PUBLIC NOTICE
Call for allocation of a Scientist Scholarship
Reference: BI/FhP-26/03
The call for allocation of a Research Grant for a Student attending a Master's degree is open and subject to the following conditions:
- General scientific field: Engineering.
- Specific scientific field: Biomedical Engineering.
- Admission Requirements:
i) Student attending an academic Master's degree in the specific scientific field mentioned in 2.
ii) Knowledge and practical experience in machine learning algorithms, deep learning, and time-series data processing.
iii) Demonstrated experience or interest in Self-Supervised Learning, Foundation Models, and Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) data applied to Human Activity Recognition (HAR).
iv) Proficiency in English, excellent scientific writing capabilities, and teamwork skills.
- Work Plan: The Student will perform research activities within the Intelligent Systems Group, focused on the development, benchmarking, and validation of Foundation Models and Self-Supervised Learning frameworks for time-series IMU sensor data applied to Human Activity Recognition (HAR) and clinical mobility contexts (such as musculoskeletal disorders).
4.1. Tasks:
- Research, benchmark, and evaluate Self-Supervised Learning and Foundation Model representations for IMU time-series data using benchmark datasets (e.g., AICOSHAR) for Human Activity Recognition (HAR).
- Perform data management, curation, annotation, and harmonization of IMU sensor datasets for biomedical motion analysis and fall detection benchmarks.
- Explore and integrate Trustworthy AI methodologies (specifically Explainable AI - XAI and Uncertainty Quantification - UQ) applied to temporal sensor data.
- Draft and submit a scientific journal paper reporting the research outcomes on time-series foundation models for IMU-based Human Activity Recognition in musculoskeletal assessment.
- Write comprehensive technical reports detailing the methodology, experiments, and results obtained throughout the grant.
- Applicable law and regulation: Portuguese Statute of the Scientific Research Scholarship Holder ["Estatuto do Bolseiro de Investigação Científica"], approved by Law no. 40/2004, of August 18th, amended by Decree-Law no. 202/2012, of August 27th, Law no. 12/2013, of January 29th, Decree Law no. 89/2013, of July 9th (hereinafter referred to as the "Statute"), Law no. 123/2019, of August 28th and the Research Scholarships' Regulation of Associação Fraunhofer Portugal Research (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulation").
- Place of work: Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS, Lisbon, Portugal, under the scientific supervision of PhD Ricardo Santos.
- Scholarship's Duration and Regime: The scholarship shall have a duration of 6 months, eventually renewable for equal periods or until the term of the project, with an estimated starting date in November 2026, according to article 13 of the Regulation and article 3 of the Statute, under an exclusivity regime, except for the exceptions expressly set out in nos. 3 and 4 of Article 5 of the referred Statute. (https://www.fraunhofer.pt/content/dam/portugal/fhp/careers/grants/Regulamento_Bolsas_Fraunhofer_Portugal_Research_2021.pdf)
- Amount of the monthly maintenance allowance: The amount of the scholarship corresponds to €1090,98 as per the table of amounts of the scholarships of Associação Fraunhofer Portugal Research. (https://www.fraunhofer.pt/content/dam/portugal/fhp/careers/grants/Types of Research Grants at Associação Fraunhofer Portugal Research.pdf). The payment of the scholarship shall be made on a monthly basis, by wire transfer.
- Selection Procedures: The selection procedures to be used shall be made based on the following parameters:
A. Actual average in the master's degree.
B. Alignment of academic choices with the work to perform.
C. Curriculum evaluation in accordance with the objectives of the project.
The selection parameters shall be given the following percentage weighting: 0,2 x A + 0,3 x B + 0,5 x C.
- Composition of the selection panel:
- Luís Filipe Caeiro Margalho Guerra Rosado (PhD; Chairman).
- Ricardo Bruno Barbeiro dos Santos (PhD; Permanent Member).
- Duarte Miguel dos Santos Nunes Folgado (PhD; Permanent Member).
- Publication/notification of the results: The final evaluation results shall be published in a list ordered by the final score and posted in a visible and public place at Fraunhofer Portugal. All candidates have 10 days to comment. The approved applicant shall be notified by email.
- Opening period of the call: The call is open from 30-09-2026 to 13-10-2026.
- Documents and deadlines for application: Applications must be submitted by means of an application email with the following documents: Curriculum Vitae, required qualifications' certificate and other evidencing documents deemed relevant.
Applications should be delivered during the call's opening period, sent by email with acknowledgment receipt to jobs@fraunhofer.pt, in pdf format, by 11:59 p.m. on October 13th, 2026.