PhD Researcher equivalent to Assistant Researcher

Reference Number: COMPETE2030-FEDER-03404900

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

NOTICE OF OPENING OF AN INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVE SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF ONE PHD RESEARCHER EQUIVALENT TO ASSISTANT RESEARCHER WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT "VR4Health" (REF. COMPETE2030-FEDER-03404900), UNDER A FIXED-TERM EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT OF UNCERTAIN DURATION UNDER PRIVATE LAW, BEING CARRIED OUT AT THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTO (FMUP) – INVTERM-FMUP-26-26

By my order, issued in the exercise of the powers delegated under sub-paragraph (iii) of point 1.1 of Order no. 9857/2026, published in the Official Gazette (Diário da República), 2nd Series, no. 150, of 5 August 2026, public notice is hereby given that this international competitive selection procedure is open for a period of 10 (ten) working days, counting from the working day following the publication of this notice in the Official Gazette (Diário da República), with a view to the recruitment of one PhD Researcher equivalent to Assistant Researcher, pursuant to the Regulation on Research, Science and Technology Staff of the University of Porto under Private Law, Regulation no. 849/2026, published in the Official Gazette (Diário da República), 2nd Series, no. 129, of 7 July 2026 (hereinafter the "Regulation"), under an individual fixed-term employment contract of uncertain duration, to carry out research activities in the scientific area of Digital Health and related areas, within the scope of the project VR4Health – Immersive VR Training for Healthcare Professionals (Ref. COMPETE2030-FEDER-03404900), co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Innovation and Digital Transition Thematic Programme (COMPETE 2030), under Portugal 2030, under way at FMUP.

1. Scientific area: Digital Health and related areas.

2. Applicable legislation:

The competition and the resulting recruitment are governed by the provisions of the following main legislation:

• Decree-Law no. 57/2016, of 29 August, approving the regime for the recruitment of PhD holders aimed at stimulating scientific and technological employment, published in the Official Gazette (Diário da República), 1st Series, no. 165/2016, as amended by Law no. 57/2017, of 19 July, hereinafter the RJEC, applicable under Article 8(2) and (3) and Article 16(6) of the Regulation;
• Regulation on Research, Science and Technology Staff of the University of Porto under Private Law, Regulation no. 849/2026, published in the Official Gazette (Diário da República), 2nd Series, no. 129, of 7 July 2026, as currently in force, hereinafter the Regulation;
• Decree-Law no. 63/2019, of 16 May, approving the Legal Framework for Institutions Engaged in Scientific Research and Development, published in the Official Gazette (Diário da República), 1st Series, no. 94, of 16 May 2019;
• Regulatory Decree no. 11-A/2017, of 29 December, defining the remuneration levels provided for in the regime for the recruitment of PhD holders approved by Decree-Law no. 57/2016, of 29 August;
• Disciplinary and scientific areas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, republished by Order no. 7793/2022, published in the Official Gazette (Diário da República), 2nd Series, no. 121, of 24 June 2022, as rectified by Rectification Statement no. 450/2023, published in the Official Gazette (Diário da República), 2nd Series, no. 117, of 19 June 2023;
• Law no. 73-A/2025, of 30 December, approving the State Budget for 2026;

and by the following subsidiary legislation:

• Labour Code, approved by Law no. 7/2009, of 12 February, as amended, hereinafter the CT;
• Code of Administrative Procedure, approved by Decree-Law no. 4/2015, of 7 January, as amended, hereinafter the CPA;
• Law no. 26/2019, of 28 March, establishing the regime of balanced representation between men and women in senior management staff and in the bodies of the Public Administration;
• Order defining the regime of balanced representation in the appointment of the non-elected collegial bodies of FMUP, of 2 August 2023.

3. Admission requirements:

3.1. General admission requirements:

The competition is open to national, foreign and stateless candidates holding a PhD degree in the scientific areas of Digital Health, Health Sciences, Medicine, Clinical Research or Health Services, Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Informatics Engineering, Data Science, Information Systems, Artificial Intelligence, or related scientific areas, who demonstrate a profile suited to the activities to be carried out.

3.2. Specific admission requirements:

For the purpose of determining the profile suited to the activity to be carried out, the following are specific requirements:

1. Proven experience in the development, evaluation or implementation of digital solutions applied to health, including experience in at least one of the following areas: immersive technologies (virtual reality, augmented reality or simulated environments), human-computer interaction and user experience evaluation, or digital platforms for training, capacity building or clinical decision support;
2. Experience in scientific output in areas related to digital health, digital technologies applied to health, artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality, data science, human-computer interaction or related areas.

3.3. Failure to provide proof of the requirements set out in points 3.1 and 3.2 shall result in the exclusion of the application.

