External Engagement Privacy policy

This privacy notice explains how the University of Reading (and the Henley Business School) collect and process personal data. This includes the personal data of those that make contact with us, or use one of our services, or those who we contact as part of our external engagement activities. More information on these activities can be found within this notice. This notice is to inform you of how your data is used and your rights under data protection laws.

The University of Reading (and the Henley Business School) are Data Controller (hereafter referred to as “We or Us”) in respect of the information that we process about users of our services (hereafter referred to as “You” or “Your”).

The protection of your personal data and the clear communication of how it is used is important to us, so if there is anything in this privacy notice that is unclear, or that you do not understand, please contact us.  

In this notice we refer to the collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction of your personal data as “processing” (hereafter referred to as “process”, “processes”, “processed” or “processing”). 

• The University of Reading processes your personal data for the following purposes: 
• To keep you up to date on news and events that may be of interest to you. 
• To tailor our communications based on your previous engagement with the University. background and interests. 
• To build relationships with the wider community and University stakeholders. 
• To administer feedback, general enquiries or complaints. 
• To inform you of products and services and opportunities that may interest you. These include educational and vocational courses, professional membership, consultancy and partnership opportunities, volunteering opportunities, events, commercial services and property rentals. 
• To administer payments, acknowledge and administer receipts, and conduct negotiations. 
• To carry out research 
• To administer events including catering and access requirements, where applicable. 
• For equal opportunities monitoring, research and statistical reporting and to evaluate the effectiveness of our operations.

We process the below categories of personal data for the above purposes:

• Name
• Title
• Job role, title or profession
• Date of birth/age
• Postal address(es)
• Contact telephone(s)
• Email address(es)
• Location
• Educational and vocational training records and qualifications (including CV’s where applicable) 
• Nationality/domicile 
• Sex/gender 
• Dietary requirements (where attending catered events or meetings) 
• Vehicle details
• Details of interests, hobbies, and vocational or professional memberships or associations 
• Details of attendance at events or previous commercial transactions or payments 

We may also process more sensitive data (known as “Special Category” data) for the purposes of ensuring any access needs can be met (for example, where attending an event or meeting on campus) or for the purposes of equal opportunity monitoring. Where applicable, this will include:

• Mental or physical health data (for example, any disabilities that you make us aware of)
• Ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, political opinions

Information that we collect about you indirectly

We may also hold personal data we have collected from sources other than you. This includes:

• Information from public sources – such as company sites, social media (for example Linkedin), published media articles, news reports or blogs, and companies house.
• Externally sourced lead generation lists. This includes contact details we obtain from organisations and vendors that compile, for example, contact details you may have provided to previously attended events, or lists of business contacts. 

Automated data collection:

We use cookies on our websites. Cookies are text files placed on your computer to help us analyse how users use our website.

For further information on cookies visit www.allaboutcookies.org or www.aboutcookies.org.  

If you prefer not to receive cookies while browsing our website, You can set Your browser to refuse cookies that are stored on your computer; the above websites tell You how to do this. You do not need to have cookies turned on to use or navigate through most parts of our website, although some functionality may be lost.

More information on the cookies we use can be found on our Website Privacy Policy and Cookie Information page.

Where the University is processing your personal data to advance education, learning and research through the provision, support and maintenance of a University, in line with our University Charter we will be doing so under the lawful basis of the performance of our public tasks. We may rely on this basis for communications with alumni and supporters and where activities involving personal data are for purposes connected to general community outreach and engagement or in support of the University’s charitable objectives or those in the public interest.

We may also process your personal data under the lawful basis of public interest where it is necessary for archiving purposes, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes.

Outside of the above, we may also process your personal data on the lawful basis of legitimate interests. We will rely on this basis where we have balanced your rights and interests against those of the University and rely on this only where we have deemed the processing necessary for the purposes and not unduly intrusive or beyond your reasonable expectations. This privacy notice also serves to ensure that there is full transparency regarding how we process your personal data and to provide information on your rights. We may rely on this basis for business-to-business communications and activities connected to prospect research.

There are also some limited circumstances where we require consent for the processing of your personal data, for example, to receive contact that is subject to laws regarding unsolicited electronic marketing communications. Where this is the case you will be required to confirm your agreement to this processing. Consent can be withdrawn at any time. Please note that where you withdraw consent to receive communications there may be a brief delay while we update our records with your preferences.

Where you are purchasing services, making bookings, renting property, hiring venues, or attending events we may need to process your personal data for the performance of any contract that applies (for example, where you are bound to terms and conditions for an event or sale). In these instances it may not be possible to deliver those services if we do not process your personal data.

Where we process your special category (sensitive) data for equal opportunity monitoring or to assist with any access requirements we will rely on the lawful basis of processing in the public interest where for the purposes of equality of opportunity or treatment and social protection law.

Where any purposes are required by law, we will process your data on the basis of a legal obligation. This will include where we are required for any financial, accounting or auditing purposes and where we process limited personal details in order to maintain marketing suppression lists.

Your personal data will be processed by those working within, or for, the University where it is required for any of the purposes.

The University uses third party providers to help deliver our services, such as organisations that partner with us and externally hosted software or cloud data hosting providers. These parties act under contractual data sharing requirements or as data processors acting solely on our explicit instructions. We ensure that we have measures and terms in place with those providers to ensure that they also protect your data.

There may be circumstances where we are legally obliged to share information. For example under a court order. We might also share information with other regulatory bodies in order to further their, or our, objectives. In these limited circumstances we will always ensure that we  have a lawful basis on which to share the information.

When it is necessary for us to transfer your personal information outside of the UK this will only be done in accordance with safeguards required within the UK GDPR.

The University is a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act and the UK GDPR and subject to information access regimes. Requests for any information are considered on a case-by-case basis, and we will only disclose your information where we are legally required to do so.

We may also be required to share information with auditors or where required under statutory or regulatory regimes. Any personal information shared will be only that deemed necessary and will be anonymised wherever possible.

The University will not sell, license, or trade your personal information.

Under data protection law You also have a number of rights, which are the rights to:

• Request a copy of the personal data that we process about you (Access).
• Request that inaccuracies in personal data that we hold about you are corrected (Rectification).
• Request that personal data that we process about you is erased (Erasure).
• Restrict the processing of personal data that we process about you (Restriction).
• Object to the ways in which we process your personal data where we have processed your data under the lawful basis of our Public Tasks or Legitimate Interests.
• Transfer your data to another organisation. This right applies in very limited circumstances and only where personal data is processed on the lawful basis of consent (Data Portability).

More information on your data rights can be found at the Information Commissioner’s Office website:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/

If you wish to unsubscribe or opt out of any communications, or have any general queries regarding your personal data please contact our external engagement team in the first instance at alumni-data@reading.ac.uk.

If you would like to exercise your rights, or have any concerns regarding how we have handled your personal information please contact our Data Protection Office at imps@reading.ac.uk.

Some rights are dependent on the lawful basis for processing your information. If we have legitimate grounds to not carry out your wishes, these will be explained to you in response to your request.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

We will retain your data for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements. Personal data will be subject to established retention schedules which vary dependant on the nature of the data and the purposes it is required for.

Information used for the purposes of research in the public interest may be retained for longer periods with appropriate safeguards for the protection of personal data in place.

In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.