Call for applications |Doctoral Research Fellowships 2021

Call notice

Euraxess notice

Minutes no. 1 – Definition of the criteria

Minutes no. 2 – Application of the criteria

Minutes no. 3 – Interview

Minutes no. 4 – Minutes of the hearing of applicants

The University of Coimbra (UC) invites applications for 1 (one) research fellowship, hereinafter “Doctorate Research Fellowship”, in the field of Contemporary Studies, in accordance with FCT Research Fellowship Regulations (RBI) and the Research Fellowship Holder Statute (EBI).

The fellowships will be funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the Protocol of Cooperation for the Financing of the Multiannual Plan for Research Fellowships for Doctoral Candidates concluded between FCT and the R&D Unit Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies – CEIS20 of the University of Coimbra, UIDP/00460/2020 .

1. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

The competition is open from 11 November 2021 and 23:59 (Lisbon time) of 30 November 2021.

Applications and the supporting documents required by this Notice Call must be submitted by e-mail to direcao.ceis20@uc.pt.

Each candidate may submit only one application, otherwise all applications submitted will be cancelled.

Applications from candidates who provide false information or commit plagiarisms will be disqualified, without prejudice to any other sanctions that may apply.

2. TYPE AND DURATION OF FELLOWSHIPS

Doctoral fellowships are intended to finance research activities leading to a doctoral degree in Portuguese universities.

The research activities leading to the award of the academic doctoral degree will be carried out at the R&D Unit Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies – CEIS20 of the University of Coimbra, which will be the host institution for the fellows, without prejudice to the fact that the work may be carried out in collaboration with more than one institution.

The research activities leading to the award of the academic doctoral degree of the selected fellows must fall within the activity plan and strategy of the R&D Unit Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies – CEIS20 of the University of Coimbra, and must be carried out within the framework of the following Doctoral Programme:

Doctoral Programme in Contemporary Studies, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies – CEIS20 of the University of Coimbra;

The work programme may be carried out in full or in part at a national institution (in-country or mixed fellowship).

Fellowships are normally awarded on an annual basis and are renewable up to a maximum of four years (48 months); no fellowship may be awarded for a period of less than three consecutive months.

In the case of a mixed fellowship, the period of the work plan that takes place in a foreign institution cannot be more than 24 months.

3. FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS

The Doctoral Research Fellowships are aimed at registered candidates who fulfil the conditions for enrolment in the Doctoral Programme, as specified in point 2 of this Call Notice], and who intend to carry out research leading to a doctoral degree at the R&D Unit Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies – CEIS20 of the University of Coimbra, or at host institutions associated thereto.

4. ELIGIBILITY

4.1 Eligibility of candidates

This competition if open to:

• Nationals or citizens of other Member States of the European Union;
• Citizens of third countries;
• Stateless persons;
• Citizens with the status of political refugees.

To be eligible to apply for a Doctoral Research Fellowship, candidates must:

• Hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a scientific field related to Contemporary Studies;
• Be a permanent and habitual resident in Portugal, if the work plan associated with the fellowship is partly carried out in foreign institutions (mixed fellowships), a requirement that applies to both national and foreign citizens.
• Not have received a doctoral fellowship, or doctoral fellowship in industry, directly funded by FCT, regardless of its duration.
• Not hold a doctoral degree

4.2 Eligibility requirements

Under penalty of disqualification, the following documents must be submitted with the application:

• Identity card /citizen card /passport;
• Curriculum vitae of the candidate;
• Certificates of academic qualifications showing the final grade and, if possible, the grades obtained in all the subjects studied, or alternatively a declaration by the candidate that they have obtained a Bachelor's or Master's degree by the closing date for applications;
• Proof of recognition of academic qualifications obtained at foreign universities and proof of the corresponding final grade according to the Portuguese grading scale, or, alternatively, a declaration by the candidate that they have obtained recognition of the foreign qualification equivalent to a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree by the closing date for applications;
• Letter of motivation;
• References (two);
• Application and all supporting documents, including letters of motivation and references, must be in Portuguese or English.
• Work plan

The work plan must be linked to a set of themes and areas of study that make up the scientific culture of the PhD in Contemporary Studies, and in particular to the themes of the four axes of the CEIS20 strategic project:

• Inequalities, Borders and Mobilities;
• Media and Society in the Post-digital Age;
• Democracy, the Present and the Memory of Dictatorship;
• Theory in the Humanities, Arts, Sciences and Social Technologies.

