Data protection and processing of personal data

Data protection means the protection of personal data and individuals’ privacy during the processing of personal data. Data protection covers all the operations at Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK) involving the processing of personal data. Whenever processing personal data, we comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), national legislation, and the regulations and guidelines of public officials.

This website contains information about the processing of personal data at VAMK. The principles of data protection are described on our Data Protection Policy

1. Personal data processing at VAMK

Protecting your privacy and personal data is of utmost importance to us. VAMK processes the personal data of students, staff members, customers and stakeholders in order to conduct its operations. The processing of personal data takes place according to consent of the person concerned, within a scope of an agreement or the rights granted by legislation. We look after the personal data in our possession and only process it for a justified purpose, specified in advance.

We will disclose personal data only to the extent obligated and allowed by law, for example to public officials or others that have a legal right to process this data. We retain personal data only for the duration required by the purpose of its processing.

2. Data subject’s rights

When we process your personal data, you have a right to:

receive information about the processing
view and verify your data
request that your data be rectified
demand that your data be erased (not applicable to statutory duties)
demand limitations to the processing of your personal data
oppose the processing of your personal data
request that the personal data you have submitted be transferred from one controller to another
withdraw your consent, if the processing of your personal data is based on consent
avoid being subject to automated decision-making.

Requests regarding the verification, rectification and erasure of data should be sent to VAMK’s data protection officer. The contact details can be found below.

You have a right to submit a complaint to the national Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman if current data protection legislation has been violated while processing your personal data.

3. Protection of personal data

At VAMK, we use appropriate technical, organisational and administrative security procedures in order to protect the personal data in our possession. Personal data is only handled by employees of VAMK or data processors commissioned by VAMK in connection to their roles and after having appropriately identified themselves. The IT systems and services are protected from unauthorised access according to the sector’s good practices, their ability to function is secured and their lifecycles are managed.

If you detect or suspect a breach in VAMK’s data protection, please notify the data protection officer immediately.

4. Data protection in connection to theses and projects

Theses

If your thesis includes a study for which you collect personal data, you need to inform the participants about the processing of the data. Personal data includes all data that can be used to identify an individual, either directly or indirectly, for example by linking a piece of information to another piece that enables identification. Typically, the student will serve as the controller when it comes to their thesis. More information available on Data Protection in Thesis Work.

Projects

If an RDI project includes a study for which personal data is collected, the participants need to be informed about the processing of the data. Data protection during RDI projects is described on Tritonia’s website (information available only in Finnish).

You can contact VAMK’s data protection officer for more information and assistance in preparing a privacy notice for your thesis or project.