4. Remuneration:

4.1. The gross monthly base salary corresponds to the 1st remuneration position, level 7, pursuant to Article 53(1) of and Annexes I and II to the Regulation and Article 2(1) and (3) of Regulatory Decree no. 11-A/2017, under the exclusive dedication regime, amounting to €3,576.56, plus the meal allowance, pursuant to Article 53(7) of the Regulation.

4.2. Research staff, as a rule, perform their duties under the exclusive dedication regime and may, upon expressing their wish to do so, perform them on a full-time basis, corresponding to 35 (thirty-five) working hours per week, pursuant to Article 43(1) of the Regulation and Article 7(1) of the RJEC.

4.3. Research staff who opt for the full-time regime receive an amount corresponding to two thirds of the remuneration level they would receive under the exclusive dedication regime, pursuant to Article 53(5) of the Regulation, Article 15(5) of the RJEC and Article 3(1) of Regulatory Decree no. 11-A/2017.

5. Place of work:

The place of work is located on the premises of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP), without prejudice to work being performed at other locations as may be necessary for the performance of duties. The Research Unit to which the recruited researcher is assigned is RISE-Health – Rede de Investigação em Saúde (UID/06397/2025), based at FMUP.

6. Contractual regime:

The PhD Researcher equivalent to Assistant Researcher will be recruited under an individual fixed-term employment contract of uncertain duration, pursuant to the Regulation, Decree-Law no. 57/2016, of 29 August, the Labour Code and other applicable regulatory provisions. The contract shall remain in force only for the period necessary to carry out the tasks defined in the project identified above and shall in no case exceed the end date of the project, the budget allocation and/or the maximum limit of 6 (six) years, pursuant to Article 5(4) of the Regulation and Article 6(1)(b) and (3) and Article 18(2) of the RJEC.

7. Activities to be carried out:

7.1. The duties of research staff comprise the following components, pursuant to Article 9(1) and Articles 10 to 13 of the Regulation:

1. Research;
2. Knowledge transfer and valorisation;
3. Science and technology management and communication, and other tasks;
4. Teaching and training activities, subject to the limit laid down in Article 13(3).

7.2. The PhD Researcher equivalent to Assistant Researcher shall regularly carry out research and development activities, as well as other scientific and technical activities within the mission of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, pursuant to Article 8(2)(b) and Article 14(1) of the Regulation, and also:

1. Develop and evaluate immersive virtual reality environments applied to the training and capacity building of health professionals, including scenario definition, user experience evaluation, performance analysis and validation of training effectiveness;
2. Collect, manage and analyse health services data using data analysis software and databases, including data validation, data normalisation and the integration of data from different sources, defining appropriate strategies to address ethical and privacy/security requirements;
3. Carry out reviews of the scientific literature on approaches, methodologies and digital systems in the project's use cases;
4. Support the planning and execution of the project in its technical, scientific and dissemination components;
5. Other related or functionally linked duties assigned within the scope of the project.

8. Composition of the Selection Panel:

In accordance with Article 22(1)(g) and Article 25(4) and (5) of the Regulation and Article 13(3) and (4) of the RJEC, the Selection Panel is composed as follows:

Chair of the Selection Panel:

Professor José Alberto da Silva Freitas, Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, in his capacity as Principal Investigator of the project that frames and funds the contract, by delegation of the Director of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, pursuant to Article 25(5) of the Regulation, conferred by Order no. 13131/2026, published in the Official Gazette (Diário da República), 2nd Series, no. 208, of 27 October 2026.

Members of the Selection Panel:

1st full member: Dr. Rute Alexandra Borges de Almeida, Principal Researcher at FMUP

2nd full member: Dr. Vinícius Costa Lima, Assistant Researcher at FMUP

1st substitute member: Professor Filipe Andrade Bernardi, Assistant Professor at FMUP

2nd substitute member: Professor Cristina Maria Nogueira da Costa Santos, Full Professor at FMUP

9. Selection methods:

Pursuant to Article 29(1) and (3) of the Regulation and Article 5(1) and (5) of the RJEC, the selection methods are:

1. Assessment of the Scientific and Curricular Path of the candidates (APCC) – 90%;
2. Interview (ENT), should the Selection Panel deem it necessary, pursuant to Article 26(2)(b) of the Regulation, with a weighting of 10%.

10. Assessment of the Scientific and Curricular Path (APCC):

10.1. The assessment of the scientific and curricular path takes into account the profile suited to the activity to be carried out and focuses on the relevance, quality and timeliness of the following criteria, which must be considered and weighted separately, pursuant to Article 5(2) of the RJEC and Article 31(1)(a), (b) and (c) and Article 16(6) of the Regulation:

1. The scientific and professional path, namely professional research experience in the scientific area or areas of the competition;
2. Scientific and technological output in the area(s) for which the competition is opened, and applied or practice-based research activities considered by the candidate to have the greatest impact;
3. Knowledge extension and dissemination activities, management of science, technology and innovation programmes, or experience in the observation and monitoring of the scientific and technological system.