We therefore encourage applications from candidates whose curriculum and motivation can cut across more than one of these interdisciplinary axes. The scientific interests of candidates need not be limited to topics related to Portuguese history and society. Transnational and comparative studies are also encouraged.

With regard to the above eligibility criteria, the following should be noted:

For foreign qualifications, and to guarantee the principle of equality of national and foreign qualifications, these must be recognised and the corresponding final grade converted to the Portuguese grading scale.

Applications for the recognition of foreign degrees and diplomas, and for the conversion of the final grade to the Portuguese grading scale, can be submitted to any public university or to the Directorate General for Higher Education (DGES, only in the case of automatic recognition). We recommend that you consult the DGES portal at the following address: http://www.dges.gov.pt.

All applications for automatic or level recognition submitted to the UC will be exempt from the payment of fees in the case of candidates for (UC) calls for the recruitment of researchers, as well as for the award of research fellowships, who are selected and hired and will be required to obtain the recognition of academic degrees or higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions, as a condition for recruitment, in accordance with Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of 16 August 2018.

Applicants for Level Recognition or Specific Recognition of a Doctorate who are nationals of a Member State of the European Union benefit from a reduction of half of the fees.

Only candidates who have obtained a Bachelor's or Master's degree by the closing date for applications will be considered. If you do not have a degree certificate, we will accept an affidavit from you stating that you will have obtained the qualifications required for the purposes of the competition by the closing date for applications. The award of a fellowship is always subject to the submission of proof of the academic qualifications required for the award of the fellowship.

5. WORK PLANS AND SCIENTIFIC SUPERVISION OF FELLOWSHIPS

Work plan to be developed within the framework of themes that fit into one or more of the four axes of the CEIS20 Strategic Project – (1) Inequalities, Borders and Mobilities, (2) Media and Society in the Post-digital Age, (3) Democracy, the Present and the Memory of Dictatorship, (4) Theory in the Humanities, Arts, Sciences and Social Technologies – under the main supervision of a CEIS20 full researcher to be defined according to the preliminary project of the selected candidates.

6. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BONUSES

6.1 Evaluation criteria

The evaluation will take into account the achievements of the candidate, the work plan and the interview.

Eligible applications will be scored on a scale of 0-20 for each of the following evaluation criteria:

Criterion A – Achievements of the candidate – 40%;

• Sub-criterion A1 – Academic training – 25%;
• Sub-criterion A2 – Professional curriculum – 20%;
• Sub-criterion A3 – Scientific curriculum – 20%;
• Sub-criterion A4 – Letter of motivation – 30%;
• Sub-criterion A5 – References – 5%.

The score for sub-criterion A1 is calculated on the basis of the final grade of the diplomas declared by the candidate in the application form: Bachelor’s degree + Master’s/Integrated Master’s degree; only Bachelor’s degree; or Master’s degree only. The grade to be taken into account is that indicated on the relevant diplomas submitted with the application form.

The grade obtained in sub-criterion A1 results from the simple arithmetic average of the final grade obtained in the Bachelor’s degree and the final grade obtained in the Master's degree, by applying the following formula:

Sub-criterion A1 score = (Bachelor’s final grade + Master’s final grade) /2

Criterion B – Work plan, 30%;

• Sub-criterion B1 – originality and quality of the work plan – 40%;
• Sub-criterion B2 – suitability and relevance of the work plan to the axes of the CEIS20 strategic project – 60%.

Criterion C — Interview – 30%

• Sub-criterion C1 – Communication and verbal expression – 20%;
• Sub-criterion C2 – Knowledge of English and/or other languages relevant to the work /publication of the PhD – 10%;
• Sub-criterion C3 – Motivation and interest – 20%;
• Sub-criterion C4 – Capacity for analysis, critical thinking and articulation of research perspectives – 40%;
• Sub-criterion C5 - Availability/ability to travel as part of the doctoral activities – 10%.

NB: Candidates who do not score at least 14 (fourteen) points for criteria A and B will be eliminated and will not be admitted to the interview (criterion C).

For the purpose of deciding on the award of fellowships, candidates will be ranked according to the weighted average of the scores obtained for each of the three criteria, as represented by the following formula:

Final score = (0.4 x A) + (0.3 x B) + (0.3 x C)

In the event of a tie, the candidates will be ranked in the following order on the basis of the scores awarded for each of the evaluation criteria: criterion B, criterion A, criterion C.

