Research Fellowship for Master degree holder – AeroSonic; 1 vacancy

Applications Close: Sep 23, 2026

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Guimarães, Portugal

Salary: €1,360per month

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Job Information

Organisation/Company : Universidade do Minho Department : Mechanical Engineering Research Field : Engineering » Materials engineering; Engineering » Mechanical engineering; Engineering » Other Researcher Profile : First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions : Master Positions Application Deadline : 23 Sep 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon) Country : Portugal Type of Contract : Not Applicable Job Status : Full-time Hours Per Week : 35 Offer Starting Date : 10 Sep 2026 Is the job funded through the EU…

Research Framework Programme? : Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number : AEROSONIC – 2024.17138.PEX – BI-02/2026-CMEMS (1) Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? : No

Offer Description

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE AWARD OF A RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Research Fellowship for Master degree holder – AeroSonic; 1 vacancy

Reference: AEROSONIC – 2024.17138.PEX – BI-02/2026-CMEMS (1)
A call for applications is now open for the attribution of 1 (one) Research Fellowship for Master degree holder, within the scope of the R&D project "AeroSonic: A Hybrid Acoustic and Seaweed-Derived Aerogel Technology for Microplastic Removal", reference 2024.17138.PEX, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology | FCT, through the Framework Programme for Scientific Research and Technological Development (R&D) Projects, Operational Programme for R&D Projects in All Scientific Domains (PTDC), Exploratory Research Projects (PEX), under the following conditions
Scientific Area: Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related fields.
Recipient category: Students enrolled in a PhD programme or Masters students enrolled in a non-degree course integrated into the educational project of a higher education institution, developed in association or cooperation with one or more R&D units.
Requirement for granting the fellowship:
The applicants may apply without prior registration in the course for which the fellowship 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 fellowships 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 fellowship, issued by a Higher Education Institution, indicating, respectively, the academic year or its duration (star and term).
Applicants' eligibility: Candidates who meet the conditions set out in Article 9 of the Research Grant Regulations, No. 950/2019, of 16-12-2019, of FCT I.P. are eligible.
Nationals or citizens of other European Union member states, third-country nationals, stateless persons, and citizens with political refugee status are eligible to apply for this competition.
Candidate eligibility requirements:
a) Master's degree in a relevant scientific area, namely Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related fields;
b) Experience in the numerical modelling of acoustic phenomena;
c) Experience in using acoustic tools, namely ultrasound-related, for liquid and solid manipulation or processing;
d) Experience in mechanical design.
Workplan and objectives to be achieved: The work plan consists of developing a prototype to validate the aerogels/acoustophoresis approach for microplastics separation from wastewater, using numerical simulation to assess its functionality before construction. The fellow will contribute to: (i) the study of the interaction between the aerogels, microplastics and acoustic fields, (ii) the numerical modelling of such an environment for assessing the best conditions for effective aggregation of aerogels and microplastics and separation from wastewater and (iii) construction of a prototype for experimental validation of the solution.
Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Fellow Statute (EBI), approved by Law nº. 40/2004 of August 18, in its current wording and FCT Research Fellowship Regulation, approved by Regulation nº 950/2019, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, of December 16, 2019, in its current wording, and Scientific Research Fellowship Regulation (RBIC) of the University of Minho, approved by order nº 4998/2025, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, nº 81, of April 28, 2025 Amended and republished through amendment statement no. 634/2025/2, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, no. 132, of July 11.
Host/Contracting institution and scientific supervision: The work plan will be developed at the Center for Electromechanical Microsystems of the University of Minho (CMEMS-UMinho), located on the Campus de Azurém, Guimarães, under the scientific guidance of Doctor Inês Varela Gomes, and the coordination of Professor Luís Miguel Valente Gonçalves, Director of the Center for Electromechanical Microsystems of the University of Minho (CMEMS-UMinho).
Fellowship duration: The grant will take place for a period of 06 months, with a provisional starting date on the October or November 2026. The fellowship grant may, eventually, be renewed up to the maximum limit allowed by the project and/or applicable legislation.
