[AllUsers-ISR] Positions in human-swarm interaction for MSc holders at ISR - University of Coimbra

Fri Mar 6 09:44:53 WET 2026

(please redistribute; apologies for cross-postings) 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Positions in human-swarm in ter action for MSc holders at ISR - University of Coimbra 

Application period: ** March 6 – 19, 2026 ** 

Detailed call for applications: [ https://www.apply.uc.pt/procedure/v5ih5akhuvgsbt6r | https://www.apply.uc.pt/procedure/v5ih5akhuvgsbt6r ] 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

SCOPE AND DESCRIPTION 
The University of Coimbra ( [ https://www.uc.pt/en/ | https://www.uc.pt/en/ ] ) is pleased to announce two open positions for MSc holders within the scope of the recently funded project "REMORA - Swarm Robotics for the Monitoring and Enhancement of A qua tic Resources", reference COMPETE2030-FEDER-01429400. Pursuing a PhD is not mandatory; however, candidates who are willing to enroll in or are already enrolled in a PhD programme will be positively valued in the selection process. Selected candidates who enroll in a PhD programme will benefit from full tuition fee coverage during the first year and will receive support in applying for funding to cover tuition fees in subsequent years. 

The grant recipients will conduct research under the scientific supervision of Prof. Rui P. Rocha ( [ http://faculty.uc.pt/uc26413/en | http://faculty.uc.pt/uc26413/en ] ), focusing on novel techniques for remote human–swarm in ter action and demonstrating their application in the monitoring and valorization of a qua tic resources using robot swarms. The goals of the work plan are: 

Position 1 
- Development of local control laws to enable the emergence of swarm behaviors, with the objective of deploying a MANET and performing adaptive data sampling; 
- Development of a decentralized method for data aggregation and building situational swarm state awareness; 
- Implementation of swarm robotics algorithms and research prototypes using the ROS 2 middleware; 
- Conducting experiments with physical robot swarms and participating in field experimentation campaigns in collaboration with other REMORA project partners. 

Position 2 
- Design of a user in ter face to provide a human operator with situational awareness of the current swarm state, as well as short- ter m forecasting capabilities; 
- Development of control strategies to induce macroscopically specified swarm behaviours; 
- Implementation of swarm robotics algorithms and research prototypes using the ROS 2 middleware; 
- Conducting experiments with physical robot swarms and participating in field experimentation campaigns in collaboration with other REMORA project partners. 

The workplace will be the Institute of Systems and Robotics ( [ https://www.isr.uc.pt/ | https://www.isr.uc.pt ] ), located within the Dept. of Electrical and Compu ter Engineering at the University of Coimbra. ISR-UC is a research unit in robotics that was recently evaluated as "Excellent" by the Portuguese science agency (FCT). 

The aim of the REMORA project is to transform the monitoring and management of a qua tic resources in Portugal and across the European Union, addressing the need for innovative and sustainable solutions in the blue economy sector. Over the course of this 3-year project, the consortium aims to achieve a Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL6) in a representative environment, demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of robot swarms in two use-case scenarios: fish farms and marinas. 

OFFERED POSITIONS 
- Research fellowship (or PhD scholarship) position with a monthly stipend of 1,309.64 €, plus social security contributions and personal accidents insurance; 
- Doctoral tuition fees (2,750 € per year) covered in the case of a PhD scholarship; 
- Duration: initial period of 9 months, renewable up to nearly the end of the 3-year project, subject to satisfactory performance; 
- Host research unit: ISR - University of Coimbra. 

ELIGIBILITY RE QUI REMENTS 
i) Hold a MSc degree in Electrical and Compu ter Engineering, Compu ter Engineering, Compu ter Science, Data Science, or related knowledge area 
ii) In case of a PhD scholarship, be enrolled or having applied to a doctoral degree in the scientific area of Electrical Engineering and Intelligent Systems, e.g., [ https://apps.uc.pt/courses/EN/course/10081 | https://apps.uc.pt/courses/EN/course/10081 ] 

PROFILE OF THE IDEAL APPLICANT 
The ideal applicant will: 
i) Hold a MSc degree in Electrical and Compu ter Engineering, or Compu ter Science, with Grade Point Average (GPA) of B level or above; 
ii) Have completed a MSc dissertation focused on swarm robotics or in intelligent robotics at large; 
iii) Be enrolled in a PhD programme in Electrical Engineering and Intelligent Systems; 
iv) Be fluent in English, if not a native speaker of Portuguese. 

Check the detailed call for applications at [ https://www.apply.uc.pt/procedure/v5ih5akhuvgsbt6r | https://www.apply.uc.pt/procedure/v5ih5akhuvgsbt6r ] . 

APPLICATION PROCEDURE 
i) Applications must be submitted at [ https://www.apply.uc.pt/procedure/v5ih5akhuvgsbt6r | https://www.apply.uc.pt/procedure/v5ih5akhuvgsbt6r ] af ter regis ter ing on the platform. Failure to submit any of the mandatory documents will result in exclusion from the application process. 
ii) Application period: ** March 6 – 19, 2026 **. 

**Important Notice**: Candidates who did not obtain their MSc degree in Portugal are obliged to present records of the MSc level recognition in Portugal, issued by a Portuguese public higher education establishment, according with the information at [ https://www.uc.pt/en/academicos/graus/reconhecimentos | https://www.uc.pt/en/academicos/graus/reconhecimentos ] . 
For candidates who are still waiting for the end of this recognition process, at least a proof that a request for the MSc level recognition is being processed by the Academic Services of University of Coimbra (e.g., an email from official services) should be included in the application. 

______ 

Rui P. Rocha, PhD 
Associate Professor 
Institute of Systems and Robotics 
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering 
University of Coimbra 
Universidade de Coimbra - Pólo II 
3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal 

E-mail: rui.rocha[at]uc.pt 
Tel.: +351 239 796 256 
MS Teams: rprocha 
Web: [ http://faculty.uc.pt/uc26413/en | http://faculty.uc.pt/uc26413/en ] 
_______ 

Founded in 1290, the University of Coimbra (UC) is the oldest Portuguese university and one of the oldest in the world. UC is nowadays a vibrant academy and an indisputable reference in higher education and research in Portugal and in Europe, due to the quality of the courses taught at its eight Faculties and to its excellence in the promotion of science and technology advances in 46 research units integrated in the University. With more than 2,200 researchers and professors, UC has extensive experience in research programs with competitive research funding, particularly in European Commission (EC) framework programs for research, in several areas including sciences, engineering, health, justice and home affairs, international cooperation, and mobility. In FP7 and H2020, UC participated in 80+ projects and was the coordinator in 15 of them. 
The Institute of Systems and Robotics - University of Coimbra (ISR-UC) is a research unit integrated in UC whose overall goal is to develop excellent research in various areas of science and technology, with emphasis on intelligent systems and robotics. The ISR-UC has participated in over a dozen European projects funded by EC framework programmes. The ISR-UC has been recently evaluated as "Excellent" by the Portuguese science agency (FCT). Portugal is a member of the European Union and is an excellent place to study and do research. 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.isr.uc.pt/archive/allusers/attachments/20260306/f7052a8b/attachment-0001.html>