Research scholarship_FUNPET BI_1

Organisation/Company Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Porto Research Field Technology » Biotechnology Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Master Positions Application Deadline 23 Oct 2026 - 17:00 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Other Type of Contract Extra Information NA Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

CALL FOR APPLICATION FOR A RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP

A call for tenders is now open for the attribution of one Research Scholarship within the scope of the Project “FUNPET – Desenvolvimento de formulações funcionais para petfood à base de subprodutos suínos” financed by the FEDER through the Programa COMPETE2030, under the following conditions, set out below.

Scientific area: Biotechnology

Admission requirements:

General requirements:

Candidates for the Research grant must, at the date of application, be enrolled, or present a commitment to enroll in a study cycle conferring an (PhD) degree in Biotechnology or related areas. Candidates for the Research Grant, after being selected, must enroll in the doctoral program in Biotechnology at the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia to initiate the grant agreement. This enrollment should align with the theme and work plan of the grant to be carried out under the above-mentioned project. Accordingly, the doctoral program must be undertaken at the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia by the team designated to implement the work plan.

Candidates for the Research grant must hold a master’s degree in biotechnology, Animal Biology, Biological Sciences, or related areas.

Specific requirements:

Candidates must also have knowledge/research experience in the following areas:

a) Knowledge of laboratory practices, experimental design and data analysis.

b) Good command of the English language, both spoken and written.

c) Strong interest in research related to functional ingredients, animal nutrition and health, and ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary research environment involving both academic and industrial partners.

Preferred Factors:

Will be considered preferred factors:

a) Experience with laboratory techniques, experimental design, data analysis and statistical analysis, preferably in animal studies, pet food and/or animal nutrition research.

b) Previous experience in project coordination and/or management.

c) Previous participation in research projects and/or experience in scientific communication, dissemination activities or organization of scientific events.

Work Plan:

The scholarship holder will carry out research activities within the FUNPET project, which aims to valorise porcine by-products through the development of innovative functional ingredients for pet food applications. The work will include (i) development and optimization of functional protein hydrolysates and related ingredients from animal by-products; (ii) physicochemical, structural and molecular characterization of the developed ingredients; (iii) assessment of their bioactive potential through in vitro assays; (iv) contribution to the scientific validation of functional pet food formulations developed within the project; and (v) statistical analysis of experimental data, preparation of technical reports, scientific manuscripts, and dissemination of research outcomes.

The work will be developed at the CBQF – Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina. of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Portugal, in Porto, under the scientific supervision of Prof. Doctor Manuela Pintado.

Duration of the scholarship:

The research fellowship, on an exclusive basis, will have an initial duration of 31,5 months, with an expected start date of November,15,2026. Any renewals are subject to the extension of the project (currently scheduled to end on June 30, 2029 ), and the overall duration of the fellowship may not exceed any of the following limits:

• The end date effectively determined for the project;
• The maximum of 34 months of overall duration funded for this fellowship.

Without prejudice to the aforementioned limits, the fellowship will automatically terminate upon the effective closure of the project.

The selection methods to be used will be the following: i) curriculum evaluation (40%); ii) previous experience (60%). If necessary, the 3 best positioned candidates may be interviewed, and in this situation, the weighting will be curricular evaluation (35%).; ii) previous experience (50%) and selection interview (15%).

Only candidates with a final classification equal to or greater than 75points, on a scale of 0 to 100, will be selected for