Privacy Notice for Industrial Mentors Forums
Birmingham City University (BCU) is the data controller, and you are welcome to contact our Data Protection Officer by emailing informationmanagement@bcu.ac.uk or by post to:
Data Protection Officer, Information Management Team, Birmingham City University, Floor 1, Joseph Priestley Building, 6 Cardigan Street, Birmingham, B4 7BD, or by phoning 0121 202 4597.
The Industrial Mentors Forums facilitate an interface (Microsoft Teams) whereby BCU students can interact with professionals (members of the public) currently working in particular areas related to their course. This broadens horizons and allows students to explore a range of potential career paths and increase their employability.
1.What type of personal data is collected and what is the lawful basis?
BCU collects personal data from Industrial Mentors. This is likely to include name, email address, phone number, LinkedIn profile details etc., a self-written profile and photo.
BCU uses the personal data it already has about relevant BCU students: name, BCU email address, programme of study, and relevant BCU staff: name, BCU email address, role.
The legal basis for using this personal information of BCU staff and BCU students is ‘public task’ (because supporting career paths and increasing employability is a core mission of the university, which in law is a public body). It does not mean that the personal data is made publicly available. The lawful basis for using the personal data of the Industrial Mentors is ‘legitimate interests’. Legitimate interests means BCU needs to process the personal information to fulfil its objectives, BCU believes it will not adversely affect the individuals and BCU thinks they would expect it.
Where necessary BCU will also rely on relevant lawful bases, to prevent the loss of life or to defend legal claims.
2.How will the personal data be used and how long is it kept?
BCU will use the personal information to facilitate the forums. This involves relevant BCU staff communicating with the Industrial Mentors. It also involves posting personal data on the forums in order to enable the all participants to contact each other within the forums and to see each other’s forum posts.
The following personal data of Industrial Mentors is visible to others in the forums: name, email address, a self-written profile and photo.
The following personal data of relevant BCU students is visible to others in the forums: name, BCU email address, programme of study.
Relevant BCU staff are also registered into the forums to facilitate the forums. Their name, BCU email address and BCU role is visible to others in the forums.
Personal data will be held on the forums for long as necessary. Once an Industrial Mentor has left the program, BCU will remove their self-written profiles and photo from the forum. The forum facilitator will only keep their details for a maximum of a year after they have stopped being a mentor.
All communication between the BCU students and Industrial Mentors is conducted via the Industrial Forums. People’s email addresses may be visible in the forums. However Industrial Mentors and BCU students must not use the email addresses in the forum to contact each other. BCU advises that communication between professionals and students take place through official university channels, such as Teams and Outlook. However, BCU recognises that there is potential for students and Industrial Mentors to communicate through other professional platforms such as LinkedIn. It is up to the Industrial Mentors and BCU students to decide whether they accept any invitation to connect with someone through these external means and this does not form part of the BCU or Industrial Mentors Forums activity.
If an Industrial Mentor receives inappropriate contact from a student, or a student receives inappropriate contact from an Industrial Mentor, they should report the contact via the University’s Report and Support process.
Mentors / Mentees are responsible for what they choose to disclose about themselves via the Industrial Mentors Forums. The Industrial Mentors Forums are run on Microsoft Teams. Microsoft is a data processor acting on behalf of BCU.
We do not share the personal data you have provided for these purposes with any other organisations outside of Birmingham City University unless we believe someone’s life is in danger or we believe we are compelled to by law.
If there are hard copies of personal information, they are kept in a secure location, and personal data stored electronically is on secure systems within the UK or EU.
3.What rights do I have regarding my personal data?
You have the right to correct or update your personal data at any time. Please get in touch with your main contact at the University to update your details. If you are a student, your main contact for this is your Course Leader. If you cannot contact them, please email informationmanagement@bcu.ac.uk to update your personal data. You may have the right to have your data deleted, the right to restrict processing, the right to object and / or the right to data portability and you have the right to know about and challenge automated decision making and profiling. Follow the links to find out whether those rights apply in these circumstances. To do any of those things or if you have followed the links but would like clarification, please email informationmanagement@bcu.ac.uk.
You have the right to request to see the personal data we hold about you. You can submit a Subject Access Request (SAR) in accordance with the Subject Access Requests (SAR) Procedure.
4.How to ask questions or raise concerns
If you are not content with how we handle your information, please contact our Data Protection Officer to help you in the first instance using the contact details in the introduction to this privacy notice. If you are dissatisfied with the response, you also have the right to complain directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office. You can find out more about this on the ICO’s complaints website.