Amount of the research grant: The amount of the grant corresponds to 1 359,64 €/month, according to the table of values of the Research scholarship of the University of Minho, updated annually, as decided by the Management Board.
Payment is made on the 23rd of each month, through bank transfer to the Bank Identification Number of the fellow identified in the contratualization process.
Other components of the research grant: Define other components of the scholarships, as provided for in Article 18º of the FCT Research Scholarship Regulations (RBI).
Other benefits: Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Insurance, if the candidate chooses to receive it, corresponding to the 1st level of discounts (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.
Composition of the Selection Committee: The jury is composed of:
a) Chair of the Jury: Doctor Hélder de Jesus Fernandes Puga, Full Professor at the Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Minho
b) Permanent Member: Doctor José Luís de Carvalho Martins Alves, Full Professor at the Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Minho
c) Permanent Member: Doctor Pedro Filipe Lima Marques, Assistant Professor at the Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Minho
d) Substitute Member: Doctor João Pedro Mendonça Assunção Silva, Assistant Professor at the Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Minho
e) Substitute Member: Doctor José Manuel Ramos Gomes, Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Mechanical Engineering Department, 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 candidate's Merit, following evaluation criteria, valued on a scale of 0 to 5 values (or another scale):
1 If a second evaluation method is fixed – Interview, it may not have a weighting higher than 40%, according to nº 4 of article 11º of UMinho regulation;
The jury shall define whether all candidates are interviewed or identify the criterion to be applied to a set of candidates to be interview and its valuation (for instance, selection of candidates ranked between the 1s and 4th position in the evaluation list of MC (candidate merit)). The jury may adjust the weightings (the assessment must be substantiated in as much detail as possible, in a clear and consistent manner).
Applicant Merit - AM (100%):
a) Academic path (considering the classifications of academic degrees), with a weighting of 45%;
b) Personal curriculum (considering professional and scientific background), with a weighting of 45%;
c) Motivation letter, with a weighting of 10%.
Note: Other assessment criteria may be applied as deemed relevant.
The final classification of the applicant's Merit with the achieved through the following formula:
MC=(a*0,45) +(b*0,45) +(c*0,10)
A positive evaluation is required for the granting of the scholarship.
Note: Applicants with degrees obtained abroad must present proof of recognition of qualifications in Portugal and conversion of the final classification obtained in them to the Portuguese classification scale or declaration under the terms indicated in the previous point. Candidates who do not comply with one of these provisions, the selection panel will assign "0" in the grade of the graduation and/or master course. Candidates will be evaluated on the remaining parameters.
Application deadline and submission: applications will be accepted for a minimum period of 10 working days after the publication of the notice.
Applications must be submitted by email to puga@dem.uminho.pt, indicating the reference number of the competition in the subject line. Only applications submitted within the established deadline and accompanied by the following documents will be accepted:
a) Candidate's updated curriculum vitae;
b) Certificates of the academic degrees obtained or, if applicable, the candidate's declaration of honor that he/she has completed the degrees required in the notice by the application deadline (not applicable to research initiation grants).
For degrees obtained abroad, the record of recognition of the academic degrees and record of the conversion of the respective final classification to the Portuguese classification scale must be presented, or, alternatively, a declaration of honor from the candidate.
This declaration must attest to facts that occurred prior to the application. In the event of a discrepancy between the information contained in the declaration and the documentation submitted for the purposes of contracting the scholarship, only the information contained in the latter will be considered. If it is found that the documents proving the academic degree and diploma, or their recognition under the terms of Decree-Law n. º 66/2018, of August 16, do not correspond to the classifications awarded in the assessment of the academic career and may consequently alter the candidate's ranking, the scholarship will not be contracted;
c) Letter of motivation.
Note: The jury may request other documents that it considers relevant to the evaluation process.
Form of publication/notification of results: The results of the evaluation are published in a single list (in alphabetical order or by final score obtained), posted in a visible and public place in the host unit, as well as by email to all candidates, attaching, for this purpose, the minutes of the jury's deliberations, within a maximum period of 90 working days from the deadline for submission of applications.