Important information for applicants with diplomas issued by foreign higher education institutions:

Candidates with diplomas issued by foreign higher education institutions may apply and will be assessed on the same criteria as candidates with diplomas issued by Portuguese institutions, provided that they submit proof of the recognition of their academic degrees and the conversion of the final grade to the Portuguese grading scale, in accordance with the legislation in force;

Candidates with recognised foreign qualifications who do not provide proof of the conversion of the final grade to the Portuguese grading scale will be awarded the minimum score (0 points) for Criterion A, sub-criterion A1;

In any case, fellowship contracts with candidates holding diplomas awarded by foreign institutions will only be concluded upon presentation of proof of recognition of the academic degrees and conversion of the final classification as indicated above.

Candidates whose application is evaluated with a final score of less than (14) points will not be eligible for a fellowship.

6.2 Bonuses

Not applicable

7. EVALUATION

The panel of judges that will evaluate the candidates will be made up of the following members:

• José António Oliveira Martins, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies – CEIS20, University of Coimbra (Coordinator), Faculty of Arts, University of Coimbra;
• António Manuel Antunes Rafael Amaro, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies – CEIS20, University of Coimbra, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra;
• Dina Sofia Neves Sebastião, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies – CEIS20, University of Coimbra, Faculty of Arts, University of Coimbra;
• Luís Manuel Duarte Antunes Figueiredo Trindade, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies – CEIS20, University of Coimbra, Faculty of Arts, University of Coimbra;
• Sara Marisa da Graça Dias do Carmo Trindade, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies – CEIS20, University of Coimbra, Faculty of Arts, University of Coimbra.

The evaluation panel will assess the applications in accordance with the evaluation criteria set out in this call for proposals, taking into account the different evaluation criteria.

All panel members, including the coordinator, undertake to respect a number of responsibilities that are essential to the evaluation process, such as the duty of impartiality, the declaration of potential conflicts of interest and confidentiality. Confidentiality will be fully protected and guaranteed at all times during the evaluation process in order to ensure the independence of all opinions.

For each application, the panel will prepare a final evaluation form that presents the arguments leading to the scores given to each of the evaluation criteria and sub-criteria in a clear, coherent and consistent manner.

All panel members are responsible for the minutes of the evaluation panel.

The minutes and their annexes must contain the following information:

• The names and affiliations of all members of the evaluation panel;
• Identification of any excluded applications and the reasons for the exclusion;
• Methodology adopted by the panel for cases considered exceptional;;
• The final evaluation forms for each candidate;
• Provisional grading list and ranking of candidates, in descending order of final ranking, of all applications evaluated by the panel;
• Conflict of interest statement from all panel members;
• Any delegation of votes and powers due to justified absence.

8. NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS

The results of the evaluation will be sent by e-mail to the e-mail address used by the candidate when submitting the application / provided in the application form.

The ranking of candidates will also be published on the CEIS20 website at https://www.uc.pt/iii/ceis20/.

9. DEADLINES AND PROCEDURES FOR PRELIMINARY HEARINGS, COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS

Once the provisional list of results has been notified, the candidates have 10 working days to express their views at a preliminary hearing, in accordance with articles 121 et seq. of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

The final decision will be taken after consideration of the views expressed at the preliminary hearing of interested parties. A complaint may be lodged against the final decision within 15 working days or alternatively an appeal may be lodged within 30 working days, both counting from the date of notification. Candidates who choose to appeal must address their appeal to the member of the FCT Board with delegated powers. Candidates who choose to appeal must address their appeal to the FCT Board of Directors.

10. FELLOWSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Fellowship contracts are signed directly with the FCT.

The following documents must be submitted at the time of the fellowship award, for contract purposes:

a) A copy of your identity card number, tax number and, where applicable, your social security number*;

b) A copy of your degrees/diplomas;

c) A record of the recognition of foreign qualifications and, where applicable, the conversion of the corresponding final grade according to the Portuguese grading scale;

d) Proof of your enrolment in registration in the doctoral programme specified in this notice;

e) Declaration by the supervisor assuming responsibility for the supervision of the work plan in accordance with Article 5-A of the Research Fellowship Statute (draft declaration to be provided by the FCT);

f) Document certifying that the institution where the research activities will be carried out will host the candidate, ensuring the necessary conditions for their proper development, as well as the fulfilment of the obligations set out in Article 13 of the Research Fellowship Statute (draft declaration to be provided by the FCT);

g) Updated document demonstrating compliance with the full-time work requirement (draft declaration to be provided by the FCT);

h) A work plan to be carried out.

