Research Grant for a Master's Degree holder

Reference Number: CirculaTIS (B2)

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

Offer Description

A call is open for applications for 1 Research Grant for a Master's Degree holder, enrolled in a PhD programme / courses that do not confer an academic degree, within the framework of the project CirculaTIS (B2) – Agri-Food Circularity with technology, innovation and sustainability, with reference COMPETE2030-FEDER-03420500, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and by the Innovation and Digital Transition thematic programme (COMPETE2030), under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Chemistry.

Admission requirements:

• To hold a Master's degree in Chemistry, or Biochemistry, or Technology and Food Science, or related fields;
• To be enrolled in PhD programme in Chemistry, or related fields, or courses that do not confer academic degree.

Although the recipients must be enrolled in a cycle of studies leading to the attribution of an academic degree or in a course not conferring 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 the fellowship 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.

Note: In the case of masters who are enrolled in courses that do not confer academic degree, the research grant can only be awarded to those who do not exceed, with the signing of the research grant contract in question, including possible renewals, an accumulated period of two years in this type of grant, consecutive or interpolated.

Preferences Requirements: Preference will be given to candidates with experience in extraction, characterization, and identification of compounds (e.g. phenolic compounds, biopolymers) from food matrices (e.g. liquid chromatography, low-pressure liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, NMR, gas chromatography, FTIR), rheological and textural parameter evaluation, colorimetric assessment, stability testing, and molecular interaction studies.

Hiring Requirements: If the qualification has been granted by a foreign higher education institution, it will have to be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, pursuant to article 25 of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of 16 August, which approves the regime legal recognition of academic degrees and diplomas in Higher Education, arising from foreign higher education institutions, and paragraph e) of paragraph 2 of article 4 of Decree-Law No. 60/2018, of August 3, all of which the formalities must be fulfilled there until the contracting act.

Activity Outline: The work to be developed aims at: 1) Identification of natural compounds (plant and fruit extracts, yeast extracts, alternative proteins, fibers, and other polysaccharides) with high potential to replace and/or reduce the use of salt, fat, animal protein, and other additives, allowing the development of clean label, vegetarian, or vegan products due to their physical, chemical, and nutritional properties. 2) Extraction and characterization of bioactive and techno-functional ingredients (HPLC, low-pressure liquid chromatography, NMR, mass spectrometry, gas chromatography). 3) Formulation development as outlined in the project on a laboratory scale and prototyping. 4) Characterization of rheological, textural, physicochemical, colorimetric, and nutritional properties of the developed prototypes. 5) Writing scientific reports.

Legislation and regulations: Law no. 40/2004, updated by Decree-Law no. 123/2019, of 28 August (Statute of Scientific Research Grant Holder); Regulation no. 950/2019 of 16 December (Regulation of Research Grants of the Foundation for Science and Technology); Regulation No. 582/2026, of 19 May, amending and republishing Regulation No. 184/2021, of 3 March (Regulation of Research Grants of the University of Porto) and Decree-Law no. 66/2018 of 16 August (Legal Regime of Recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of Higher Education awarded by Foreign Higher Education Institutions).

Work place: The work will be developed in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP), under the guidance of Professor Doctor Victor Armando Pereira de Freitas and Doctor Ana Luísa Mosqueira Alves Pires Fernandes (Researcher).

Grant duration: Initial duration of 6 months, with beginning on 01/11/2026, eventually renewable up, but not exceeding the end date of the project (27/05/2029).

Maintenance allowance amount: The grant stipend amounts to 1359,64€ according to the table of values of the grants awarded directly by FCT, I.P. in the Country (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores). The payment will be made by bank transfer.

Voluntary Social Insurance: As long as the grant lasts 6 months or more, and in compliance with the provisions of the current version of the Grant Holder Statute, the grant holder will be entitled to have FCUP support the costs resulting from the contributions that fall into the first of the tax brackets. The grant holder will be responsible for contributions beyond the first tax bracket, should the grant holder opt for a higher coverage.

Personal Accident Insurance: During the grant period, the grant holder will be covered by a personal accident insurance policy.

Selection procedure: The selection methods to be used are as follows:

X – Average grade obtained in the Master's degree – AC (0 to 20 points) – 30%;
Y – Grade obtained in the Curriculum Vitae evaluation – CV (0–20 points) – 70%.

