Call for Research Grant Assignment - PULSE (Lugus 1133359)

Organisation/Company

Universidade de Coimbra

Department

Divisão de Projetos e Atividades (Bolsas)

Research Field

Engineering » Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions

Master Positions

Country

Portugal

Application Deadline

16 Dec 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

2 Dec 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

The University of Coimbra opens a call for the assignment of a research grant, with one position(s), under 
the project COMPETE2030-FEDER-00864900, title PULSE - Reliable Pervasive mULti-Sensor cardiac 
Examination.   
The call is governed by this Notice of Opening, the University of Coimbra Research Grant Regulations (RBI
UC), subsidiarily by the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology (RBI
FCT), by the Research Fellow Statute (EBI), by the Norms for Grant Assignment and Management within 
R&D Projects, by the Code of Administrative Procedure (CPA), all in their current wording, and by other 
applicable national and community legislation. 
Procedure Reference: IT137 -25-538 
I - Legal admission requirements 
I.I - Grant Recipients: 
Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering or Informatics Engineering enrolled in a doctoral degree, in the 
scientific area of Informatics Engineering.  
I.II -  Ineligible candidates:  
Candidates who have already benefited from two research grant contracts with UC in the condition of being 
enrolled in a doctoral degree, regardless of whether each contract has reached the maximum legally 
permitted duration  
.  
I.III -  Eligible for grant assignment if meeting the requirements:  
a) Portuguese nationals or nationals of other EU Member States 
b) Nationals of third countries 
c) Stateless persons 
d) Beneficiaries of political refugee status 
When the work plan takes place, in whole or in part, in foreign institutions, only candidates who can prove 
permanent and habitual residence in Portugal at the start of the grant are eligible. 
II - Grant location:  Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra – Department of  
Informatics Engineering  
III- Scientific supervision/coordination of the grant: Professora Lorena Itatí Petrella; Professor Jorge 
Manuel Oliveira Henriques; e Professor Paulo José Carrilho de Sousa Gil 
IV - Work Plan / Goals to be achieved: Title: Non-invasive Blood Pressure Estimation and Reliability 
Assessment of Measurements

Brief Description of Grant Objective: This scholarship is part of the PULSE project. This project aims to 
develop artificial intelligence-based solutions for non-invasive assessment of the heart's electromechanical 
activity using heart sounds, electrocardiograms, and photoplethysmograms. This scholarship will focus on 
the photoplethysmography signal and its application in non-invasive blood pressure estimation. 
Additionally, reliability assessment techniques will be studied to quantify the degree of confidence in the 
estimates obtained. 
Work Plan: 
1. State-of-the-art assessment of reliability measures, understood as additional metrics for determining 
the output of a machine learning model, capable of assessing the reliability of a given input/output.  
2. State of the art regarding non-invasive blood pressure estimation, focusing on the use of 
plethysmography signals. 
3. Implementation of models for blood pressure estimation, as well as confidence measures in its 
estimation.  
     
V - Initial grant duration: Twelve (12) months 
     
V.I - Renewal Possibility: Possibily renewable  
     
VI - Funding and financial conditions of the grant 
VI.I - Monthly grant amount (paid by bank transfer at the end of each month): 1.309,64 € 
     
VI.II - Other financial components of the grant: The scholarship also includes a tuition grant of  
€2,750.00, the maximum amount provided for in the University of Coimbra's Research Scholarship 
Regulations.     
     
VI.III - In addition to the above amounts, voluntary social security (SSV) is included when the grant has 
a duration of six months or more, corresponding to the first level, if the candidate opts for it, as well as 
mandatory personal accident insurance. 
     
VI.IV - Funding: The grant(s) assigned under this call will be funded by Foundation for Science and  
Technology through national funds and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the  
Thematic Program Innovation and Digital Transition (COMPETE 2030), from Portugal 2030, and the  
European Union | Operation No. 17172 (SGO code), operation code in the Funds Office COMPETE2030- 
FEDER-00864900.  
     
VI.V - Information and publicity about the funding: In all R&D activities directly or indirectly funded 
by the grant, namely, in all communications, publications and scientific creations, as well as theses, carried 
out with the support provided in the grant, the mention of financial support from the Foundation for Science 
and Technology (FCT) AND the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Innovation and 
Digital Transition Program (COMPETE 2030) of Portugal 2030 must be expressed. 

VII - Selection Methods: Evaluation of the academic record (AR) and Interview (I)  
VII.I - AR - In the evaluation of the academic record, the candidates' academic performance will be 
assessed according to the following weights and criteria: - Criterion 1 – Absolute merit of curriculum vitae;  - Criterion 2 -Masters average. 
VII.II- I – In the evaluation of the interview, candidates' performance will be assessed according to the 
following weights and criteria: - Criterion 1 - Demonstration of interest in the development of research in the areas of Machine Learning, 
Models and physiological signal processing; - Criterion 2 – Motivation and interest.     
VII.III- The evaluation of the criteria and the final classification will be based on a scale from 0 to 100, 
with scores rounded to the nearest hundredth, applying the following formulas: - AR: criterion 1 * (50%) + criterion 2 * (50%) = 100% - I: criterion 1 * (50%) + criterion 2 * (50%) = 100% - Final Classification (FC): AR * (50%) + I * (50%) = 100% 
VII.IV - All candidates who meet the admission requirements are subject to the academic record 
evaluation, carried out according to the criteria and weights defined in VII.I. 
VII.V - Candidates who score below 50 in any selection method will be excluded, and subsequent methods, 
if any, will not apply to them. Candidates who are duly notified but fail to attend the interview (if applicable) 
or withdraw at any stage will also be excluded. 
VII.VI - All candidates who score above 50 in the AR will proceed to the next method, i.e., the interview.  
VII.VII - Tie-breaking criteria: In the event of a tie in the rankings, candidates will be ordered in 
descending order as follows: 
a) Based on the score obtained in the first method applied; 
b) Based on the score of their academic qualifications. 
VII.VIII - All provisional and final jury decisions must be justified, recorded in minutes, and published on 
https://apply.uc.pt/.&nbsp ;
VII.IX - Jury Composition: 
President: Professor Jorge Manuel Oliveira Henriques 
Effective Members: Professora Lorena Itatí Petrella, e Professor Paulo José Carrilho de Sousa Gil  
Alternate Members: Professor César Alexandre Domingues Teixeira, e Professor Paulo Fernando Pereira 
de Carvalho  

