Research Scholarship (BL05/2026)

(BL05/2026)

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH GRANT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF R&D PROJECTS AND INSTITUTIONS

A research scholarship for a Master’s or integrated Master’s student

COMPETE2030-FEDER-02288900

A call for applications is now open for the award of a research scholarship within the scope of the Terraprima – Serviços Ambientais project entitled “AVALON – Assessing, Optimising and Remunerating for Sustainability in Ruminant Systems” (COMPETE2030-FEDER-02288900), co-funded by the COMPETE2030 programme, under the following conditions:

Scientific Field:
Environmental Accounting and Agricultural Sustainability.

Admission requirements: 

In compliance with the provisions of Article 6 of the FCT Research Grants Regulation (Reg. no. 950/2019), the candidate must be enrolled in an integrated master's or a master's degree.

Work plan:
The grant holder will join the AVALON project team, collaborating on Activities 2 – Sustainability Assessment of Agricultural Holdings, 6 – Integrated Optimisation and 7 – Remuneration: Projects for the Voluntary Carbon Market and Certification. As part of Activity 2, they will participate in the collection, organisation, processing and analysis of data from agricultural holdings, with a particular focus on assessing the economic and social dimensions of sustainability. In the economic component, they will support the conventional financial assessment of farms by organising and analysing data on costs, revenues, profits and other economic performance indicators; in the social component, they will assist in the systematisation and analysis of information relating to employment, working conditions, animal welfare and the nutritional characteristics of products. As part of Activity 6, the candidate will support the integration of the various technical, economic and environmental results produced by the project, contributing to the analysis and evaluation of scenarios for optimising production systems and to the organisation of results relating to technical, economic and environmental optimisation, as well as multi-criteria optimisation. In Activity 7, the candidate will participate in the collection, systematisation and analysis of information relating to the Voluntary Carbon Market, including methodologies for carbon sequestration and the reduction of CH? emissions, criteria for additionality, permanence and monitoring, as well as requirements associated with the sustainability certification of beef. The work will also include the statistical processing and presentation of data, the use of IT tools for organising and analysing information, and support in the preparation of reports, technical documents and other elements necessary for the integration and application of the project’s results.

Applicable legislation and regulations:
Law No. 40/2004 of 18 August (Statute of the Scientific Research Fellow), as amended by Decree-Law No. 123/2019 of 28 August; FCT Research Fellowship Regulations, available at https://arquivo.pt/wayback/20240119164852mp_/https://former.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/RegulamentoBolsasFCT2019.pdf and https://dre.pt/application/file/a/127230968.

Place of work:
The work will be carried out at Terraprima – Serviços Ambientais, at its premises located at the Centro de Negócios do Porto Alto, Fracção S, Avenida das Nações Unidas, no. 97, 2135-199 Samora Correia, at Quinta da França (Covilhã) and across Terraprima’s network of farms.

Duration of the scholarship:
The grant will last for 12 months, with a planned start date in October 2026.

Amount of the monthly maintenance grant:
The grant amounts to €1,090.98 per month, in accordance with the scale of grants awarded directly by FCT, I.P. in Portugal (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM-2026.pdf). The grant holder may choose to be paid by bank transfer or cheque. The grant holder will be reimbursed for the cost of voluntary social security contributions (up to the amount corresponding to the first bracket).

Selection methods:

1) Academic record assessment: 75%, as follows:

a. 20% allocated to the degree classification (1st Cycle) (score from 1 to 20);

b. 25% based on demonstrable knowledge of the collection, organisation, processing and analysis of information (score from 1 to 20);

c. 15% based on experience gained in international exchange programmes (score from 1 to 20);

d. 5% based on experience in publishing scientific articles in journals or presenting papers at national or international conferences (score from 1 to 20).

2) Individual interview (only in the event of a tie between the highest-ranked candidates): 25 per cent (score from 1 to 20). This interview will assess the candidate’s motivation and aptitude for the planned activities, as well as their availability to carry out their activities at the locations specified in the work plan.

Composition of the Selection Panel:

• Chair: Professor Tiago Domingos;
• Members: Engineer Ivo Gama and Engineer Nuno Rodrigues.

Method of publication/notification of results: All candidates will be notified of the final assessment result by email.

Application deadline and how to submit applications: The competition is open from 9 to 16 October 2026  (inclusive).

Applications must be submitted by sending the following documents:
i) Research Grant Application Form (available at https://www.terraprima.pt/pt/download/88/60994);
ii) Curriculum Vitae;
iii) certificate of qualifications;
iv) letter of motivation;
v) a sworn statement confirming that, upon signing the relevant grant contract, the applicant will not have exceeded a cumulative period of four years on this type of grant.

These documents must be sent by email to ambiental@terraprima.pt .