10.2. In assessing the criteria referred to in points (b) and (c) of the preceding point, the activity carried out in the last 5 (five) years shall be taken into account, pursuant to Article 5(2) of the RJEC.

10.3. The 5 (five) year period referred to in the preceding point may be extended by the Selection Panel, at the request of the candidate, where justified by a suspension of scientific activity for socially protected reasons, namely parental leave, prolonged serious illness and other legally protected situations of unavailability for work, pursuant to Article 5(3) of the RJEC.

10.4. The components, parameters and weightings of the APCC are detailed below:

A. Criterion for the assessment of the Scientific and Professional Path (PCP) (5%):

A1. Scientific skills in the area or sub-areas for which the competition is opened, as evidenced by the scientific and professional path, namely area(s) of training and professional research experience (5%).

B. Criteria for the assessment of the scientific and technological output in the area(s) for which the competition is opened and of applied or practice-based research activities (PCT) (90%):

B1. Scientific and technological publications, taking into account articles in journals and other publications, having regard to their relevance, quality and professional and social impact, especially publications in digital health, digital technologies applied to health, immersive technologies, human-computer interaction, health data science, clinical research or related areas (25%);

B2. Research, development, implementation and/or validation activity concerning digital health solutions, with particular value given to experience in requirements definition, technological development or implementation, and testing and evaluation with end users, including health professionals (30%);

B3. Research and development experience in virtual reality, augmented reality, immersive environments, digital clinical simulation, digital learning technologies or user experience evaluation in health settings (20%);

B4. Participation in funded research projects, national or international, in the areas of digital health, technologies applied to health, biomedical engineering, artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality or related areas, evidenced by indication of the funding agency and the respective reference, with value given to the relevance of the duties performed to the activities covered by this competition and to participation in international teams (15%).

C. Criteria for the assessment of Knowledge Extension and Dissemination Activities (AEDC) (5%):

C1. Collaboration in evaluation committees for technical and scientific activities, promoted by national or international entities, namely in calls for projects, fellowships or prizes (2%);

C2. Demonstrated experience of working in and/or building scientific teams, namely through membership and/or coordination of group(s) of Research Unit(s), supervision of Master's or PhD theses, and/or participation in teams or groups in an international context (3%).

10.5. The final APCC score is obtained using the following formula: APCC = (A1 × 0.05) + (B1 × 0.25) + (B2 × 0.30) + (B3 × 0.20) + (B4 × 0.15) + (C1 × 0.02) + (C2 × 0.03), each parameter being scored on a scale of 0 to 100 points.

11. Assessment of the Interview (ENT):

11.1. Should the Selection Panel deem the interview necessary, up to a maximum of 5 (five) of the highest-ranked candidates in the Assessment of the Scientific and Curricular Path shall be admitted to it, pursuant to Article 29(4)(b)(ii) and Article 26(2)(b) of the Regulation and Article 5(5) of the RJEC.

11.2. The components, parameters and weightings for the assessment of the Interview are detailed below:

D. Clarification of the research activities carried out in the scientific area of the competition, with particular focus on the work and publications submitted for assessment – 70%;

E. Clarification of the results of the research carried out by the candidate and of their contribution to the scientific area of the competition – 30%.

11.3. The interview shall last no longer than one hour, pursuant to Article 33(1) of the Regulation, and may be held by videoconference, on the initiative of the Chair of the Selection Panel or at the reasoned request of the candidate, pursuant to paragraph 2 of the same Article.

11.4. Failure by candidates to attend the interview stage is equivalent to withdrawal from the competition, and such candidates shall be excluded from the selection procedure, pursuant to Article 22(1)(c) and Article 29(3) and (4)(b)(ii) of the Regulation.

11.5. The ENT score is obtained using the following formula: ENT = (0.7 × D) + (0.3 × E).

12. Final Score (CF):

The final score (CF) of the candidates is expressed on a scale of 0 to 100 points and is determined by the following formula: CF = (0.9 × APCC) + (0.1 × ENT) or, where the Interview (ENT) method is not applied, by the following formula: CF = APCC.

In the event of a tie in the final score, the candidate with the higher score in the Assessment of the Scientific and Curricular Path shall prevail and, should the tie persist, the candidate with the higher score in criterion B of that assessment; should the tie still persist, the Chair of the Selection Panel shall have the casting vote, pursuant to Article 27(7)(b) and Article 32(3) of the Regulation.

