| The Ph. D. Programme on Marine Science, Technology and Management – Do*Mar is opening a call for applications for the academic year 2018-2019.
Nature of the doctoral programme The Do*Mar programme is offered by a consortium of Portuguese and Galician Universities and Research Institutes: Universidades de Aveiro, Minho, Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vigo, Santiago de Compostela and Coruña, the Instituto Español de Oceanografia and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. The School of Biology of the St. Andrews University (Scotland), the Station Biologique de Roscoff of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (France) and the Instituto de Oceanografia of the Universidade de S. Paulo (Brasil) are associated members of the consortium. Do*Mar has a duration of 3 years and has 4 curricular branches: i) Ocean Observation and Global Change; ii) Sustainable Use of Marine Resources; iii) Integrated Management of the Sea; and iv) Technological Progress, Engineering and Business Management. This doctoral programme requires a compulsory co-supervision by a professor or researcher at a Portuguese partner and at a non-Portuguese partner. Therefore, a mandatory mobility period and placement at a non-Portuguese institution is involved (minimum 6 months, maximum 24 months). Candidates that successfully complete the programme will receive a joint diploma issued by the Portuguese and Galician universities. A dual diploma may be issued if the mandatory away stay is in one of the associated partners. Additional information on the structure, courses and other training activities of Do*Mar may be found in http://www.campusdomar-pt-domar.net and in http://campusdomar.es/en/doctorado . Grants Do*Mar has been selected for financial support within the 2013 call for funding of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, IP (FCT) Ph. D. Programmes, being financed with 6 Ph. D. grants (type “bolsa mista”) per programme edition, in a total of 24 grants. The Academic Committee of Do*Mar has the responsibility of selecting the grantees, which will receive their Ph. D. studentships through contracts signed directly with FCT. Up to 8 Ph. D. grants are available in this call, which will be awarded under the terms of the Portuguese Scientific Research Fellow Statute ( http://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/estatutobolseiro.phtml.en ), approved by Law nº 20/2004 of August 18, in its present formulation, and the terms of the Regulations for Research Grants of the Foundation for Science and Technology ( http://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/regulamento.phtml.en ). The grants are expected to start on October 2018, provided that all requirements asked by FCT are fulfilled in due time by the selected candidates. Who can apply Candidates of any nationality may apply. Do*Mar will also welcome applicants with degrees outside the natural sciences, especially those wishing to enrol in the branches of Integrated Management of the Sea and of Technological Progress, Engineering, and Business Management. As a general rule, the three following prerequisites for admission to Do*Mar must be met: i) A M. Sc. degree with a minimum of 120 ECTS credits; or a minimum higher education training of 300 ECTS credits including at least 120 ECTS credits at the level of a University M. Sc.; ii) A minimum admission grade of 14/20 or equivalent for the B. Sc. or undergraduate degree, and of 16/20 or equivalent for the M. Sc.; ii) A recent proof of proficiency in the English language. When and how to apply This call is open from the 23rd of March 2018, to the 24h00 (Lisbon time) of the 15th of June 2018. The following documents must be submitted: ii) Two letters of endorsement from previous professors, supervisors or employers; iii) Motivation letter; iv) Research Project Synopsis, briefly describing the motivation, objectives and general methodology, indicating as well the home and host institutions, the supervisors, and the curricular branch in which the applicant wishes to enrol, using the form available in https://www.ua.pt/ensino/course/376/?p=3 ; this form has to be subscribed by the supervisor and the co-supervisor; v) Copies of the relevant academic degree diplomas; vi) Copies of the transcripts of the degrees mentioned in the candidate’s curriculum vitae , including courses/units/disciplines followed and respective credits and classifications. vii) A recent certificate of B2 proficiency in the English language; this certificate can be substituted by a signed declaration that the candidate has the English proficiency necessary for understanding, speaking and writing scientific English at a post-graduate level. viii) Curricula vitae of the supervisor and co-supervisor. ix) A certificate that the candidate has resided in Portugal for at least 1 year at the time of application; this certificate has to be submitted by Portuguese and foreign candidates. The Project Synopsis may include any research topic within the curricular branches of Do*Mar. In order to