Research Grant - Edital BI-ISISE-UMINHO-C644876810-00000019-B13 - #247926

A call is open to award (1) research grant within the R&D Project “R2U Technologies | modular systems”, with reference C644876810-00000019, funded by PRR – Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência – and by the European Funds Next Generation EU, under the incentive system “Agendas para a Inovação Empresarial”, in the following conditions:

RESEARCH FIELD: Civil Engineering

CANDIDATES PROFILE

Mandatory requirements:

In order to apply, the candidates must possess:

• A Master's degree in the field of Civil Engineering;
• 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).

At the time of the respective hiring, candidates must prove that they are enrolled in the following course:

• PhD in the field of Civil Engineering.

Preferential factors:

• Previous experience writing information requirements for BIM models;
• Previous experience in developing information management tools;
• Previous experience in developing BIM tools;
• Domain, professional experience, education, experience with textual and visual programming languages for the development of tasks related to visualization, generation, and analysis of projects on BIM platforms;
• Portuguese language proficiency;
• English language proficiency.

Requirement for granting the fellowship:

• The applicants may apply without prior registration in the course for which the fellowship is open. The requirement to enroll in a degree course will be verified on the date of contracting the fellowship.
• Only fellowships whose selected applicants present a valid proof of enrollment in a 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 (start and term).

APPLICATION / ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The call is open from 09/05/2024 to 23/05/2024 (23:00 – Europe/Lisbon).

Applications must be sent exclusively by e-mail to ***@civil.uminho.pt, with the subject “Edital BI-ISISE-UMINHO-C644876810-00000019-B13”, with the following documents:

• Elements of the National Identity Card/Citizen Card/Passport/Visa/Title of Residence;
• Curriculum Vitae of the candidate, in Portuguese or in English;
• Certificates of the academic degree(s) required, specifying the final grading (mandatory) and, if possible, the grades obtained in all the attended curricular units, or, alternatively, the candidate's declaration of honor that the degree was obtained until the end of the term of application;
• Motivation letter, in Portuguese or in English.

Regarding the above mentioned admissibility requirements, the following should be noted:

• In the case of a degree granted by a foreign higher education institution, and in order to ensure the application of the principle of equal treatment to candidates holding foreign and national academic degrees, it is mandatory to recognize the degree and convert the respective final grading to the Portuguese grading scale. 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 honor 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.

• Applicants 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 declaration under the terms indicated in the previous point. Candidates who do not comply with one of these provisions, the Selection Panel will assign “0” in the respective criteria. Candidates will be evaluated on the remaining parameters.
• Only candidates who have completed the required qualification by the end of the application period will be admitted. If they do not yet have the official degree certificate, a declaration of honor from the candidate stating that he/she has completed the qualifications required by the end of the application period, will be accepted. At the time of the respective hiring the candidate must present the official degree certificate.

DURATION OF THE RESEARCH GRANT

The research grant will last for 12 months, with a provisional starting date in July 2024.

The grant may be renewed until the maximum predicted in the project and/or applicable legislation, if it is necessary to complete the academic degree or to carry out activities that are essential for the conclusion of the project.

WORK PLAN

The work plan to be developed falls within "WP5 - Digital Services, Collaboration, and IoT Systems," "Task 5.1.4 - Collaborative Digital Environment," aiming at defining parameterization systems for collaborative design processes mediated by IFC.js, considering their functioning through open visualization and interaction systems. In this context, it is expected to contribute to the realization of the following activities and their respective outcomes:

• Development of Parametric Object Classes for Simple Parts — in accordance with the project's objectives, to define modular construction systems, develop a library of parts that adjust parametrically to the context in which they are placed.

• Parameterization of Interconnections/Correlation of Information from (1) Design; (2) Planning; (3) Cost; (4) Logistics; (5) LCA — in line with the objectives of WP5, develop an integrated collaborative digital environment for the different phases of the project and the life cycle of buildings.

• Parameterization of Processes to: (1) automate the connection between BIM models and manufacturing in CNC machines; (2) automate the preparation of drawings; (3) automate the production of material lists and quantities. Considering the integration of Design for Manufacturing, Assembly, and Disassembly principles, "Process Parameterization" should anticipate its functioning in a collaborative digital environment, supported by IFC.js, for the automation of manufacturing and assembly processes, as well as in the production of models for licensing and execution of the work, and specifications and quantities.

• Development of digital collaboration environments — in line with the project's objectives within the scope of project tasks/activities in modular construction and other domains of Civil Engineering.

The work plan includes the development of case studies, support for the project's deliverables, including scientific publications and periodic reports.

HOST INSTITUTION AND SCIENTIFIC SUPERVISION

The work will be carried out in CTAC - Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction - Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering of the University of Minho, under the scientific supervision of Doctor João Pedro Pereira Maia Couto.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The evaluation of the applications will focus on the merit of the candidate, by applying the following criteria on a scale of 0 to 5 points:

Candidate's Merit – CM (100%):

• Criterion A
  • Final classification of the Academic Degree (Master's in Civil Engineering with an average of 10
  • 2.5 points; with an average of 11 to 12
  • 3 points; with an average of 13 to 14
  • 3.5 points; with an average of 15 to 16
  • 4 points; with an average of 17 to 18
  • 4.5 points; with an average of 18 to 20
  • 5 points)
  • 25%;
• Criterion B
  • Research experience, professional experience in BIM and programming, and publications in the project area (experience in the context of BIM and programming in general, including academic training)
  • 5 points; experience only in BIM or only in programming
  • 4 points; experience in other research areas
  • 2 points; lack of experience
  • 0 points)
  • 50%;
• Criterion C - Motivation Letter (up to 5 points) - 25%.

