Job Information
Organisation/Company: University of Aveiro
Department: Civil Engineering Department
Research Field: Engineering » Civil engineering; Engineering » Mechanical engineering; Engineering » Electrical engineering; Other
Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)
Positions: PhD Positions
Application Deadline: 5 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon)
Country: Portugal
Type of Contract: Temporary
Job Status: Full-time
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
A tender is hereby opened for the award of 1 Research Grant(s) (RG) in the scope of R&D projects Artificial Intelligence and Drones for Buildings Characterisation, 2024.17943.PEX under the following conditions:
- Scientific Area: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrotechnical Engineering or other related areas.
- Funding Source: funded by national funds through the FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under project/grant 2024.17943.PEX)
- Admission Requirements:
3.1. 2. Students enrolled in doctoral programme. 2
3.2. 1. Study Area: Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrotechnical Engineering or other related areas - Other Requirements:
No additional requirements. - Eligibility: Applicants are eligible if they comply with paragraph a) of no.1 of article 2, of the Research Fellow Statute as amended by Decree-Law no. 123/2019, of August 28th, as well as nos. 1 and 2 of article 6 of the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology.
- Work plan: The AID4Buildings project aims to improve knowledge of Portugal’s building stock, where the currently available data are scarce, outdated, and too aggregated to support detailed risk or energy-efficiency analyses. It proposes the development of a prototype system that combines drones, building-footprint data, and artificial intelligence to collect and analyze building information at large scale. Using visible, ultraviolet, and infrared imagery, the system will identify important attributes such as construction materials, roof type, structural characteristics, and thermal performance. An open database containing detailed structural and thermal information for more than 2,000 buildings will be created to train and validate the models. The platform will be tested in Lisbon to support multi-hazard risk assessment, identify energy-retrofitting priorities, and provide better information for planners and public authorities.
Accordingly, the work plan includes:
1) Verification of the quality of the database of building images, and application of eventual corrections.
2) Testing of different algorithms for the automatic identification of building attributes from building images.
3) Application of the calibrated algorithms to Aveiro and Lisbon.
4) Further development and adaptation of the open-source tool RUBIC-AI to the Portuguese context. - Applicable legislation and regulations: Statute of Scientific Research Grant Holder, as amended by Decree-Law no. 123/2019, of August 28th; Regulation no. 950/2019, of November 29th, published in Diário da República, no. 241, Series II, of December 16th (FCT, I.P. Research Grants Regulation); Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of August 16th (Legal regime for recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of higher education awarded by foreign higher education institutions).
- Workplace: The work will be carried out at Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Aveiro, under the scientific supervision of Professor/Doctor Vitor Silva.
- Duration of the grant(s): The grant duration will be 6 months, with an expected start date for December 2026, with the possibility of renewal up to the maximum limit of approved funding. Under no circumstances shall it exceed the limits defined in nos. 3, 4 and 5 of article 6, of Regulation no. 950/2019, of November 29th, published in Diário da República, no. 241, Series II, of December 16th (Research Grants Regulation of FCT, I.P.).
- Amount of monthly maintenance allowance: The amount of the grant corresponds to €1.090.98, according to the table of monthly maintenance allowance amounts set out in Annex I of Regulation no. 950/2019, subject to any updates that may be applicable, under the terms of no. 2 of article 18 of Regulation no. 950/2019, of November 29th, published in Diário da República, no. 241, Series II, of December 16th (Research Grants Regulation of FCT, I.P.). The fellow may also be reimbursed for the amount corresponding to the Voluntary Social Security, in case of adherence to this plan.
- Selection methods: The selection methods to be used will be the following: Academic background (50%); Experience in Data Collection (30%); Motivation letter (20%), with the respective value of 50%, 30% and 20%.
- Composition of the Selection Jury: President: Associate Professor Vitor Silva of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Aveiro; Full members: Associate Professor Hugo Rodrigues of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Aveiro, and Assistant Researcher António José Pereira de Figueiredo of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Aveiro; Alternate members: Associate Professor with Habilitation Nuno Filipe Ferreira Soares Borges Lopes of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Aveiro, and Assistant Professor Inês Osório de Castro Meireles of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Aveiro.
- Deadline for applications (not be less than 10 working days) and how to submit applications: The call is open from 22-10-2026 to 05-11-2026, and only applications submitted within the deadline will be admitted.
Applications must be formalized by sending a letter of application accompanied by the following documentos: degree certificate(s), Curriculum Vitae, declaration of honor/statement of integrity, application form, motivation letter, and any other supporting documents considered relevant. They shall also indicate the e-mail address to which by such indication they accept to be notified for all purposes within this procedure.
Applications should be sent by e-mail to vitor.s@ua.pt. - Form of publication/notification of results: The final results of the evaluation will be published through an ordered list, ranked by the final scores posted on the University's website, within 90 working days after the final date of submission of the application, and the successful candidate will be notified by email. For the purposes of prior hearing of interested parties, the deadline of 10 working days is set, as provided for in the Code of Administrative Procedure. At the end of the period for hearing the interested parties, and in the absence of any response from them, the list of candidates will become final. Candidates may lodge a complaint against the final decision within 15 working days, or appeal to the maximum executive body of the funding entity within 30 working days after notification of the final decision, in accordance with the provisions of article 12 of the Research Grants Regulation of the Foundation for Science and Technology.
- Tender duration: The final ranking list of candidates will be valid until 31-12-2026 for the purpose of constituting a reserve list for selection.
University of Aveiro 16-10-2026
Associate Professor Vitor Silva
Where to apply
E-mail: vitor.s@ua.pt
Requirements
Research Field: Engineering » Civil engineering
Education Level: Bachelor Degree or equivalent
Research Field: Engineering » Mechanical engineering
Education Level: Bachelor Degree or equivalent
Research Field: Engineering » Electrical engineering
Education Level: Bachelor Degree or equivalent
Research Field: Other
Education Level: Bachelor Degree or equivalent
Work Location(s)
Number of offers available: 1
Company/Institute: Universidade de Aveiro - Civil Engineering Department
Country: Portugal
State/Province: Aveiro
City: Aveiro
Postal Code: 3830-193
Street: Campus Universitário de Santiago
Contact
State/Province: Aveiro
City: Aveiro
Website: https://www.ua.pt/pt/decivil
Street: Campus Universitário de Santiago
Postal Code: 3830-193
E-Mail: vitor.s@ua.pt