13. Scoring of the selection methods:

Pursuant to Article 34(1) and (2) of the Regulation, each member of the Selection Panel assesses the scientific and curricular path and, where applicable, the interview, on a scale of 0 to 100 points, scored to two decimal places.

14. Assessment methodology:

The methodology for ranking the applications, the voting rules and the drawing up of the respective minutes are governed by Articles 27 (Decisions of the Selection Panel) and 32 (Ranking of candidates — Assessment of the scientific and curricular path) of the Regulation, to which reference is hereby made.

15. Submission of applications:

15.1. Applications must be submitted within 10 working days, by 23:59 (mainland Portugal local time) on 11 November 2026, pursuant to Article 24 of the Regulation.

15.2. Applications must be submitted on the U.Porto recruitment platform, APPLY UP: https://app.apply.up.pt – Ref. INVTERM-FMUP-26-26.

15.3. Applications must be accompanied by documents proving the conditions set out in this Notice of Opening, pursuant to Article 22(1)(j) of the Regulation and Article 12(2) of the RJEC, namely:

1. Copy of the certificate or diploma of the PhD degree;
2. Curriculum Vitae, detailed, in Portuguese or English, containing all information relevant to the assessment of the application and to demonstrating compliance with the requirements set out in point 3 of this Notice, organised according to the APCC criteria set out in point 10.4;
3. Cover letter, containing:
   1. motivation for the position;
   2. most relevant scientific activities, in accordance with point 10 of this Notice; and
   3. availability to take up duties;
4. Supporting documents deemed relevant for verifying the eligibility of the application and documents which the candidate considers relevant for the assessment of their merit, namely proof of scientific skills, scientific and technological output, research activities, participation in projects and publications.

15.4. Failure to submit the documents referred to in points 15.3(a) to (d) shall result in the exclusion of the application.

15.5. Whenever it deems necessary, the Selection Panel may request candidates to submit additional documentation related to the curriculum submitted, pursuant to Article 26(2)(a) of the Regulation.

16. Notifications and prior hearing of interested parties:

16.1. Notifications are made by publication on the APPLY UP electronic platform, pursuant to Article 112(1)(c) of the CPA, taking effect pursuant to Article 113(5) of the CPA, and pursuant to Article 22(1)(i) of the Regulation.

16.2. Candidates have a period of 10 working days to submit, should they so wish, their observations within the prior hearing of interested parties, under Articles 121 et seq. of the CPA and Article 35 of the Regulation, on the APPLY UP electronic platform.

17. Period of validity:

This selection procedure is valid exclusively for filling the position under competition and expires once the position has been filled. In the event of refusal, withdrawal or impossibility of recruiting the selected candidate, pursuant to Article 37(4) of the Regulation, the next candidates on the final ranking list may be called for the same position.

18. Other provisions:

FMUP actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, pursuant to Article 1(3) of the Regulation and Article 24(1) of the CT. Accordingly, no application may be privileged, favoured, disadvantaged, deprived of any right or exempted from any duty on the grounds of, namely, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, family situation, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and trade union membership.

19. Approval of the Notice of Opening:

This Notice of Opening was approved by the Deputy Director of FMUP, Professor Filipa Abreu Gomes de Carvalho, in the exercise of the powers delegated under sub-paragraph (iii) of point 1.1 of Order no. 9857/2026, following a favourable opinion of the Scientific Council of FMUP, issued at its meeting of 21 October 2026, pursuant to Article 21(3) of the Regulation.

This notice is a translation of the original Portuguese version. In the event of any discrepancy between the Portuguese and English versions, the Portuguese version shall prevail.

Porto, 28 October 2026.

The Deputy Director of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto,

Professor Filipa Abreu Gomes de Carvalho.

1. The Portuguese acronyms used for the selection methods, assessment criteria and final score (e.g. APCC, ENT, PCP, PCT, AEDC and CF) have been retained in this English version so that the formulas are identical in both language versions.
2. If the PhD was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must be recognised by a Portuguese higher education institution, pursuant to Article 25 of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of 16 August, which approves the legal framework for the recognition of academic degrees and higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions, and Article 4(2)(e) of Decree-Law no. 60/2018, of 3 August; any formalities established therein must be completed by the date of the act of recruitment.

Where to apply

Website: https://app.apply.up.pt/procedures/vxxx9fjt8dgxzv0n

Requirements

Research Field: Medical sciences » Health sciences

Education Level: PhD or equivalent

Additional Information

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available: 1

Company/Institute: Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto

Country: Portugal

City: Porto

Contact

City: Porto

Website: https://sigarra.up.pt/fmup/pt/noticias_geral.ver_noticia?p_nr=119123

Street: Alameda Professor Hernani Monteiro

Postal Code: 4200 - 319

E-Mail: contratacaorh@med.up.pt