Professional Contacts

Birmingham City University 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 7RJ.

We define a professional contact as a person who does not work for the University but in whose professional capacity has contact with the University or who has chosen to have contact with a professional at the University (for example someone who has attended an event and requested to join a mailing list to hear about future events or to be invited to find out more about participating in research). Non-exhaustive examples of professional contacts include staff at partnership schools, Further Education / Higher Education institutions, collaborative partners, local employers, special guests at Graduation, colleagues in the University sector, external panellists and referees for potential University employees.

We collect personal data in a variety of ways. For example, data is collected through telephone calls, emails, meetings, and from correspondence with you. The personal data we collect about contacts varies but is likely to include the following:

• name of the relevant contact;
• company address;
• contact details, including email address and mobile and landline telephone numbers;
• copies of email correspondence and hardcopy correspondence;
• application form information

The lawful bases on which we rely in order to use the personal data which we collect about you for the purposes set out in this statement will be:

• the processing is necessary for our legitimate interests
• for the performance of contract or in order to take steps at your request to enter into a contract

We use your personal data to:

• stay in contact with you
• develop collaborative working
• invite you to events we consider relevant to you
• share research opportunities
• provide the opportunity for you to work with our students
• process your application for a role, such as but not limited to, being a supervisor or mentor to students
• include your name / role in minutes of meetings you have attended
• fulfil health and safety regulations of events you attend
• provide for your access or dietary requirements

Your contact details will be held securely by the relevant members of staff. We do not hold a central mailing list, so you will not receive generic email from the University. Instead you will only be contacted in circumstances where we believe you would wish to be contacted. We keep your personal data for as long as it is needed, which depends on each contact. When this time has been reached, the personal data is securely destroyed. If you have chosen to join a mailing list, we will contact you every three years to ask you whether you would still like to be on the mailing list. If we do not receive a response from you, or if we receive a negative response then your personal data will be securely destroyed / deleted. Before then you can also withdraw your consent or ask for your personal data to be deleted by contacting the person who contacted you or by contacting the Data Protection Officer informationmanagement@bcu.ac.uk clearly describing what contact you are receiving, from whom, so that they can assist you in the process of stopping it.

Hard copies of personal data are kept in a secure location and personal data stored electronically is on servers are located within the UK or EU. Your personal data may be stored in a relevant database such as for work-based learning careers or school partnership, school placement opportunities.

Your personal data will only be accessible to relevant University staff. We share your personal data if, after consideration, we believe it is everyone’s mutual interest to do so. i.e. if a member of our staff knows that you would like to be put in contact with someone from a particular area of the University sector. If you do not wish us to every share your personal data in this way, please make that known to your main contact here or email informationmanagement@bcu.ac.uk. We will then act to remove you from our contacts or limit contact, depending on your wishes.

In addition to the circumstances stated above we will share your personal data if we believe someone’s life is in danger or we believe we are compelled to by law. We will never sell your details to a third party or transfer your data to countries outside the EEA.

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 cannot contact them, please email informationmanagement@bcu.ac.uk to update your personal data. You may have the right to have your personal 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 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.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office about the handling of your personal data and can find out more about this on their website.

BCU Data Protection Policy

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) information for members of the public  - For the Public website