facilitate identification of research opportunities, a database with information on Ph. D. supervisors and possible research topics is available at https://www.campusdomar-pt-domar.net/supervisors-and-research-topics . The Motivation Letter and the Project Synopsis must be written in English. The CVs, letters of endorsement, academic diplomas and transcripts may be written in Portuguese, Spanish, English or French; if they are written in any other language then they must be accompanied by a Portuguese translation. Copies of foreign academic diplomas must either be authenticated by the official education services of the respective country, recognized by the appropriate Portuguese diplomatic or consular authority, or carry the Hague Appostille Convention. Applications to the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro should be submitted online through the URL http://extranet.utad.pt/campusMar . The upload of all the documents indicated above is mandatory. Additionally, the applicants must also deliver by post or in person the originals of these documents, or duly authenticated copies, accompanied by a printout of the application receipt issued by the online system, up to three days before the deadline for the selection of the applicants, to Prof. Doutor Henrique Queiroga, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. Application fee Not applicable. Important notices
Evaluation The evaluation and selection of the candidates will follow the principles of objectivity, fairness, equal opportunity, merit and ability. The aim is to evaluate the proven and the potential academic excellence of the candidates, and will be made in two steps. 1st step The first step will evaluate the students’ academic qualifications, experience, motivation and research objectives based on documental information supplied with the application. The following criteria and weights will be used: i) Curriculum Vitae: 40%, including degree grades (20%), and experience measured as number and significance of publications, participation in projects and other relevant components (20%); ii) Letters of endorsement: 10%; iii) Motivation Letter: 20%, considering its quality and clarity; iv) Project Synopsis: 30%, considering its intellectual and scientific merit based on quality, clarity, originality and innovation . Each of the above criteria will be classified in a 0-20 scale, and the final score will be obtained as the weighted average of the separate scores. 2nd step From the step above a short list of the best-ranked candidates will be selected for an interview. The number of candidates to be interview will depend on the candidates’ relative merit. The interview will evaluate the maturity, motivation, availability to carry out an international research project, ability to communicate and intellectual merit of the candidate. Candidates will be classified using a 0-20 scale. The final ranking of the candidates will be obtained using the formula: Result of the First Step * 50% + Result of the Interview * 50%. Number of available places The maximum number of candidates to be admitted to Do*Mar in the 1st phase of applications is: Aveiro 9, Minho 6, Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro 3. The number of grants available at the three Universities is: Aveiro 4, Minho 2, Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro 2. These grants will be awarded to the best-ranked applicants to each university. What is included in the grant Selected applicants will be awarded monthly stipends and supplementary support that may include tuition fees, relocation costs, travel awards and health insurance, when applicable. Ph. D. studentship stipends and the specific complementary support are detailed in the Regulations for Research Grants of the Foundation for Science and Technology ( http://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/regulamento.phtml.en ). Period of selection of candidates The 15th of June to the 5th of July 2018. Communication of results Results will be communicated by email on the 6th of July 2018. Additionally, the ranked list of candidates can be consulted at: http://www.utad.pt/vPT/Area2/estudar/oferta_educativa/3ciclo/Paginas/3CicloCurso .aspx?idnum=6 and at http://www.campusdomar-pt-domar.net/#!scholarships/c1g1p . Pleading period Candidates may plead the decision of the jury until the 23rd of July 2018. Communication of decision to pleading candidates The final decision will be communicated to pleading candidates before the 31st of July 2018. Period for enrolment The 3rd to the 14st of September 2018. Enrollment outside this period will not be allowed. Candidates that miss this enrollment period will have to apply to Do*Mar in the next call (provided such call will be opened). Candidates that wish to cancel the registration in Do*Mar before the 31st of October 2018 must pay half of the tuition fee. Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, the 29 th of February 2018 The Rector, Prof. Doutor António Fontainhas Fernandes
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