Candidates are informed, at a preliminary hearing, in accordance with Articles 121 and 122 of the Administrative Procedure Code, of the likely outcome of the final decision, and may comment within 10 working days of this notification.
The waiver of the hearing for interested parties must be justified in accordance with Article 124 of the CPA.
An appeal may be lodged against the final decision within 15 working days, or an appeal may be lodged with the highest executive body of the funding entity within 30 days, both after the respective notification (Article 12(nº6) of the FCT Research Grant Regulations).
Within 10 working days of notification of the grant award, the applicant must declare their acceptance in writing. In case of non-acceptance, the next highest ranked applicant will be notified immediately.
Constitution of a selection reserve list: The applicants ranked in the next positions on the ordered list will be included in a selection reserve list, which can be used until 31/12/2026.
Fellowship contractualization: The scholarship is awarded through the signing of a contract between the University of Minho and the scholarship recipient, in accordance with point 2.4 of the Rules for the Award and Management of Scholarships https://www.fct.pt/wpcontent/uploads/2022/03/Normas_de_Atribuicao_de_Bolsas_2021.pdf and the draft contract in Annex II of the University of Minho's Scientific Research Scholarship Regulations.
The contract can only be signed after receipt of all the documentation required for the type of scholarship, which must occur within a maximum period of 6 months, including proof of academic degrees or diplomas, as well as enrollment in non-degree study cycles or courses, as applicable.
Once all the documentation has been received, the contracting entity has 60 working days to sign the scholarship contract. Once received by the scholarship holder, the contract must be returned, duly signed, within 15 working days.
Term and cancellation of fellowship contracts: Without prejudice to the other grounds laid down in the University of Minho's Scientific Research Scholarship Regulation and in the Research Fellow Statute, the scholarship will cease on completion of the contracted work plan, as well as on expiry of the period for which it was granted or renewed.
The final report must be submitted to the scientific advisor, in accordance with the defined objectives and evaluation criteria, no later than 60 working days after the end of the scholarship and must be drawn up in accordance with Annex I of the Regulations of the University of Minho.
Non-discrimination and equal access policy: Universidade do Minho actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, so that no candidate may be privileged, benefited, harmed or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty due, namely, to ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, 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.
Declaration of Honor
Academic qualifications
I, (full name), candidate for the vacancy for the award of a (type of scholarship), within the scope of the project (name or reference of the project), with the reference (ref. notice), declare on my honor that I have completed the academic degree of (academic degree), qualifying for the type of scholarship in the competition, namely the course (designation), by the (University conferring the degree), on the date XX/XX/XXXX, with a final average of XXXXX values on the YY scale.
As it is not possible for me to present proof of qualifications until the end of the competition, I declare that I undertake to present the aforementioned certificate at the conclusion of the scholarship contract, in the event that I am selected for the vacancy in the competition.
As this is true, I hereby date and sign this declaration.
(Place), (date).
___________ (full name)
NOTE: The declaration may only attest to facts that occurred prior to the application. In the event of a discrepancy between the information contained in the declaration and the documentation submitted for the purpose of contracting the scholarship, only the information contained in the latter will be taken into account.
Declaration of Honor
I, (full name), bearer of identification document number (XXXX), candidate for a research grant (type of grant), within the scope of the project (name or reference of the project), with the reference (ref. call for proposals), declare on my honor that (I have not received any research grants to date / I have received the following research grants) under the Research Grant Holder Statute.
University Financing Entity Project Type of Grant Duration Start Term
As this is true, I hereby date and sign this declaration.
(Place), (date)
___________ (full name)

Where to apply

E-mail: puga@dem.uminho.pt

Requirements

Research Field: Engineering » Materials engineering
Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field: Engineering » Mechanical engineering
Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field: Engineering » Other
Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications