Josh’s Water Jobs – 1 Research Grant - NEWater-Adsorption-BOLS-FEUP-26-30

Offer Description

1 Research Grant Announcement (M/F)

A call is open for the award of a Research Fellowship within the scope of the NEWater project, reference Water4All/0002/2022, entitled Natural based and low Energy consumption unconventional solutions for the management of WATER sources, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), I.P., through national funds, under the European Water4All Partnership, under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biologic Engineering, Bioengineering or related areas

Admission requirements: Candidates who cumulatively meet the following two requirements may apply for this grant:

Requirement 1:

– Be a student enrolled in a doctoral program in the area of Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biologic Engineering, Bioengineering or related areas, a requirement to be duly proven at the time of signing the contract.

– Holder of an academic degree enrolled in a non-academic degree course integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution, developed in association or cooperation with one or more R&D units, a requirement to be duly proven at the time of signing the contract.

Note: In the case of masters who are enrolled in non-academic degree courses, the scholarship can only be awarded to those who do not exceed, with this scholarship contract, including possible renewals, an accumulated period of two years in that typology of the scholarship, followed or interpolated.

and

Requirement 2:

– Hold a master’s degree in in Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biologic Engineering, Bioengineering or related field.

If the degree has been awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of the Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of august 16th, and any formalities established there must be fulfilled until the time of signing the contract.

Activity Outline: Within the NEWater project, a nano-structured activated hydrochar was developed for the recovery of ammonium and phosphate from the reverse osmosis concentrate generated during the project. The objective is to carry out adsorption experiments to evaluate the performance of this material for nutrient recovery from reverse osmosis concentrates, investigating the effect of different operating conditions.

Legislation and regulations: Law Nº. 40/2004, of 18th August, in its current wording (Statutes of Scientific Research Fellow) and Regulation of Research Grants of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in force and Regulation of Research Grants of University of Porto, in force.

Workplace: The work will be developed at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), under the scientific supervision of Doctor Vítor Jorge Pais Vilar and Doctor Catarina da Rocha Cruzeiro.

Grant duration: Initial duration of six months, with the predicted starting date in October 2026, on an exclusive basis eventually renewable but never exceeding the project duration.

If it is not possible to ensure the duration of six months estimated in the previous paragraph, this duration will be adjusted according to the end date of the project, and provided that the minimum duration of 3 consecutive months is guaranteed, in accordance with paragraph 3 of article 6 of the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P.

The eventual renewal of the scholarship will be carried out as determined in article 6 of the Research Grants Regulation of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P.

Stipend: The monthly amount of the grant varies between 1.359,64 euros, according to the table of values of the grants awarded directly by FCT, I.P. in Portugal, and 1.399,64 euros, depending on the profile and previous experience of the candidate in the project area.

If the amount to be paid exceeds 1.359,64 euros, the remaining amount will be provided by FEUP funds, not coming from the funding. The payment will be made by bank transfer.

Selection procedure:

The curriculum of the candidates (60%) will be evaluated based on the merit of the candidate and the following factors will be weighted:

a) Academic qualifications: Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biological Engineering or Bioengineering – 5 points; Master’s degree in related fields – 2 points; Master’s degree in other fields – 0 points.

b) Academic grade in the fields specified in the admission requirements: 17/20 or above – 5 points; 16/20 – 4 points; 15/20 – 3 points; 14/20 – 2 points; below 14/20 – 0 points.

c) Publications: in the project’s research area – up to 5 points; in fields related to the project – up to 2 points; outside the project’s research area – 0 points.

d) Research experience: in the project’s research area – up to 5 points; in fields related to the project – up to 2 points; outside the project’s research area – 0 points.

Candidates will be assessed on a scale of 1 to 20 points. Only candidates obtaining a minimum score of 12 points in the curriculum evaluation will be invited to the interview, which accounts for 40% of the final evaluation. The interview will address topics related to the proposed work plan, as well as the candidate’s experience and curriculum vitae.

If none of the candidates achieves a final score of at least 15 points, the research fellowship will not be awarded.

Selection Jury:

President: Doctor Vítor Jorge Pais Vilar

Effective member: Doctor Catarina da Rocha Cruzeiro

Effective member: Doctor Ana Isabel de Emílio Gomes

Supplementary member: Doctor Tânia Filomena Castro Valente Silva

Supplementary member: Doctor Maria Francisca da Costa Moreira

Advertisement of final decision: The results of the evaluation will be released to the candidates

by email to the email address indicated in the application process.

Deadline for applications and form of presentation of the applications:

The call is open from 11/09/2026 to 24/09/2026 (until 23h59m, GMT time).

Applications must be submitted via the online application system available at https://www.apply.up.pt (Ref. NEWater-Adsorption-BOLS-FEUP-26-30) by 24/09/2026 , accompanied by the following documents: Motivation letter, Copy of certificates evidencing academic degree (referring the classification of each separated or integrated degree), detailed Curriculum Vitae; Declaration on honor that the candidate fulfills the requirement contained in article 6 of the Regulation for Research Grants of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. (model below, for student enrolled in a non-academic degree course integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution, developed in association or cooperation with one or more R&D units) and other documents considered relevant by the applicant.

In order to assure that all documents can be read, the preferred saving format is the Portable Document Format (.pdf).

Declaration on honour

I, (identification of the scholarship holder), holder of the Citizen Card / Visa / Residence Permit no. valid until _____, declare under honour, to be in the conditions of no. 5 of article 6º of the Research Grants from FCT, IP – Regulation No. 950/2019, of 16 December.

Oporto, __/__/__

Signature

_________________

(scholarship holder)

Where to apply

E-mail: recursoshumanos@fe.up.pt

Website: https://www.apply.up.pt

Skills/Qualifications

Full announcement also available at FEUP – FEUP| 1 Bolsa de investigação |NEWater-Adsorption-BOLS-FEUP-26-30