VIII- Application Submission 
Candidates must access and register on the electronic platform https://apply.uc.pt/ to submit their 
application, selecting the procedure to which they wish to apply. 
Documents uploaded for the application must be in portable document format (PDF). 
Applications are submitted by completing the sections available in the electronic platform "Apply UC" under 
"My Application." 
VIII.I- Mandatory documents to attach when applying: 
➢ Curriculum Vitae, duly updated, dated, and signed;  
➢ Copy of academic degree certificates.  
a) If the possession of a degree is a requirement for the grant, candidates holding a degree obtained 
abroad must, by the end of the application period, provide proof of recognition or evidence that 
it has been requested, as per Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of August 16. Failure to present degree 
recognition at the time of contract signing, as per the RBI-UC, will result in exclusion. 
b) If duly justified, documents proving the possession of academic degrees and diplomas, or their 
recognition, may be waived at the application stage and replaced by a candidate's sworn 
statement. However, until the grant agreement stage, the respective proofs must be submitted 
under penalty of exclusion. 
c) Proof of enrollment in a degree or non-degree course may be waived at the application stage and 
replaced by a sworn statement from the candidate. However, the required proof must be 
submitted by the grant agreement stage under penalty of exclusion.  
➢ Whenever possible, documentation proving prior grant benefits should also be attached to the 
application. 
VIII.II- Other documents to attach when applying: 
➢ Any other elements the candidate considers relevant. 
➢ Motivation Letter; 
➢ Master’s degree academic transcript. 
VIII.III - All application documents must be submitted in Portuguese and/or English. When the originals 
are in another language, a translation into one of these languages must be provided. 
VIII.IV - Applications that are not properly completed or do not meet the admission criteria defined in 
the applicable legislation and this notice will not be accepted. 
VIII.V - No documents required for the application may be submitted after the application deadline. 
VIII.VI - Without prejudice to the penal provisions of the law, false statements made by candidates or 
grant holders regarding relevant matters for the grant award or renewal, or for the evaluation of its 
progress, will result in its cancellation. 

IX – Application deadline: 02/12/2025to 16/12/2025      
     
X - Activity Regime: The grant does not create or constitute a legal-labor relationship. It is carried out 
under an exclusive dedication regime, and the grantee is awarded the Research Grantee Status, as 
stipulated in the EBI and the RBI-UC. 
     
XI - Notification of Candidates: All notifications will be made through the electronic platform Apply UC, 
under the terms of subparagraph c) of paragraph 1 and subparagraph b) of paragraph 2 of Article 112 of 
the CPA and Article 22 of the RBI-UC. The notifications will take effect after being made, as provided in 
Article 113 of the CPA. 
     
XII - Under Articles 121 and 122 of the CPA and Article 22 of the RBI-UC, candidates may, if they wish, 
submit comments regarding the jury's decisions within 10 business days, through the "Audiência dos 
Interessados" option in the platform's procedure section. 
     
XIII - Candidates may also submit a complaint within 15 business days or an appeal to the UC's highest
ranking official within 30 business days, both following the respective notification, under Articles 191 and 
192 of the CPA. 
     
XIV - Selected candidates must declare in writing, within five business days of notification, their 
acceptance of the grant and confirm that they meet the requirements to accept the proposed start date of 
the grant contract. Unless a justifiable reason is provided, failure to provide this declaration within the 
stipulated time will be considered a renunciation of the grant. In case of renunciation or withdrawal by the 
selected candidate, the next candidate on the final classification list will be notified. 
     
XV - The full competition process can be consulted by candidates, subject to prior scheduling, by sending 
an email to the Human Resources Management Service at: sgrh@uc.pt . 
     
XVI - In compliance with subparagraph h) of Article 9 of the Constitution, the University of Coimbra, as 
an employer, actively promotes a policy of equal opportunities between men and women in terms of 
employment access and career progression, ensuring that any form of discrimination is strictly avoided. It 
encourages underrepresented minorities in each area to apply. 
Accordingly, no one may be privileged, benefited, disadvantaged, or deprived of any right or exempted 
from any duty on the grounds of ancestry, age, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, family status, 
economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, 
disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, place of origin, language, religion, political or 
ideological beliefs, or trade union membership. 
The University of Coimbra also promotes measures to facilitate the balance between professional, family, 
and personal life, recognizing the efforts of its employees and fostering motivation. 

XVII- The grantee must submit annual activity reports for each renewal and at the end of the grant contract, as stipulated in Article 7 of the RBI-UC, subject to an opinion issued by the respective supervisor(s). The report models, performance evaluation criteria, and the grant contract model are those approved under the University of Coimbra's Research Grant Regulations.

Website

https://apply.uc.pt/

Research Field

Engineering » Other

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Universidade de Coimbra

Country

Portugal

Geofield

City

Coimbra

Website

https://www.uc.pt/administracao/dpa

Street

Rua Larga

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