Data Privacy Statement

Data Controller Details

National University of Ireland, Galway is the Data Controller and is committed to protecting the rights of individuals in line with the Data Protection Act 1988-2018 (DPA) and the new General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR). 

Data Protection Officer Details

Our University Data Protection Officer may be contacted by email at dataprotection@nuigalway.ie 

What information does NUI Galway collect?

To maintain the currency of our database, we regularly update basic records with details of any contact and links with NUI Galway since graduation. NUI Galway event attendance, volunteering activities and donations are also recorded. The information updated in this way might include name, education, date of birth, contact details including address, telephone numbers and email addresses, and career and further achievements. We may also capture information about graduates that is published publicly and append it to records.

How does NUI Galway use your information?

We may use your personal information:

• To communicate university initiatives that we believe might be of interest based on your status as an NUI Galway graduate including Alumni activities, post graduate opportunities, career development opportunities, professional & part time courses.

• To invite you to events

• To further our charitable aims, including for fundraising purposes

• To provide any services a graduate might request

• For administration purposes

As part of this, we may analyse the personal information we collect to create a profile of graduate interests and preferences so that we can establish contact in the most appropriate way and with the most relevant information.

Security & Location of Data

Your data is stored in a secure database located within the European Union managed by a reputable third party on behalf of NUI Galway's Information Systems Services (ISS) department, following industry best practice. Your data may be held outside the European Union by our service providers. Such data retention is required to be in compliance with the Privacy Shield Framework and the GDPR. Paper records are also held in Ireland only.

We take appropriate measures to ensure that the personal information we hold is kept secure, accurate and up-to-date and kept only for so long as is necessary for the purposes for which it is used and is thereafter securely destroyed or permanently deleted. Although we use appropriate security measures once we have received your personal data, the transmission of data over the internet (including by e-mail) is never completely secure. We endeavour to protect personal data, but we cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted to us or by us.

Data Retention and Changes and Access to Data

NUI Galway is required under the Universities Act 1997 to allow graduates to participate in elections of graduates to its Governing Authority. To facilitate this, the University maintains a database of its graduates including contact details. If your personal details should change please let us know so that we can update our records.

You have the right to ask for a copy of all the information we hold about you and to have any inaccuracies in your information corrected. If you wish to exercise this right please contact Data Protection Officer, Room A129, the Quadrangle, University Road, Galway or email dataprotection@nuigalway.ie. You will be asked to formally prove your ID before your data can be released.

If you have any queries, or wish to restrict data processing or do not want us to contact you, please email alumni@nuigalway.ie  or call us on +353 91 494310.

Please note, minimal information is always retained to make sure you are not contacted again inadvertently: name, subject, graduation details, student number and date of birth.

What is our legal basis for processing your personal data?

NUI Galway also processes your data under the following clause of Article 6 Personal Data of the GDPR rules:

“processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;”

Where such processing does not fall under its public tasks, NUI Galway also processes your data under the following clause of Article 6 Personal Data of the GDPR rules:

"Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party."

In certain circumstances, where applicable we may also process your data to perform a contract with you, under a legal obligation and/or where we have your consent to do so. If you do not wish us to process your data, please email alumni@nuigalway.ie or call us on +353 91 494310.

Who receives your information?

We may occasionally pass your information to our service providers, for example mail fulfilment companies. We always make sure that there are appropriate controls in place first: the service provider will never use your data for any additional non-NUI Galway purpose and service providers are always obliged to delete all data records once the specific task for which they were provided has been completed.

We may need to disclose your information if required by law (for example to government bodies and law enforcement agencies). We will never sell any of your personal information.

How to make a Complaint

If you are unhappy with the way in which your personal data has been processed you may contact the University Data Protection Officer using the contact details above.

If you remain dissatisfied then you have the right to apply directly to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (http://www.dataprotection.ie).

Changes to this Privacy Notice

We may modify or amend this privacy notice from time to time. To let you know when we make changes to this privacy notice, we will amend the "Last Updated" date at the bottom of this page. The new modified or amended privacy notice will apply from that updated date. Therefore, we encourage you to periodically review this notice to be informed about how we are protecting your information.

 Last Updated: April 2020