The award of the fellowship is subject to:

- fulfilment of the requirements set out in this call for proposals;

- the result of the scientific evaluation;

- no unjustified failure by the fellow to fulfil their obligations under a previous fellowship contract directly or indirectly funded by the FCT;

- the availability of the FCT budget.

Failure to submit any of the documents required to complete the fellowship contract process within six months of the date of notification of the conditional award decision will result in the award lapsing and the process being closed.

11. FINANCING

Payment of the fellowships will commence when the candidate returns the duly signed fellowship agreement, which must be done within a maximum of 15 working days from the date of receipt.

The fellowships awarded under this call for proposals will be financed by the FCT with funds from the State budget and, where eligible, with funds from the European Social Fund to be made available under PORTUGAL2020, namely through the Northern Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), the Central Regional Operational Programme (Centro 2020) and the Alentejo Regional Operational Programme (Alentejo 2020), in accordance with the regulations established for this purpose.

12. COMPONENTS OF THE FELLOWSHIP

Fellows will receive a monthly maintenance allowance according to the table in Annex I of the RBI.

The fellowship may also include other components under the conditions set out in Article 18 of the RBI and for the amounts set out in Annex II.

All fellows are covered by FCT-supported accident insurance for research activities.

All fellows who are not covered by any social security scheme may ensure that they exercise their right to social security by joining the voluntary social security scheme in accordance with the provisions of the Conde of Contributory Schemes of the Social Security System, with FCT bearing the cost of the contributions in accordance with the conditions and time limits set out in Article 10 of the Statute for Research Fellows (EBI).

13. PAYMENT OF FELLOWSHIP COMPONENTS

Payments due to the fellow will be made by bank transfer to the account specified by the fellow. The monthly maintenance allowance will be paid on the first working day of each month.

FCT will pay the registration, enrolment and tuition fees directly to the national institution where the fellow is enrolled or registered for the doctoral studies.

14. CONDITIONS FOR THE RENEWAL OF A FELLOWSHIP

Renewal of the fellowship is always subject to an application being submitted by the fellow within 60 working days of the start of the renewal period, accompanied by the following documents:

a) opinions from the supervisor(s) and the host institution(s) on the monitoring of the work of the fellow and the evaluation of their activities;

b) an updated document certifying compliance with the full-time work requirement;

c) a document certifying the renewal of the enrolment in the cycle of studies leading to the doctoral degree.

15. INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY ABOUT THE FUNDING GRANTED

All R&D activities directly or indirectly financed by the fellowship, i.e. all communications, publications, scientific productions and theses carried out with the support of the fellowship must contain a specific reference to the financial support from the FCT and the European Social Fund, namely through the Northern Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), the Central Regional Operational Programme (Centro 2020) and the Alentejo Regional Operational Programme (Alentejo 2020). To this end, the FCT, MCTES, ESF and EU logos must be included on the documents relating to these actions, in accordance with the graphic standards of each operational programme.

The dissemination of research outputs funded under the RBI must comply with the FCT’s rules on open access to data, publications and other research outputs.

All fellowships, and in particular those supported by Community funding, namely the FSE, may be subject to monitoring and control activities by national and Community bodies, in accordance with the relevant legislation in force, and the fellows are obliged to cooperate and provide any information requested, including the carrying out of surveys and evaluation studies in this field, even after the fellowship has ended.

16. NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL ACCESS POLICY

NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL ACCESS POLICY

The FCT promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, whereby no candidate may be favoured, benefited, disadvantaged, deprived of any right or exempted from any duty on the grounds of descent, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family situation, economic situation, education, social origin or status, genetic heritage, reduced ability to work, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and trade union membership.

17. APPLICABLE LAWS AND LEGISLATION

The call for proposals is governed by this notice, the FCT Research Fellowship Regulations approved by Regulation No. 950/2019, published in the Portuguese Official Journal, 2nd Series, of 16 December 2019, by the Statute for Research Fellowships approved by Law No. 40/2004 of 18 August 2004, as amended, and other applicable national and EU legislation.

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* Applicants may, at their discretion, choose to submit these documents in person to the funding body. The funding body will retain the elements contained therein that are relevant to the validity and performance of the contract, including civil, tax and social security numbers, and the validity of the relevant documents.