions are not permitted;
• b) The first ballot is intended to determine which applicant is placed at the top of the ordered list;
• c) If an applicant obtains more than half of the votes, they shall be ranked first in the ordered list;
• d) If two applicants obtain exactly half of the votes each, the president of the selection committee has the casting vote to decide which is ranked first in the ordered list. The selection board president will use as tie-breaking criteria the date the Doctoral degree was conferred, the most recent degree shall prevail;
• e) If none of the situations provided for in the previous paragraphs c) and d) occur, a new ballot will take place after eliminating the applicants who received no votes in the first round and also eliminating the least voted applicant, who received at least one vote.
• f) If there is a draw between two or more applicants for the position of least-voted, another ballot shall be held to determine which of the least-voted applicants shall be eliminated. At this ballot, selection committee members vote for the applicant ranked last in their own seriation;
• g) If there is still a draw between two or more applicants, the selection committee president shall decide which shall be eliminated and use as tie-breaking criteria the date the Doctoral degree was conferred, with the most recent one prevailing.
• h) After this applicant has been eliminated along with the applicants who received no votes in the first ballot, another ballot will be held to decide which applicant shall be ranked first in the ordered list, continuing to use the same procedure until one applicant obtains more than half the votes for the first place;
• i) Once an applicant has been placed first on the ordered list, his or her name shall be removed from the voting and the process will be repeated to find the second-placed applicant, and so on, until all the applicants have been ordered.

VII - Composition of the selection committee

President, Dr Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira Ferreira Bicho, Vice-Rector of the University of Algarve, by delegation of powers from the Rector.

Members:

• Dr. Pedro Manuel Rangel Santos Henriques, retired full professor at the School of Engineering of the University of Minho;
• Dr. Paulo Fernando Pereira de Carvalho, full professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra;
• Dr. João Manuel Paiva Cardoso, full professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto;
• Dr. Carla Maria Gonçalves Ferreira, full professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the Nova University of Lisbon;
• Dr. António Eduardo de Barros Ruano, retired full professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Algarve;
• Dr. Simão Melo de Sousa, full professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Algarve.

VIII – Access to the call procedure

The call process may be consulted at the University of Algarve’s Human Resources Department, on floor 0 of the Penha Library Building at the Penha Campus of the University of Algarve, in Faro, from 9.30am to noon and from 2.30p.m to 4.30 p.m., through previously scheduled appointment.

October 27, 2025. — The Vice-Rector for Research and Culture of the University of Algarve, Professor Dr Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira Ferreira Bicho