Ref: IA2021-03-BD-FCT

The Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) has opened a call for PhD fellowships, from 1st to 31st of March 2021. The positions are for up to 4 years (tuition fees are covered). The selection is done by FCT.

The Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) welcomes pre-applications until March 10th. Selected candidates will be supported by IA.

IA is the most prominent research unit in the field of Astrophysics in Portugal, integrating researchers from the Universidade do Porto and the Universidade de Lisboa, and is responsible for a major fraction of the national productivity in international ISI journals in this area.

The research and development effort at the IA includes most of the topics at the forefront of research in Astrophysics and Space Sciences, complemented by work on instrumentation and systems with potential use in Astronomy and Astrophysics and promoted by wide-ranging science communication activities that enhance public understanding of the Universe, as well as awareness of the importance of research in this field.

It is considered strategically important for IA to be optimally placed to contribute to the development and exploitation of large projects within the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO), besides other international initiatives.

The pre-application has to include the identification of at least one supervisor or co-supervisor among IA researchers. The pre-application is welcome to contact the leaders of each research group (or directly any other researcher) to identify a (co-)supervisor and a PhD project:

     - Towards the detection and characterization of other Earths - Nuno Santos
     - Towards a comprehensive study of stars - Vardan Adibekyan
     - The assembly history of galaxies resolved in space and time - Polychronis Papaderos
     - Unveiling the dynamics of the Universe - Francisco Lobo
     - Space and Ground Systems and Technologies - Alexandre Cabral
     - Science Communication ^(*) - João Retrê and Filipe Pires

_{*for projects in Science Communication and Science Education}

• cover letter with a brief description of the candidate's motivation and an indication of the geographical location where the candidate would like to carry out the research work (either Porto, Lisbon, or any of the two), as well as the name(s) of the supervisor(s) (max. 2 pages);
• curriculum vitae (up to 4 pages) and complete list of publications (if applicable);
• a complete list of curricular units (for University level courses - undergraduate and graduate) completed and respective grades;
• acceptance letter from the supervisor in IA including a title for the PhD project (max. 1 page);
• name and contact of up to two referees available to provide information about the candidate (to be contacted if necessary).

Each proposal will be reviewed by the selection committee. Following a positive outcome of the pre-selection the candidate may proceed with the submission of her/his application to FCT, with the support of IA. The deadline for submission of applications at the FCT web site is the 31st of March 2021, 17:00 WET (18:00 CET).

The selection committee doesn't commit to give an answer in due time for pre-applications submitted after the 10th of March.

We recommend those candidates with foreigner BSc and MSc degree to start the process of degree recognition one month before FCT deadline on 31st March.

All applications must follow the FCT regulations for research grants.

For inquires please contact coordenacao@iastro.pt.

Please use the link at the bottom of this page to submit your pre-application.

Selection Committee
Elisa Delgado Mena
Jarle Brinchmann
José Afonso
Nelson Nunes

Publication Date
12th of February, 2021