The MIT Portugal Program is pleased to announce the opening of the 2020 call for FCT-MPP2030 PhD Grants. Candidates must be conducting research in at least one of the four areas of focus for MIT Portugal: Climate Science & Climate Change; Earth Systems: Oceans to Near Space; Digital Transformation in Manufacturing; Sustainable Cities; and/or Data Science approaches/methodologies applied to the previous areas.

*These are MPP2030-sponsored grants and do not result in an MIT degree*

This call will be hosted under the MIT Portugal Partnership 2030 and the grants to be awarded are FCT PhD Scholarships. Therefore, these scholarships follow the Research Fellowship Holder Statute, in the FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships.
Please note that you will need the below items for your application; it may help to gather them before you begin applying:

1. Your Ciência ID unique identifier (https://www.ciencia-id.pt/)
2. An identification document (ID card, passport)
3. Official university-issued proof of your degree completion 
4. Your curriculum vitae (CV/resume), created in CiênciaVitae, saved as a PDF
5. Your PhD work plan
6. A motivation letter
7. The contact information of your host/supervisor

Who can apply?

All individuals who satisfy the requirements specified in the FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships (RBI), in the Research Fellowship Holder Statute (EBI) and in the Notice of the Call may apply to the 2020 Call for PhD Studentships. Therefore, before you start to prepare your application, read these documents carefully. You may also wish to consult the list of FAQs.

Application Process

The application platform is hosted by the SlideRoom platform and can be directly accessed here: https://mitportugal.slideroom.com/#/permalink/program/54568

To prepare and submit your application, you need to register for a SlideRoom account. When registering, please pay attention to the contact details you list, as they will be used to send you reminders, notifications, results and other communications about the Call for PhD Grants.

To access the application form, please visit the above link and click on the button “Apply Now.” Login to your SlideRoom account or register to begin the application.

You can only register and submit a single application.

The form is entered on the platform and it is always available to view and edit until the due date, OR before you submit the application. As soon as you submit your application, you will not be able to un-submit or make any changes.

Evaluation Process

Proposals will be evaluated by evaluation panels specifically set up for this call, involving experts of acknowledged experience and scientific merit. Applications will be graded using scores from 0 (0,00 minimum score) to 20 (20,00 maximum score), for each of the following three criteria:

A. Merit of the applicant;
B. Merit of the work plan;
C. Merit of the hosting conditions.

The relative weights of three criteria are 40%, 40%, 20% respectively.

Applicants’ personal curricula will be analyzed in an integrated manner, considering a global view of scientific and professional achievements. Thus, in this assessment it will be important to consider the reference letters (required documents) and the various dimensions of the curriculum that may demonstrate relevant scientific and professional backgrounds. Assessment of the work plan and of the host institution conditions will be based on a duly substantiated assessment decision by the review panel. Applicants will be ranked according to the weighted average of the scores for each three criteria.

Review Panel

Climate Science & Climate Change	– [Chair] Júlia Seixas, School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon – João Andrade dos Santos, School of Science and Technology, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro – Rita Cardoso, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon
Earth Systems: Oceans to Near Space	– [Chair] Alexandra Moutinho, Técnico, University of Lisbon – Maria João Costa, School of Science and Technology, University of Évora – Ana Colaço, University of Azores – Rodrigo Ventura, Técnico, University of Lisbon – José Afonso, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon
Digital Transformation in Manufacturing	– [Chair] Miguel Nóbrega, School of Engineering, University of Minho – Lia Patrício, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto – António Ruano, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Algarve – Helena Carvalho, NOVA School of Science and Technology – Paulo Leitão, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança
Sustainable Cities	– [Chair] Manuel Gameiro da Silva, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra – Ana Isabel Miranda, University of Aveiro – Vítor Leal, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
Data Science	– [chair] Ana Camanho, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto – Mauro Castelli, Information Management School, NOVA University Lisbon – Paulo Novais, School of Engineering, University of Minho

FAQs

Can I apply to this call, even if I did apply to FCT’s 2020 Call for PhD Grants?
Yes, you can apply to both as these are non-exclusive calls. Please remember that you need to be focusing on research areas related to MIT Portugal for this specific application.

Do I have to be enrolled in a doctoral program to apply for this scholarship?
No. Nonetheless, the applicant needs to guarantee (s)he meets the requirements to enroll in a PhD Program.

Can I apply if I am already in my 2nd year of doctorate?
Yes. As long as the thesis plan needs to be within the strategic areas of the MIT Portugal.

Does this scholarship guarantee that you can spend a season at MIT (Boston, USA)?
While this does increase the likelihood of being able to study for a period at MIT, it is not guaranteed that you will be selected for that particular Institute.

If I have such a scholarship, what obligations do I have to the MPP?
All MPP2030-FCT PhD Grant holders will have to participate in activities developed by MIT Portugal, as well as respond to the requests addressed to them by the Program (e.g., information requests) that aim for example at monitoring the student’s individual process.

Are the grants paid by the MIT Portugal Program?
The MPP2030-FCT PhD Grants are paid by the FCT. All grantees will sign a Grant contract with FCT. The MPP2030-FCT PhD Grants comply with the Research Fellowship Holder Statute, in the FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships.

Can i apply only with the request for recognition of foreign academic degrees?
As stated in the call notice, for foreign degrees, it is essential, under penalty of not being admitted to the call, to attach the register of recognition of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions and register of the respective final classification conversion to the Portuguese classification scale, or, alternatively, the candidate’s declaration of honor on how he obtained the recognition of the foreign degree equivalent to a graduate or master’s degree until the end of the application period.

What if I need help?
Questions related to the application, application form or its filling in should be sent to MPP through the following email address [email protected], referring to “Call for 2020 FCT-MPP2030 PhD Grants” in the message subject. In case you have already started your application, you should also mention its reference, indicating it in the subject of the email: “Call for PhD Grants 2020 – YOUR NAME”. MPP guarantees answers only up to 4 working days before the application submission deadline. We recommend that, before contacting MPP, you should carefully read all the documents related to the Call, including the list of FAQs, available in this page.