BIPD/ARIES-Health/2026

About this position

A call for applications is now open for the award of one (1) postdoctoral fellowship under the ARIES project (reference M2030-FEDER-03053400), funded by the IDR (Regional Development Institute), subject to the following conditions:

I. Scientific Field: Computer Engineering, Human-Computer Interaction, or related fields.

II. Admission Requirements:

a) General requirements:

a. The candidate must hold a doctoral degree, with an academic and scientific background demonstrating specialization relevant to the execution of the work plan;

b. The doctoral degree must have been obtained within the three years preceding the application submission date;

c. The postdoctoral research must be conducted at a host institution different from the one where the research leading to the doctoral degree was carried out;

d. The research activities do not require prior postdoctoral experience;

e. The research activities must have a duration/execution period of three years or less;

f. Upon entering into this fellowship agreement—including any potential renewals—the fellow must not exceed a cumulative total of three years (whether consecutive or non-consecutive) in this type of fellowship.

b) Preferred requirements:

a. Experience with brain-computer interfaces and the processing of physiological signals.

b. Experience in AI and the analysis of multimodal data.

c. Experience working in high-performance computing (HPC) environments and using GPUs.

1 Supporting documentation for these requirements must be submitted no later than the fellowship contracting stage; prior to this, a sworn declaration of honor may be provided instead. 2 Documents proving the holding of academic degrees and diplomas—or their formal recognition, in the case of those granted by foreign higher education institutions—are not required at the application stage for the support in question; they shall be replaced by a declaration of honor signed by the applicant.

d. Relevant prior experience in programming VR applications for rehabilitation;

e. Relevant prior experience in collecting data from clinical populations;

f. Proficiency in oral and written English, and basic communication skills in Portuguese;

g. Prior experience in research or technological development projects;

h. Knowledge of data privacy and security, particularly regarding the handling of sensitive information.

III. Work plan:

• Conduct a state-of-the-art review on biomarkers applied to the monitoring, assessment, and optimization of clinical interventions in the field of rehabilitation.
• Develop an experimental protocol for the acquisition, processing, and integration of multimodal data, utilizing a local computational infrastructure to ensure the security of users' sensitive medical data.
• Develop and evaluate AI models to identify patterns associated with individual responses and clinical progression during the rehabilitation process.
• Develop methods for the dynamic adaptation of rehabilitation interventions, adjusted based on user performance and progress, using predictions generated by the AI ​​models.
• Evaluate the impact of using VR with adaptive biofeedback on the customization of tasks, stimuli, and difficulty levels presented during rehabilitation.
• Experimentally validate the implemented methodologies through experimental studies.
• Dissemination of results through scientific publications in journals/conferences within the field.

IV. Applicable legislation and regulations: The Research Fellowship Statute (in its current version), the University of Madeira’s Research Fellowship Regulations, and the FCT, I.P. Research Fellowship Regulations (in their current version).

V. Workplace: The work will be carried out at the BIESA Lab, under the scientific supervision of Professor Fernando Manuel Rosmaninho Morgado Ferrão Dias.

VI. Duration of the fellowship: The fellowship will have an initial duration of 12 months. The fellowship contract may be renewed for equal periods, up to a maximum of 36 months or until the end of the project in 2029.

VII. Monthly maintenance allowance: The fellowship amount is €1,901, in accordance with the table of values ​​for fellowships awarded directly by the FCT, I.P. within the country.

VIII. Funding: The fellowship granted under this call will be funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Madeira Regional Programme 2021–2027 (Madeira 2030), Portugal 2030, and the European Union | Operation Code: M2030 FEDER03053400.

IX. Selection methods: The evaluation criteria to be applied are as follows:

• Curricular evaluation (60%): This will take into account the letter of motivation (10%), academic training, and its suitability for the position. (30%), and relevant prior experience (20%).

• Interview (40%).

X. Composition of the Selection Committee:

Chair of the Committee: Prof. Dr. Sergi Bermúdez i Badia

Full Member: Prof. Dr. Fernando Manuel Rosmaninho Morgado Ferrão Dias

Full Member: Prof. Dr. Mônica Cameirão

Alternate Member: Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Lima

XI. Method of publication/notification of results:

Admission lists, as well as the results of each selection method and the final ranking lists, will be published on the website of the Human Resources Unit – Scholarship Office (Núcleo do Bolsista) of the University of Madeira (

http://urh.uma.pt/

), and candidates will be notified via email.

XII. Application period and submission procedure:

a) Applications may be submitted within 15 business days following the publication of this Call;

b) Applications must be formalized by submitting an application letter, accompanied by the following documents:

• Motivation letter;
• Curriculum Vitae;
• Certificate of qualifications.

c) Applications may be delivered in person between 09:00 and 12:30 and between 14:00 and 17:30 at the Human Resources Unit – Scholarship Office (Núcleo do Bolsista) of the University of Madeira, located at Colégio dos Jesuítas, Rua dos Ferreiros, 9000-081 Funchal;