Research Grant (BI)

1. GRANT DESCRIPTION

Type of grant: Research Grant (BI)

General scientific area: COMPUTER SCIENCE

Scientific subarea: Computer Systems

Grant duration: 4 months 10 days, starting on 2026-10-19, with the possibility of being renewed until the end of the project.

Scientific advisor: João Manuel Pedrosa

Workplace: INESC TEC, Porto, Portugal

Maintenance stipend: 1359.64, according to the table of monthly maintenance stipend for FCT grants (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf), paid via bank transfer. Grant holders may be awarded potential supplements, according to a quarterly evaluation process (Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC and Annex II), up to a maximum limit of 50% of the monthly maintenance stipend.

INESC TEC supports costs with registration, enrolment or tuition fees, during the grant duration, under the terms established in the internal document: "Payment of Tuition fees to grant holders" (https://www.inesctec.pt/pagamento-propinas-bolseirosEN)

The grant holder will benefit from health insurance, supported by INESC TEC.

2. OBJECTIVES:

• Validation of automatic compliance assessment in medical imaging developed within the scope of the project on multi-dataset scenarios (robustness and generalization evaluation);
• Extension of method for federated learning instances.

3. BRIEF PRESENTATION OF THE WORK PROGRAMME AND TRAINING:

• The European project AI4LUNGS (AI-based personalised care for respiratory disease using multi-modal data in patient stratification) has the goal to develop computational models based in Artificial Intelligence to optimize the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary disease.
• The workplan will focus on the aspect of detection, segmentation and characterization of radiological findings related to interstitial lung diseases in high resolution computed tomography.

4. REQUIRED PROFILE:

Admission requirements:

• Masters Degree in Biomedical Engineering, Informatics Engineering, Computer Science, or related;
• The awarding of the fellowship is dependent on the applicants' enrolment in study cycle or non-award courses of Higher Education Institutions.

Preference factors:

• International experience in research environments.

Minimum requirements:

• Masters grade point average equal to or greater than 17/20;
• Competences in Python and specifically PyTorch/Tensorflow;
• Previous experience in research on computer vision applied to medical imaging.

5. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS AND SELECTION PROCESS:

Selection criteria and corresponding valuation: the first phase comprises the Academic Evaluation (AC), based on the criteria referred to in Article 12 of the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC, while the second phase comprehends the Individual Interview (EI).

All factors are evaluated on a scale of 0 to 100, taking into account the applicants' merit, suitability and conformity with the preference factors.

The weight of the AC factors are as follows: Academic Qualifications (FA, 40), Scientific Publications (PC, 10), Experience (EX, 30) and Motivation Letter (CM, 20).

Candidates who score less than 50 points in the AC average will be considered excluded on absolute merit. The top five candidates approved on absolute merit will be qualified for the individual interview. The Final Grade (CF) is obtained by the weighted average of AC (60) and EI (40).

DISABILITY INCENTIVE

Candidates who present a degree of disability equal to or greater than 90% will benefit from an incentive (20) in the score of the CV Assessment.

Candidates who present a degree of disability equal to or greater than 60% and less than 90% will also benefit from an incentive (10) in the score of the CV Assessment.

Said score may, in these cases, exceed 100 points.

Candidates must demonstrate the degree of disability during the application, namely through the submission of the Multi-Purpose Medical Certificate of Disability, issued in accordance with Decree-Law no. 202/96, of October 23 - currently in effect.

The Selection Jury is composed of the following members:

• President of the Jury: João Manuel Pedrosa
• Full member: Ana Maria Mendonça
• Full member: Tânia Fernandes Melo
• Substitute member: Francesco Renna

Release of results and prior hearing: the results of the selection process, as well as the terms and procedures for prior hearing, will be released to the applicants by email, under the terms referred to in Article 13 of the Regulations for Studentships and Fellowships of INESC TEC.

6. FORMALISATION OF APPLICATIONS:

Application Documents:

1. Motivation letter;
2. Curriculum Vitae (must include the list of previous fellowships, their type, beginning and end dates, funding entities and host institutions);
3. Certificate or diploma degree;
4. Proof of enrollment in a degree awarding study cycle or in a non degree awarding Higher Education program.

• The proof of enrollment may be presented just during the grant hiring stage.

1. Signed declaration stating the infringement of the grant holder's duties (article 14, no. 4)
2. Documental evidence to support the country of residence, residence permit or other legally equivalent document, in cases where the applicant is a foreigner or non-resident in Portugal - valid until the beginning of the grant.
3. Other supporting documents relevant to the final assessment.

Failure to deliver the required documents within the 90-day period after the date of the notice of the conditional awarding of the grant implies its cancellation.

Application period: From 2026-09-10 to 2026-09-25

Submission of applications: the application will be formalised by submitting the form available in the Work With Us section of INESC TEC website.

7. BINDING LEGISLATION AND REGULATION

The hiring process shall comply with the current legislation regarding the Research Grant Holder Statute, approved by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18, in its current wording, as well as by the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC and for FCT Grants Regulation in force.

For more information, please check the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC and relevant annexes at www.inesctec.pt/bolsas

Where to apply

Website: https://www.inesctec.pt/en/opportunity/AE2026-0264

Requirements

Research Field: Computer science

Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Specific Requirements

Academic qualifications: Masters Degree in Biomedical Engineering, Informatics Engineering, Computer Science, or related;.

Minimum profile: - Masters grade point average equal to or greater than 17/20;, - Competences in Python and specifically PyTorch/Tensorflow;, - Previous experience in research on computer vision applied to medical imaging.

Preference factors: International experience in research environments.

Research Field: Computer science » Computer systems

Years of Research Experience: None

Additional Information

Benefits

Maintenance stipend: 1359.64 euros, according to the table of monthly maintenance stipend for FCT grants (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf), paid via bank transfer. Grant holders may be awarded potential supplements, according to a quarterly evaluation process (Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the Regulations for Grants of INESC TEC and Annex II), up to a maximum limit of 50% of the monthly maintenance stipend.

Costs attributable to INESC TEC may include registration, enrolment or tuition fee stipend, either directly or through reimbursement, during the grant duration.

The grant holder will benefit from health insurance, supported by INESC TEC.

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available: 1

Company/Institute: INESC TEC

Country: Portugal

City: Porto

Postal Code: 4200-465

Street: Campus da Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias