Josh’s Water Jobs – Research Grant - RG_17_DEM_TEMA_2026

Offer Description

Reference: RG_17_DEM_TEMA_2026_I-ReTiS D&Op

A tender is hereby opened for the award of one Research Grant(s) (RG) under I-ReTiS-Leaks D&Op – Towards Integrated Real-Time and Smart Water Leak Detection and Operation, CENTRO2030-FEDER-01177300,, (reference 17304) of TEMA – Center for Mechanical Technology and Automation, Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Aveiro, under the following conditions:

1. Scientific Area: Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematics and applications, and related fields.

2. Financing Source: Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), CENTRO 2030 – FEDER – 01177300 através do Apoio SIID – I&D Empresarial.

3. Admission Requirements:

3.1. 4. Masters enrolled in courses that do not confer academic degree integrated in the educational project of the University of Aveiro;

3.2. 2. Master’s Degree in: Mechanical Engineering, Sustainable Energy Systems, Computer Engineering, Mathematics or related fields.

The proof of enrolment must be made available until the contract is awarded, and the candidate may attach a declaration of honor to confirm that they meet the requirements for enrolment in an integrated master’s degree, master’s or doctoral program or in a course that does not confer an academic degree.

If the qualification has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution it must be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, under the terms of the provisions of article 25 of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of August 16th, which approves the legal regime of recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of Higher Education, attributed by foreign higher education institutions, and of paragraph e) of no. 2 of article 4 of Decree-Law no. 60/2018, of August 3rd, and any formalities established therein must be fulfilled by the date of the hiring act.

4. Other Requirements:

Minimum Master’s degree completion average of 12 points; advanced knowledge of English, advanced knowledge of Portuguese and holders of a scientific and professional curriculum that reveals a profile suitable for the activity to be developed.

5. Eligibility: Applicants are eligible if they comply with paragraph a) of no.1 of article 2, of the Research Fellow Statute in the wording given by Decree-Law no. 123/2019, of August 28th, and also the provisions of article 9 of the Scientific Research Grant Regulations of the University of Aveiro.

6. Work plan: Currently, water distribution system (WDS) companies urgently require alternative and accurate approaches to detect leaks in a timely manner in order to reduce water losses and minimise energy, environmental and economic consequences. Hardware solutions, such as acoustic, visual/radar or magnetic, are very expensive and location-dependent. However, indirect methods using digital twins and data analysis could detect water leaks by inference from internal pipe parameters, cost-effectively and in real time. However, their effectiveness depends on their accuracy. This research will develop a new high-precision digital twin for WDS based on a self-calibrated hydraulic model with a machine learning correction model and, together with advanced data analytics, will detect and locate leaks in real time. This work brings together the hydraulic engineering knowledge acquired over the last few decades with physics-informed neural networks to achieve the accuracy needed to detect leaks and thus save water and energy. It will also work with the EPANET simulator and calibrate hydraulic models. A water supply company is involved for real-time validation purposes.

7. Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Fellow Statute, as amended by Decree-Law No. 123/2019, of August 28th; Scientific Research Grant Regulation of the University of Aveiro, Regulation No. 292/2020, published in Diário da República No. 61, Series II, of March 26th; Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16th (Legal regime of recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of higher education awarded by foreign higher education institutions).

8. Workplace: The work will be carried out at TEMA – Center for Mechanical Technology and Automation, Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Aveiro, under the scientific supervision of Professor Doctor António Gil Andrade Campos.

9. Duration of the grant(s): The grant duration will be 6 months, starting in May of 2026, and may be renewed for additional periods of 6 months, up to the maximum limit of approved funding. Under no circumstances shall it exceed the limits defined in nos. 5 and 6 of article 9, of Regulation no. 292/2020, of February 28th, published in Diário da República, no. 61, Series II, of March 26th (Scientific Research Grant Regulation of the University of Aveiro).

10. Amount of monthly maintenance allowance: The amount of the grant corresponds to €1.309,64), according to the table of values of monthly maintenance allowances, set out in Appendix III of the Scientific Research Grant Regulation of the University of Aveiro, subject to any updates that may occur and are applicable. The fellow may also be reimbursed for the amount corresponding to the Voluntary Social Security, in case of adherence to this plan.

11. Selection methods: The selection methods to be used will be the following: Curriculum assessment, where the following knowledge will be evaluated: (1) Basic academic qualifications and respective final grade point average (40%); (2) Proven knowledge in the areas of hydraulic water supply systems, software development for engineering and optimisation applications, and machine learning methods, for one of the scholarships (30%); (3) Experience in research activities within the scientific area of the application (30%), with the respective value of 40%, 30% and 30%, respectively. If necessary, interviews will be conducted to assess the merits of the candidates. Candidates with grades below 12 and without any knowledge in the scientific area of the application will be excluded from the competition.

12. Composition of the Selection Jury: The selection panel will be composed of the Chair, Dr António Gil d’Orey de Andrade-Campos, Full Professor; Members: Dr Ana Luísa Reis, Researcher; Dr Pedro André Dias Prates, Assistant Professor; and Alternate Members: Dr João Alexandre Dias de Oliveira, Assistant Professor; and Dr Robertt Angelo Fontes Valente, Associate Professor.

13. Deadline for applications and how to submit applications: The call is open from 30-03-2026 to 13-04-2026, and only applications submitted within the deadline will be admitted.

Applications must be formalized by sending a letter of application accompanied by the following documents: Curriculum Vitae, qualifications certificate, declaration of honour and other supporting documents deemed relevant to meet the requirements. 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. dem.bolsas@ua.pt, until the end of the established deadline, indicating the reference “RG_17_DEM_TEMA_2026_I-ReTiS D&Op” in the subject. Additionally, candidates are requested to send the scanned documents to the President of the Jury, Professor Doctor António Gil Andrade Campos, email address gilac@ua.pt.

14. Form of publication/notification of results: The results of the evaluation shall be made public no later than 60 working days after the closing date for submission of applications and shall be notified to the applicants. The candidates are informed, in a prior hearing, under the terms established in the Code of Administrative Procedure, of the probable meaning of the final decision, and may, within 10 working days of this notification, express their opinion on this decision. The final results may be appealed to the Rector, to be submitted within 10 working days from the respective notification.

15. Tender duration: The final ranking list of candidates will be valid until 31-07-2026 for the purpose of constituting a reserve list for selection.

The models of the grant contract and of the final report to be prepared by the grant holder and the supervisor are available at Research fellows – sgrh – Universidade de Aveiro (ua.pt).