A call for applications is now open for the attribution of (1) a Research Grant for a graduate (BI)  within the scope of the research activities of the I&D project “FluidicOnChip: An advanced microfluidic organ-on-a-chip system to monitor and predict therapeutic effects of nanoparticles”, reference 2022.06207.PTDC, at the Center for Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability (MEtRICs) at the University of Minho, funded by national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. (FCT), in the Scientific Research and Technological Development Projects in All Scientific Domains – IC&DT2020 program, under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Mechanical Engineering or Biomedical Engineering

Recipient category: Students with a master degree enrolled in a non-academic degree or enrolled in a doctorate degree in the areas or areas related to those requested.

Requirement for granting the scholarship:

• 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-conferring degree course will be contracted, according to the type of the fellowship, issued by the academic services of the Higher Education Institution, indicating, respectively, the academic year or its duration (star and term).
• Enrolment in non-certified courses (without curricular units) will not be considered as proof of enrolment.

Candidates profile:

1. The candidates must have, at the time of application, a Master's degree in Mechanical or Biomedical Engineering. In the contracting phase, the candidate must present Proof of academic qualifications completed by the application deadline, including those resulting from academic degree recognition processes;
2. Candidates enrolled in a non-degree-granting course: Candidates who exceed, with the conclusion of the scholarship contract in question, including the renewals provided for in the notice, an accumulated period of two years in this type of scholarship cannot benefit from the competitive scholarship, followed or interpolated;
3. Experience demonstrated in several domains: numerical simulation of microfluidic systems, experimental fluid mechanics and microscopy visualization, PDMS surface modification, fabrication of PDMS devices, and wettability studies. Proficient in Portuguese and English. Strong teamwork skills. Motivated.

Applicants eligibility: Applicants must comply with the eligibility conditions laid down in article 9 of the Research Grants Regulation of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (2019).

Work plan and objectives: 

The work plan for this scholarship includes:

- Literature review and the preparation of a critical knowledge document in the area of organ-on-chips and numerical simulation;

- Numerical optimization and fabrication of microfluidic platforms for organ-on-chip studies;

- Experimental studies on wettability and organ-on-chips within the framework of the FCT project "FluidicOnChip";

- Writing of scientific and technical documentation.

Priority will be given to candidates with experience in numerical simulation of microfluidic systems, experimental fluid mechanics and microscopy visualization, PDMS surface modification, fabrication of PDMS devices, and wettability studies.

Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Fellowship Holder Statutes, approved by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18, in its current version published by Decree-Law no. 123/2019 of august 28; Regulation of Scientific Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in “Diário da República”, 2nd serie, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021 and Regulation of Research Studentships and Fellowships (RBI) of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. - in force.

Host/Contracting institution and scientific supervision: The workplan will be carried out in the research center MEtRICs of Engineering School of the University of Minho, located in the Azurém Campus, under the scientific supervision of the Professor Dr. Rui Alberto Madeira Macedo de Lima.

Fellowship duration: The scholarship lasts for 6 months, starting in January of 2025. The scholarship may eventually be renewed without exceeding the project completion date.

Amount of the research grant: The value stipend (Monthly Maintenance Allowance) is 1259,64  Euros per month, in accordance with the stipends values published by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT I.P.) in the country (Annex I – Monthly Stipends Values for the maintenance allowances of the FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships) and Annex II of the Regulation of Scientific Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in “Diário da República”, 2nd serie, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021, according to the applicable regulation. Payment is made on the 23st of each month, through bank transfer to the Bank Identification Number of the fellow identified in the contractualization process.

Other benefits: Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Security, corresponding to the 1st level of the contributory base (for scholarships with a duration equal to or greater than 6 months) 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. 

Composition of the Selection Jury: The jury will be chaired by Professor Doctor Graça Maria Henriques Minas (Dep. Electronic Engineering at the University of Minho) and will also be composed of the effective members, Doctor Susana Oliveira Catarino (Assistant Researcher at the Center for Microelectromechanical Systems of the University of Minho) and Doctor Vera Luísa Carreira Faustino (Junior Researcher at Center for Microelectromechanical Systems of the University of Minho. The substitutes members are Professor Doctor Rui Alberto Madeira Macedo de Lima (Dep. Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minho) and Dr. Diana Margarida Domingues de Pinho (Junior Researcher at Center for Microelectromechanical Systems of the University of Minho).

In case of impediment of the President of the Jury, he will be replaced by the first effective member, and the substitute member will be appointed to replace the effective member.