The candidate classification (CF) will be obtained using the following formula:

CF = X * 30% + Y * 70%

The candidate who has a foreign academic degree or diploma whose final classification is expressed on a different classification scale from the Portuguese one or does not have a classification, for evaluation purposes, must present a document proving the recognition of the foreign degree or diploma and the conversion of the classification for the Portuguese classification scale until the closing date of applications for the competition.

If the documents attesting the degree submitted by the candidates do not present the final classification of the degree required in this notice with the respective grade converted to the Portuguese classification scale, the jury will consider, for evaluation purposes, that the candidate has the minimum classification (10 points) of a maximum of 20 points) required to obtain a degree in Portugal.

Candidates whose application has been assessed with a final classification less than 16 points are not eligible to sign the contract of the fellowship.

Selection committee:

• President – Victor Armando Pereira de Freitas, Full Professor, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP);
• 1.º member – Ana Luísa Mosqueira Alves Pires Fernandes, Researcher, LAQV-REQUIMTE and Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP);
• 2.º member – Iva Luzia Reis Fernandes, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP);
• 1.º alternate member – Nuno Filipe da Cruz Baptista Mateus, Full Professor, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP);
• 2.º alternate member – Natércia do Carmo Valente Teixeira, Researcher LAQV-REQUIMTE and Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP);

Advertisement of final decision: The final results of the evaluation will be published through a list ordered by final classification, sent to candidates by email. It is further informed that, pursuant to the provisions of articles 121 et seq. of the Code of Administrative Procedure, it has a legal period of 10 working days from the day immediately following the notification, to make a decision, if it so wishes. A complaint may be filed against this decision within 15 working days or, alternatively, an appeal may be filed within 30 working days, addressed to the Director of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, pursuant to article 191 et seq. of the Code of Administrative Procedure. The host entity may use the final ranking list to replace the selected grantee in case he/she gives up the position, up to one year.

Deadline for applications and form of presentation of the applications: The deadline for submitting applications will be 10 days from the date of publication of the Research Grant Announcement. Applications must be formalized, mandatorily, through the web page of Infociências of this opening accompanied by the following documents:

a) Motivation letter;

b) Detailed Curriculum Vitae;

c) Certificate of academic qualifications;

d) Declaration of eligibility (attached);

e) Other relevant documents;

The documents indicated in points a) to e) must be submitted in a single file in zip format on the tender page.

Supporting documents for the contract: At the time of signing the contract, the grant holder must provide the following documents:

• Biographic form;
• Photocopy of Passport and/or residency permit (if applicable);
• Photocopy of Portuguese IBAN/NIB;
• Proof of enrolment in PhD in Chemistry or related fields; or Proof of non-degree course; Proof document or statement duly signed by the institution's highest body that the course is provided for in the respective educational project and that it is developed in association or cooperation with at least one R&D unit (indicate which one(s) specifically); and Statutes of the entities that develop the course together with the higher education institution, in order to verify if they are considered R&D units, for the purposes of the provisions of article 16 of Decree-Law No. 63/2019, of May 16th;
• Foreign academic degree recognition (if applicable);
• Exclusivity declaration;
• Ciência ID and ORCID ID.

Commitment

In compliance with paragraph h) of Article 9 of the Constitution, the University of Porto, as an employer, actively promotes a policy of equal opportunities between men and women in access to employment and professional advancement, scrupulously avoiding any form of discrimination. In this spirit, terms such as "candidate," "author," or "teacher," among others that refer to the people who apply for this recruitment tender are used as gender neutral.

In addition, no candidate may be privileged, benefited, impaired or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty on grounds of ancestry, age, sexual orientation, marital status, family situation, economic situation, education, origin or social status, 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.

The call is open from 28/09/2026 to 12/10/2026.

Where to apply

Website: https://info.fc.up.pt/fcup/pedidos/users/novo.php?f_id=1291&formulario=808

Requirements

• Research Field: Chemistry » Biochemistry — Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent
• Research Field: Chemistry » Other — Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent
• Research Field: Chemistry » Biochemistry; Chemistry » Other

Additional Information

Website for additional job details: https://sigarra.up.pt/fcup/pt/noticias_geral.ver_noticia?p_nr=141883

Work Location(s)

• Number of offers available: 1
• Company/Institute: Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto
• Country: Portugal
• City: Porto

Contact

• City: Porto
• Website: https://sigarra.up.pt/fcup/pt/web_page.inicial
• Street: University of Porto – Pólo do Campo Alegre