Research Grant for Graduates with Master's Degree – EV-ColoScan Project

Offer Description

Reference: BI_EV-ColoScan_2026

A call for applications is now open for the attribution of 1 research grant for graduates with master's degree within the scope of the Project "EV-ColoScan: Transparent electrospun nanofiber membranes for real-time optical monitoring and miRNA profiling of colorectal cancer-derived extracellular vesicles", reference 2024.17032.PEX, funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia in its state budget component - OE, under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Bioengineering, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology

Recipient category: Masters who, on the date of their hiring, prove their enrollment in a non-academic degree course. Non-conferring degrees courses: They may also be intended for I&D activities by graduates or masters enrolled in non-academic degree courses.

Where to apply

E-mail: info@i3bs.uminho.pt

Requirements

• Research Field: Technology » Biotechnology
• Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Workplan and objectives to be achieved:

The work plan will focus on the development and validation of transparent electrospun nanofibrous membranes for extracellular vesicle capture. Specifically:

• Preparation and characterization of electrospun nanofibrous membranes;
• Surface biofunctionalization for selective extracellular vesicle capture;
• Cell culture and evaluation of extracellular vesicle capture using fluorescence and complementary analytical techniques;
• Organization and analysis of experimental data and participation in scientific reports and dissemination activities.

With the execution of the work plan, the fellowship holder should acquire and consolidate skills in electrospinning, nanofibrous biomaterials, surface biofunctionalization, extracellular vesicle-based biosensing, cell culture and molecular characterization techniques.

Fellowship duration: The grant will take place for a period of 6 months, with a provisional starting date on November 2026. The fellowship grant may eventually be renewed up to the maximum limit allowed by the regulations and for the duration of the project.

(Research fellowships for graduates or masters enrolled in courses that do not award an academic degree can be renewed for additional periods until they reach 1 year; if the fellowship holder had previously benefited of a similar fellowship, the total duration of the fellowships cannot exceed an accumulated period of 2 years, consecutive or interpolated.)

Specific Requirements

Application deadline and submission: The call for applications is open from 28/09/2026 to 09/10/2026 the date of publication on the Euraxess portal.

Applications must be sent by email to info@i3bs.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 honour 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 honour 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) motivation letter;

d) statement proving that meets the conditions for the grant typology, according to the application requirements (Annex 2);

e) other documents important to the evaluation process (if applicable).

• Languages: ENGLISH
• Level: Good
• Research Field: Technology » Biotechnology

Additional Information

Benefits

Amount of the research grant: The amount of the grant corresponds to 1369,54 euros/per 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 contractualization 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.

Eligibility criteria

Candidate eligibility requirements:

1. MSc in Biotechnology, Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Biological Engineering, Materials Engineering or related areas;
2. Haven't been benefiting of research fellowships for applicants enrolled in non-academic degree courses for an accumulated period of 2 years;
3. Knowledge and/or previous research experience in one or more of the following topics will be positively considered:
   • Electrospinning and development of electrospun nanofibrous membranes;
   • Development and characterization of optically transparent materials and/or nanofibrous platforms for biomedical applications;
   • Surface modification, biofunctionalization and immobilization of biomolecules, including antibodies or other affinity ligands;
   • Isolation, capture and/or characterization of extracellular vesicles;
   • Mammalian cell culture, particularly tumour cell models;
   • Fluorescence microscopy and physicochemical characterization techniques applied to biomaterials;
   • Molecular biology techniques, including RNA extraction and RT-qPCR;
   • Good command of written and spoken English.

Requirement for granting the fellowship:

The applicants may apply without prior registration in the course for which the fellowship is open. The requirement to enrol 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 enrolment in a degree course or non-academic degree course will be contracted, according to the type of the fellowship, 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

Selection process

Selection panel:

President: Rui Luís Gonçalves dos Reis, Full Professor of I3Bs

2nd effective member: Doctor Joaquim Miguel Antunes Correia de Oliveira, Principal Researcher with Habilitation of I3Bs

1st substitute member: Doctor Joana Catarina Silva Correia de Oliveira, Assistant Researcher of I3Bs.

2nd substitute member: Doctor Subhas Chandra Kundu, Coordinating Researcher of I3Bs.

The first effective member will substitute the President of the selection panel in case of impediment, being nominated 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 (CM), following evaluation criteria, valued on a scale of 1 to 5 values, and will include an interview for the first 3 classified candidates who obtain a minimum classification of 3,5 in the CM:

Candidate's Merit (CM) – 60%:

• A1. Academic path (considering the classifications of academic degrees), with a weighting of 40%;
• A2. Personal curriculum (considering professional and scientific background), with a weighting of 40%
• A3. Motivation letter, with a weighting of 20%.

The classification of the CM will be achieved through the following formula:

CM=(A1*0,4)+(A2*0,4)+(A3*0,2)

Interview (INT) – 40%:

• B1. Interpersonal skills, with a weighting of 30%
• B2. Knowledge demonstrated in the scientific area(s) under consideration, with a weighting of 40%
• B3. Motivation for research work, with a weighting of 20%
• B4. Linguistic competences, with a weighting of 10%

Interview classification (INT) will be achieved through the following formula:

INT=(B1*0,3)+(B2*0,4)+(B3*0,2)+ (B4*0,1)

The Final Classification (FC) of the candidate will be achieved through the following formula:

FC=(CM*0,6)+(INT*0,4)

Only candidates with FC equal to or greater than 4 will be graded.

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.

Host/Contracting institution and scientific supervision: The workplan will be carried out in the 3B's Research Group, I3Bs – Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics of University of Minho, located in the Avepark – Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, located in Barco – Guimarães, under the scientific supervision of Doctor Marta R. Casanova and Doctor J. Miguel Oliveira.

Additional comments

Form of publication/notification of results: The results of the evaluation are published in a single list in alphabetical order, 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.

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.

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 enrolment 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.

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.

Website for additional job details: https://3bs.uminho.pt/positions

Work Location(s)

• Number of offers available: 1
• Company/Institute: 3Bs- Research Group
• Country: Portugal

Contact

• City: guimaraes
• Website: https://3bs.uminho.pt/
• Postal Code: 4710-057
• E-Mail: info@i3bs.uminho.pt