Criteria and procedures for applications assessment and selection: The applications assessment will focus on the candidate's Merit, following evaluation criteria, valued on a scale of 0 to 20 values:

Candidate Merit - MC (100%):

a) Academic path (PA): weighted average of academic degree classifications with a weighting of 40%

b) Personal Curriculum Vitae (CV): which reflects demonstrated experience numerical simulation of microfluidic systems, experimental fluid mechanics and microscopy visualization, PDMS surface modification, fabrication of PDMS devices, and wettability studies, with a weighting of 40%

c) Motivation Letter (ML) about the scientific experience in the area of ​​this competition, with a weighting of 20%.

The candidate's final classification will be the weighted average of the quantitative classifications of the three components listed and translated by the formula:

Final Classification (MC) = (0.4×PA) + (0.4×CV) + (0.2×ML)

In the event that none of the candidates meet the appropriate profile to carry out the work plan, the Jury reserves the right to close this research grant without any recruitment.

The academic degrees and diplomas documents, or their respective recognition when awarded by foreign higher education institutions are not mandatory in the application phase, being replaced by a declaration of honour of the candidate with the contents of academic results. The documents of academic qualification or respective recognition will be required in the contracting phase and must attest facts that occurred on a date prior to the application. In situations of divergence between the information contained in the declaration and the documentation submitted for contracting the grant, only the information contained in the latter will be consider. If the documents proving the ownership of the academic degree and diploma, or the respective recognition under the terms of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16, do not correspond to the classifications awarded in the evaluation of the academic path, which can change the candidate's ranking, the fellowship won’t be contracted.

Note: Candidates 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 a statement under the terms indicated in the previous point. Candidates who do not comply with one of these provisions, the jury will assign a classification of “0” in the grade of the degree and/or master's course. Candidates will be evaluated in the remaining parameters.

Disclosure of results: The provisional results of applications, based in the selection panel minutes, will be send to the applicants by email until 90 working days from the applications deadline. If case of unfavourable results, the candidates have a period of 10 working days to comment, if desired, in a prior hearing to interested parties, pursuant to articles 121 and 122 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (DL no. 4 / 2015 of January 7th).

(Exemption from the hearing of interested parties must be substantiated under the terms of article 124 of the CPA)

Complaint and appeal procedures: The final results of the evaluation will be published through an ordered list, posted in a visible and public place of the host unit, as well as by email to all applicants, enclosing for that purpose, the minutes of the jury deliberations.

The selected candidate must inform its willingness to accept the grant, in writing. In case of rejection, the fellowship will be awarded to the next candidate in the ordered list of applicants.

The final decision can be contested within 15 working days, by sending to the President of the jury the corresponding claim. Interested parties may also file an optional hierarchical appeal, addressed to Mrs. Pro-Rector for Research and Projects, Professor Dra. Sandra Paiva.

Application deadline and form of submission of applications: The tender is open from 2024/12/02 a 2024/12/12.

Applications must be formalized, obligatorily, by sending an application letter accompanied by the following documents: curriculum vitae; certificate of qualifications or declaration of the candidate; motivation letter; declaration proving that you meet the conditions for the type of grant, in accordance with the application requirements; other documents relevant to the evaluation process.

Applications must be sent by email to: rl@dem.uminho.pt , indicating the tender reference (FluidicOnChip /04/2024) in Subject. Applications sent by other means will not be accepted.

The lack of any of the documents required in the application, or sending/delivering it to a location other than the one indicated above, may lead to its exclusion.

Fellowship contractualization: The fellowship will be attributed by signing a fellowship contract between the University of Minho and the fellow, accordingly with the contract minute (annex IV of the Regulation of Research Fellowships of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in Diário da República, 2nd Série, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021, as indicated in 2.4 of the FCT document: “Rules for Granting and Management of Grants within the scope of R&D projects, including infrastructure projects, the multi-annual financing program for R&D units and other FCT financing instruments (Version 2021)”.

The contract may only be concluded after all the documentation required is collected, which must take place within a maximum period of 6 months [including evidences of the academic degrees or diplomas and enrolment in degree courses or non-conferring courses, depending on the type of scholarship].

Once all the documentation has been received, the contracting entity has a period of 60 working days to conclude the scholarship contract. Once received, the fellow must return the contract duly signed within 15 working days.

The activities under the fellowship contract can only began after proper authorization by the contracting entity. 

Term and cancellation of fellowship contracts: Without prejudice to the other causes provided the fellowship regulations (FCT and UMinho) and in the Statute of the Research Fellow, the fellowship ends with the completion of the work plan, as well as with the expiration date for which it was granted or renewed.

At the end of the fellowship, the grantee is obliged to present a Final Report of the work carried out, in accordance with the objectives and evaluation criteria defined with the scientific advisor, within 30 days after the end of the scholarship.

The final report must be prepared in accordance with Annex I of the Scientific Research Fellowships Regulation of the University of Minho (RBIC), published in Diário da República, 2nd Série, no. 119, through dispatch no. 6524/2020 of 22-06-2020, ratified by ratification declaration no. 447/2021 of 22-06-2021.