The final classification of the Candidate’s Merit (CM) will be obtained by applying the following formula:

CM = (A × 0,25) + (B × 0,50) + (C × 0,25)

If no candidate achieves the minimum classification of 3.5 points (CM), the Selection Panel may decide not to award the Scientific Research Grant in competition, due to the inadequacy of the candidates to the objectives of the project.

SELECTION PANEL

The Selection Panel is composed by the following elements:

• President: Doctor Miguel Ângelo Dias Azenha, Associate Professor with Aggregation, ISISE, School of Engineering, University of Minho.

• Effective members: Doctor José Luís Duarte Granja, Assistant Researcher, and Doctor Maria Isabel Brito Valente, Assistant Professor, ISISE, School of Engineering, University of Minho.
• Substitute members: Doctor Manuel Afonso Parente, Junior Researcher, and DoctorHélder Manuel Silva Sousa, Assistant Researcher, ISISE, School of Engineering, University of Minho.

If the President of the Selection Panel is unavailable, he/she shall be replaced by the first effective member. The first substitute member will replace the effective member.

The Selection Panel, including the President, undertake the commitment to respect a set of responsibilities essential to the evaluation process, such as the duties of impartiality, of stating any potential situations of conflict of interest and confidentiality.

COMUNICATION OF RESULTS

The evaluation results, based on minutes, will be sent to the candidates by e-mail, in accordance with article 12 of the Regulation of Research Studentships and Fellowships of the FCT.

If the result is not in favor of the applicant, he/she has a period of 10 working days to comment the results, if he/she wishes it so, in the context of a prior hearing with the interested parties, under the terms of article 121 and 122 of the Administrative Procedure Code (DL nº 4 / 2015 of January 7).

COMPLAINT AND APPEAL PROCEDURES

The final results of the evaluation will be sent by email to all candidates, enclosing for that purpose, the minutes of the Selection Panel deliberations.

The selected candidate must indicate, in writing, the intention to accept the grant. In case of rejection, the grant will be awarded to the next candidate in the ordered list of candidates.

The candidates ranked in the next positions on the ordered list will be included in a selection reserve list, which is valid for a period of three months.

The final decision can be contested, having 15 working days for this purpose, by sending to the President of the Selection Panel the corresponding claim. Interested parties may also submit an optional hierarchical appeal, according to no. 3 of article 13 of the Regulation of Research Fellowships of the University of Minho and no. 6 of article 12 of the Regulation of Research Studentships and Fellowships of the FCT.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FINAL AWARDING OF THE GRANT

Research grant contracts are signed with the University of Minho, accordingly with the contract minute (annex IV of the Regulation of Research Fellowships of the University of Minho).

At the time of hiring, the following documents must be sent:

1. National Identity Card/Citizen Card/Passport/Visa/Title of Residence;
2. Copy of the certificate of the academic degree;
3. Presentation of the certificate of recognition of foreign academic degree and conversion of the respective final grading into the Portuguese grading scale, if applicable;
4. Document proving enrollment in the Doctoral Program, identified in this application;
5. Science ID;
6. NIB/IBAN (document of the Bank with the name of the candidate);
7. Tax Identification Number (NIF);
8. Digital mobile key (digital signature).

The contract may only be concluded after all the documentation required is collected, which must take place within a maximum period of 6 months.

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.

MONTHLY MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE

The Monthly Maintenance Allowance corresponds to the basic value of 1259,64 euros per month, according to the table of grants of FCT, I.P. in the country (Appendix I - Table of monthly maintenance allowances for the FCT I.P. Research Grant Regulation): https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf.

Payments are made by bank transfer on the 23rd of each month to the account identified by the grant holder.

OTHER BENEFITS

Reimbursement of the Voluntary Social Insurance, corresponding to the 1st tier of the contribution base (for grants of 6 months or more) 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.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR GRANT RENEWAL

Grant may be renewed for additional periods, if this information is provided in “DURATION OF THE RESEARCH GRANT" and in the contract. This additional period may not exceed the regulatory limits or the end of the project.

The renewal of the grant always depends on a petition submitted by the grant holder, on a date prior to the end of the grant contract, accompanied by the following documents:

1. report issued by the supervisor(s) and by the host entity(ies) on the follow-up of the grant holder's work and the evaluation of his/her activities;
2. updated document proving compliance with the exclusive dedication regime;
3. document proving the renewal of enrollment in the study cycle leading to a doctoral degree. If, at the time of the renewal, the grant holder has already obtained the degree, the contract may still be renewed if in its clauses it is specified that the renewal, in these situations, is intended to carry out activities that are indispensable for the completion of the project.

TERM AND CANCELLATION OF GRANT CONTRACTS

At the end of the grant, 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 grant.

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.

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS