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Notice of Open Call to Award 1 (one) PhD Research Scholarship in Education, Museology or Urban Planning

REF: Edital_BolsaPhD_CeiED/COFAC-4114

Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias hereby opens a competition to award 1 (one) research scholarship, hereinafter referred to as PhD Research Scholarship, in the fields of Education, Museology or Urban Planning, under the terms of the Regulation for Research Scholarships of FCT (RBI) and the Research Fellowship Holder Statute (EBI).

The studentship will be funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) within the scope of the Funding Collaboration Protocol of the Multiannual Research Scholarship Plan for PhD Students, signed by FCT and the R&D Unit Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development (CeiED/COFAC, Ref. 4114).

Edital_BolsaPhD_CeiED/COFAC-4114

Call for PhD Scholarships CeiED | 2020

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION

The call is open from 30 April and 5 pm (Lisbon time) of 14 May 2020.

The applications and the documents that support the applications as specified in the present Notice of Open Call must be submitted by email, according to the open call reference > REF: Edital_BolsaPhD_CeiED/COFAC- 4114, to the following e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Each candidate is only allowed to submit one application, under penalty of all submitted applications being invalidated.

Any false statements provided by or acts of plagiarism engaged in by any candidate is grounds for invalidating the application, without prejudice to the adoption of further disciplinary measures.

TYPE AND DURATION OF SCHOLARSHIP

The PhD Research Scholarship aims to fund the recipient’s research activities leading to the awarding of the academic degree of PhD by Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias.

The research activities leading to the awarding of the academic degree of PhD shall take place at the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development (CeiED), which will be the recipient’s host institution, without prejudice to work being conducted in collaboration between more than one institution.

The research activities of the selected scholarship recipient leading to the awarding of the academic degree of

PhD must be integrated in the activity plan and strategy of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development (CeiED), and must be carried out within the scope of the following PhD Programmes:

  • PhD Programme in Education, of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Education and Administration, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias;
  • PhD Programme in Museology, of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Education and Administration, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias;
  • PhD Programme in Urban Planning, of the School of Communication, Architecture, Arts and Information Technologies, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias.

The work plan may be carried out fully or partially at Universidade Lusófona (in-country scholarship or mixed scholarship, respectively), involving one or more of the above-mentioned PhD programmes.

The duration of the scholarship is, as a rule, annual, renewable to the limit of four years (48 months); moreover, a scholarship cannot be granted for a period of less than 3 consecutive months.

In the case of a mixed scholarship, the period of the work plan taking place in a foreign institution must not exceed 24 months.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

The PhD Research Scholarships are aimed at candidates enrolled or candidates that meet the necessary conditions to enrol in one of the PhD Programmes listed in paragraph 2 of the present Notice of Open Call and who desire to carry out research activities at the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development (CeiED), leading to the awarding of the academic degree of PhD from Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias.

ELIGIBILITY

Requirements for Candidate Eligibility

The following may apply to the present competition:

  • National citizens or citizens from other member states of the European Union;
  • Citizens from third countries;
  • Stateless people;
  • Citizens benefiting from the statute of political refugee.

To apply for the PhD Research Scholarship, candidates are also required:

  • To hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in the fields of Education Sciences, Museology or Urban Planning, or in a field that enables access to one of the PhD Programmes;
  • To reside in Portugal permanently and habitually, if the work plan associated with the scholarship is partially carried out by foreign institutions (mixed scholarships), a requirement applicable both to national and to foreign citizens;
  • Not to have benefitted from a PhD scholarship or With Industry PhD directly funded by the FCT, regardless of its duration.

Requirements for Application Eligibility

It is indispensable to include the following documents in the application, under penalty of not being admitted to the Call:

  • Application form;
  • Elements of the identity card/citizen card/passport;
  • Curriculum vitae of the candidate, following one of the models adopted by the FCT or other national agency (CIENCIAVITAE, Currículo Lattes, ORCID); all the indicators of scientific production considered relevant (papers, communications, book chapters, books, patents, etc.), mentioned on the CV must be accessible through the internet, and to this end candidates must indicate an active site where the jury can have access to them;
  • Certificates or diplomas of the academic degrees held, specifying the final score and, if possible, the scores obtained in all the curricular units taken, or, alternatively, a sworn statement by the candidate that he/she will have been awarded the degree of bachelor or master by the closing date for applications;
  • Registration of recognition of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions and registration of the conversion of their respective final score to the Portuguese rating scale, or, alternatively, a sworn statement by the candidate that he/she will have obtained the recognition of the foreign degree equivalent to that of bachelor or master by the closing date for applications;
  • Motivation letter;
  • Letters of recommendation (up to a maximum of two); these letters must include the context of the academic and/or professional relation with the referee, indicating the reference to this call;
  • The application form and all the documents associated with it, including the letters of motivation and recommendation, must be written in Portuguese or in English.
  • Plan of the activities to undertaken, with the indication of the places where they will be carried out, the

expected contribution to the strategic plan of CeiED and with the following mandatory elements: title; abstract; keywords; literature review; research problem, questions and objectives; work plan; detailed chronogram and execution indicators; integration in and relevance to the project of CeiED; references (maximum: ten pages).

  • Sworn statement signed by the candidate that he/she will fulfil his/her function as scholarship holder under an exclusivity regime, pursuant to the terms laid down in Article 5 of the Statute of the Research Scholarship Holder.

Regarding the above-mentioned requirements for eligibility, please note the following:

  • In the case of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions, and so as to ensure the application of the principle of equal treatment to candidates holding foreign and national academic degrees, it is mandatory to obtain the recognition of said degrees and the conversion of their respective final score to the Portuguese rating scale.

The recognition of foreign academic degrees and diplomas as well as the conversion of the final score to the Portuguese rating scale may be required in any public higher education institution or at the General- Directorate for Higher Education (DGES, only in the case of automatic recognition). Regarding this issue, candidates should consult the portal of DGES at the following address: http://www.dges.gov.pt.

  • To be considered, candidates must have concluded the study cycle leading to a bachelor’s or master’s degree by the closing date for applications. Should they lack a certificate of completion of the degree, a sworn statement by the candidate that they will have completed the necessary qualifications for admission to the call by the closing date for applications will be accepted. Awarding the scholarship will always depend on the submission of the documents that prove the candidate possesses the academic qualification necessary for the scholarship to be awarded.

EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BONUS

Evaluation criteria

The applications considered admissible will be graded from 1.000 (minimum) to 5.000 (maximum) in each of the three evaluation criteria:

  1. Merit of the Candidate; B. Merit of the Work Plan; C. Merit of the Contribution to the Strategic Development of CeiED.

For the purpose of the decision on awarding the scholarship, candidates will be sorted according to the weighted average of the score obtained on each of the three criteria, with the weight of 40% for Merit of the Candidate (A), 40% for Merit of the Work Plan (B) and 20% for Merit of Contribution to the Strategic Development of CeiED (C), translated into the following formula:

Final score = (0.4 ×A)+(0.4×B)+(0.2×C)

For the purpose of tie breaking, candidates will be sorted on the basis of the scores given to each of the evaluation criteria by the following order of precedence: criterion A (Merit of the Candidate), criterion B (Merit of the Work Plan) and criterion C (Merit of C.Strategic Development of CeiED).

On any of the evaluation criteria, scores will be given with three decimal places. The figure resulting from the application of any formulas specified in this guide shall be rounded to the third decimal place, using the following rule: when the fourth decimal place is equal to or higher than 5 (five), it shall be rounded up; when the fourth decimal place is lower than 5 (five), the value of the third decimal place shall be kept.

All candidates whose application is evaluated with a final score lower than 3.000 points shall not be eligible for awarding the scholarship.

Criterion A – Merit of the Candidate

The merit of the candidate, criterion A, with a weight of 40%, is evaluated along three sub-criteria:

A1. Academic path (reflecting the scores of academic degrees), with a weight of 50% of the merit of the candidate;

A.2. Personal Curriculum (reflecting the scientific and professional path, as well as the academic path, when applicable), with a weight of 40% of the merit of the candidate;

A.3. Letter of motivation, with a weight of 10% of the merit of the candidate.

The score of criterion A shall be obtained by using the following formula:

Criterion A = (A1 × 0,5) + (A2 × 0,4) + (A3×0,1)

The score to be awarded to any one of the sub-criteria shall be done pursuant to FCT’s Evaluation Guide (pages 7, 8, 9 and 10) for granting PhD scholarships (available at https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/concursos/docs/Bolsas_2019_GuiaoAvaliacao_PT.pdf)

Criterion B – Merit of the Work Plan

The criterion Merit of the Work Plan, with the weight of 40%, is evaluated on the basis of three parameters:

B1 – Well-grounded relevance and innovation of the study object; B2 – Scientific standards of the literature review and of the methodology of the work plan; B3 – Feasibility of the work plan.

When evaluating parameter B1, the following should be valued: clear definition of the research objectives and questions; the potential contribution of the research project to knowledge and the advancement of science and technology.

When evaluating parameter B2, the following should be valued: literature review submitted and the proposed research methodology, considering its clarity, consistency and coherence, in accordance with internationally accepted standards.

When evaluating parameter B3, the following should be valued: the adequacy of the methodologies to the tasks and the objectives defined in the work plan and their respective deadlines. If applicable, the analysis of the risks inherent to the different stages which constitute the work plan shall also be valued, possibly with the preliminary identification of the most critical points and the corresponding contingency measures to be adopted.

The presentation of the timeline must also be valued within the scope of the evaluation of this criterion, as well as any other documents included pertaining to the work plan (schematics, formulas or figures, for example).

Criterion C – Merit of the Contribution to the Strategic Development of CeiED.

The evaluation of this Criterion must be based on the demonstration provided by the candidate, on the letter of motivation and the presentation of the work plan, that his/her project fits the strategic objectives and the creation of new knowledge as related to the scientific communities of CeiED and the contents of their programmes.

“CeiED is a R&D Unit established at Lusofona University with the focus both on Human Development and Social Justice that to be reached through research in the fields of Education, Memory Studies, and Territorial Studies. These two main aims are linked to the concept of Public (and Open) Science applied to teaching and learning and social work”.

See http://www.ceied.ulusofona.pt/pt/investigacao/

Important notice for candidates with diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions:

  • Candidates with diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions may apply and will be evaluated by the same criteria as the candidates with diplomas awarded by Portuguese institutions, provided they submitted, at the time of application, proof of recognition of the academic degrees and of the conversion of the final score to the Portuguese rating scale under the terms of applicable legislation.
  • Candidates with foreign diplomas who do not submit proof of conversion of the final score to the Portuguese rating scale will be evaluated with the minimum score of 1 point on criterion A1.
  • In any case, scholarship contracts with candidates who possess diplomas awarded by foreign institutions

will only be celebrated after proof of recognition of academic degrees and of the conversion of the final grade has been presented, as mentioned above.

Bonus Points

Candidates with a proven degree of disability equal to or higher than 90% will have a bonus of 20% on Criterion A – Merit of the Candidate. In the same way, candidates with a proven degree of disability equal to or higher than 60% and lower than 90% will have a bonus of 10% on that criterion.

EVALUATION

The candidates’ evaluation panel is formed by the following members:

  • Professor António Neves Duarte Teodoro, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Chairman
  • Professor Carlos Smaniotto Costa, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias
  • Professor Maristela dos Santos Simão, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias
  • Professor Rosa Serradas Duarte, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias

The evaluation panel shall consider the application according to the evaluation criteria defined in the present Notice of Open Call, weighing the elements to be considered.

All the members of the panel, including the Chairman, make a commitment to respect a set of responsibilities crucial to the process of evaluation, such as the requirements of impartiality and confidentiality as well as of declaration of any situations which may potentially involve a conflict of interests. At all moments of the evaluation process, confidentiality is absolutely protected and safeguarded to ensure the independence of all the reports produced.

No member of the panel, including the Chairman, can be supervisor or co-supervisor of any applicants to this call.

For each application, the panel shall produce a final evaluation form, where the arguments which led to the scores given to each of the evaluation criteria and sub-criteria shall be clearly, coherently and consistently presented, also specifying any bonus points awarded, should this be the case.

Minutes of the responsibility of all the members shall be produced of the panel’s meetings.

Each minute and its annexes must include the following information:

  • Name and affiliation of all the members of the evaluation panel;
  • Identification of all the applications excluded and the grounds for this;
  • Methodology adopted by the panel regarding the cases considered to be special;
  • Final Evaluation Forms for each applicant;
  • Provisional scoring and sorting list of all the applications evaluated by the panel, listed by decreasing order of final score;
  • Whenever applicable, delegation of vote and powers by reason of justified absence.

DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS

The results of the evaluation will be delivered by e-mail to the e-mail address indicated on the application.

DEADLINES AND RIGHT TO BE HEARD, COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES

Following publication of the provisional list of the evaluation results, applicants have a period of 10 working days to formally comment on the results using the interested parties’ right to be heard, under the terms of Articles 121 and following of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

The final decision shall be taken after the analysis of the replies submitted within the scope of the interested parties’ right to be heard. A complaint can be brought against the decision within 15 working days, or, alternatively, an appeal within 30 working days, both to be counted from the date of notification. Those candidates who opt to bring a complaint must address it to the member of the Executive Council of the FCT with delegated powers. Those candidates who decide to submit an appeal must address it to the Executive Council of the FCT.

REQUIREMENTS TO GRANT THE SCHOLARSHIP

The Research Scholarship Contracts are celebrated directly with the FCT.

Once the scholarship has been awarded, the following documents must be submitted in order for the contract to be made:

  1. Copy of the document(s) of citizen, fiscal and, when applicable, social security identification1;
  2. Copy of the certificates and diplomas of the academic degrees held;
  3. Registration of the recognition of foreign academic degrees and of the conversion of their respective final scores

to the Portuguese rating scale, if applicable;

  1. Document attesting to the enrolment in one of the PhD Programmes in Education, Museology or Urban Planning

at Universidade Lusófona;

  1. Statement signed by the supervisor(s) taking responsibility for supervising the work plan, under the terms of

Article 5-A of the Statute of Research Scholarship Holder (statement form to be made available by FCT);

  1. f) Document attesting the candidate has been accepted by the institution where the research activities will be carried out, ensuring the necessary conditions to their proper development, as well as fulfilling the duties laid out in Article 13 of the Statute of Research Scholarship Holder (statement form to be made available by FCT);
  2. g) Updated document attesting compliance with the exclusivity regime (statement form to be made available by

FCT).

Awarding the scholarship is also dependent on:

  • the candidate meeting the requirements laid out in this Notice of Open Call;
  • the result of the scientific evaluation;
  • the inexistence of unwarranted non-compliance with the duties of scholarship holder within the scope of the previous scholarship contract directly or indirectly funded by FCT;
  • budgetary availability on the part of FCT.

Should any of the documents necessary to complete the scholarship contract process not have been submitted within 6 months of the date in which the decision to award the scholarship conditionally was communicated, this awarding shall be considered null and void and the process shall be closed.

FUNDING

Payment of the scholarships shall begin after the candidates have returned the contracts, duly signed, which must occur within a maximum of 15 working days from the day they receive said contract.

Scholarships awarded within the scope of the present Call shall be funded by FCT using funds from the State

1 The candidate may decide to replace submission of these documents for the on-site presentation of said documents at the funding entity, which will record the elements present in them that are relevant to the validity and execution of the contract, including the civil, fiscal and social security identification numbers, as well as the expiry dates of these documents.

Budget and, whenever eligible, by funds from the European Social Fund, to be made available under the PORTUGAL2020 programme, namely through the North Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), Centre Regional Operating Programme (Centro 2020) and the Alentejo Regional Operational Programme (Alentejo 2020), pursuant with the regulations laid out for the purpose.

COMPONENTS OF THE SCHOLARSHIP

Scholarship holders are awarded a monthly support allowance in accordance with the table included in Annex I of the Research Scholarship Holder Regulation (RBI).

The scholarship may also include other components, under the terms laid out in Article 18 of the RBI and the amounts defined in its Annex II.

All scholarship holders benefit from a personal accident insurance regarding research activities, supported by FCT.

All scholarship holders not covered by any social protection regime may ensure the exercise of the right to social security by joining the voluntary social insurance regime, under the terms of the Social Security Welfare Contributions Code. FCT will cover the costs deriving from the contributions, under the terms and to the limits laid out in Article 10 of the EBI.

PAYMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP COMPONENTS

Payments due to the scholarship holder will be made via bank transfer to the account number provided by the scholarship holder. Payment of the monthly support allowance is made on the first working day of each month.

Payment of such components as enrolment or tuition fees will be made by FCT directly to the national institution where the scholarship holder is enrolled or registered in the PhD programme.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR SCHOLARSHIP RENEWAL

Renewal of the scholarship is always dependent on the request submitted by the scholarship holder within 60 days before the date when renewal begins, including the following documents:

  1. expert opinions from the supervisor(s) and the host entity(ies) regarding the progress of the scholarship holder’s

work and evaluation of his/her activities;

  1. updated document attesting compliance with the regime of exclusivity;
  2. document attesting the renewal of enrolment in the study cycle leading to the doctoral degree.

INFORMATION AND ADVERTISEMENT OF AWARDED FUNDING

In all R&D activities directly or indirectly funded by the scholarship, namely in all scientific communications, publications and creations, as well as theses, carried out with the support of the scholarship, mention of the financial support of FCT and the European Social Fund, namely through the North Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), the Centre Regional Operational Programme (Centro 2020) and the Alentejo Regional Operational Programme (Alentejo 2020), must be made. To this effect, the logos of FCT, the Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, the ESF and the EU must be inserted in the documents pertaining to these actions, according to graphic norms of each operational programme

The dissemination of the results of the research funded within the scope of the RBI must comply with the norms of open access of data, publications and other results of the research in force at FCT.

In all scholarships, particularly in the case of actions supported by community funding, namely from the ESF, monitoring and control initiatives may be carried out by national and community entities pursuant to legislation applicable to this matter. Scholarship holders being supported must cooperate and provide requested information, which comprehends surveys and evaluation studies in this field, even if the scholarship has reached its end.

NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL ACCESS POLICY

FCT promotes a non-discrimination and equal access policy. Therefore, no applicant may be favoured, given advantage, harmed or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty by virtue of, namely, ascendency, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family situation, financial situation, education, social condition or background, genetic heritage, diminished work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic or racial background, territory of origin, language, religions, political or ideological beliefs, or trade union membership.

APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND REGULATION

The Call is ruled by the present Notice of Open Call, by the Research Scholarship Regulation of FCT, approved by Regulation 950/2019, published in the 2nd Series of the Portuguese Official Gazette of 16 December 2019, by the Research Scholarship Holder Statute approved by Law 40/2004, of 18 August, as amended, and by any other applicable national and community legislation.