Mobility programs

Mobility programs — planning and implementation of stays abroad at EUF and abroad

Purpose

The International Center supports both students and staff at EUF in planning and implementing stays abroad. It also assists students and staff from partner institutions during their stay at Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF). It coordinates and administers cooperation agreements as well as student and staff mobility programs with universities with which contractually agreed exchange programs exist. In addition, it also supports the organization of stays abroad at institutions without a cooperation agreement with EUF. Furthermore, the International Center administers externally funded programs, including the European Commission’s ERASMUS program and national degree programs.

As part of the application process for a stay abroad, personal data is used exclusively to submit and evaluate the application and, in the event of acceptance, to handle the organizational aspects of the stay and the funding. Data is collected while administering stays for incoming and outgoing students and staff (particularly for Erasmus+ programs) as well as for international partnerships via the MoveOn online platform. Access to the MoveOn platform is available to all EUF students and staff via the single sign-on procedure and is only possible with a personal university account (i.e., the institutional email address of students or staff). These login data can be reused for further applications to various programs.

Incoming students will receive an email after nomination containing a link to the application form. They enter their personal data into the form by themselves. Access is provided via a personal email address and a password of their choice. The same registration procedure applies to students from partner universities and non-partner universities (free movers).

The data is required for:

  • the preparation of funding agreements for participants
  • the preparation of additional documents, e.g., confirmation of the funding amount
  • the payment of funding
  • the recognition and transfer of credits for coursework completed abroad (within the framework of the European Credit Transfer System)
  • the administration of exchange and funding programs in accordance with the requirements of the funding providers and for the preparation of the final report (report to the EU Commission / the DAAD)
  • Nomination at the partner university
  • Invitations to information events, surveys, and evaluations
  • Information directly related to the stay
  • Contact information in emergency situations in the host country as well as safety guidance
  • Notifications regarding the administration of the program
  • Reminders in the event of failure to fulfill contractually agreed obligations
  • Preparation of the letter of acceptance (incoming students)

Legal basis

The processing of personal data is necessary in accordance with the purpose of processing, as well as to verify the proper use of funds, and for use in university statistics. The legal basis for the personal data collected as part of the contractual agreement with the data subject is the necessity for the initiation and fulfillment of this legal relationship in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.

For joint degree programs, the legal basis for the processing of personal data is that the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, which has been legally entrusted to the EUF in accordance with Article 6(1)(c) GDPR in conjunction with § 3 HSG and Regulation (EU) No. 1288/2013 (for Erasmus+ exchange programs).

Recipients

For the administration of the programs, the MoveOn database of QS UniSolution GmbH, Meitnerstraße 10, 70563 Stuttgart is used as a processor in accordance with Article 28 GDPR.

Your personal data will be shared to the extent necessary with partner institutions where you are carrying out your study abroad or staff exchange.

For the purposes of the Erasmus+ Program, your personal data is transferred to the European Commission via a web-based administration tool (Beneficiary Module) and the national agency of the DAAD, as required by the Erasmus+ Program guidelines. You can view these guidelines by clicking on the following link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-esc/index/privacy-statement.

Data transfer to third countries

If the partner institution is located outside the European Union or the European Economic Area, personal data may be transferred to a third country for which there is neither an adequacy decision by the EU Commission in accordance with Article 45 GDPR, nor suitable data protection safeguards under Article 46 GDPR, including binding internal data protection rules under Article 47 GDPR. Such a transfer to a third country, where there is not the level of protection equivalent to EU data protection, is only permissible under certain requirements:

In accordance with Article 49(1) GDPR, a transfer of personal data to such a third country is permissible, among other things, if this transfer is necessary for the fulfilment of a contract between the data subject and the controller or for the implementation of pre-contractual arrangements at the request of the data subject (Article 49(1)(b) GDPR) and/or the transfer is necessary for the finalization or fulfilment of a contract made in the interest of the data subject by the controller with another natural or legal person (partnership agreement with the host institution) (Article 49(1)(c) GDPR).

Because the transfer of your specified personal data to the host institution in the third country is a prerequisite for the processing and completion of your stay abroad and takes place in the course of establishing or implementing a legal relationship (e.g., in exchange programs), the data transfer finds its legal basis in Article 49(1)(b) GDPR and, if a corresponding partnership agreement with the host institution exists, also in Article 49(1)(c) GDPR.

For data transfers that take place in the context of processing carried out in the public interest, a legal basis for the permissible data transfer may be invoked in accordance with Article 49(1)(d) in conjunction with Article 49(4) GDPR.

Accordingly, a transfer of personal data to a third country is permissible if such a transfer is necessary for compelling reasons of public interest. The public interest must be recognized in EU law or in the law of the member state to which the controller is subject. For Germany, the legal framework under Article 6(1)(e) GDPR (processing in the public interest) is also applicable, supported by specific national regulations such as § 2(5) of the Higher Education Framework Act (Hochschulrahmengesetz, HRG) or § 3(1) of the Higher Education Law (HSG — Gesetz über die Hochschulen und das Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein). International academic exchange, particularly in connection with programs such as Erasmus+ or other inter-university exchange programs, is recognized as a public interest in this context.

Unless the transfer of data to a third country is already permitted under the above provisions, EUF transfers personal data only on the basis of voluntary, explicit consent (Article 49(1)(a) GDPR).

In accordance with Article 7(3) GDPR, the data subject has the right to exercise their right of withdrawal of consent without providing reasons, to amend the declaration of consent with future effect, or to revoke it entirely by post using the contact information provided or by email to datenschutzbeauftragter-PleaseRemoveIncludingDashes-@uni-flensburg.de. The withdrawal of your consent does not affect the lawfulness of the processing of your personal data carried out on the basis of the consent until the withdrawal. Please note that the purpose underlying the processing cannot be achieved following the withdrawal.

Storage time

The personal data collected via the MoveOn online platform as part of the administration of mobility programs for incoming and outgoing students and staff (particularly within the framework of Erasmus+ programs) as well as in the course of managing international partnerships is stored for ten years following the completion of the relevant mobility program or partnership. Further information about the storage time can be found by clicking on the following link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-esc/index/privacy-statement

This storage time allows for the fulfilment of documentation, verification, and funding requirements, as well as internal administrative purposes. Once the storage time has elapsed, the data is anonymized, provided that no legal retention obligations prevent this.

Necessity to provide data

You are not obliged to provide data; however, participation in programs for stays abroad is only possible if you provide us with the required data. If you do not wish to provide your data, you cannot be considered for program placement or participation.

Mobility programs — publication of experience reports and contact communication

Purpose

On completion of a stay abroad, students write an experience report to share their experiences with others. Provided the students have given their explicit consent, the experience report, including any photos provided, may be published on the university’s publicly accessible website to give prospective participants an insight into possible experiences abroad. The processing and publication of the data is carried out by the International Center.

In addition, new EUF outgoing students may express a desire to contact former participants directly. Provided explicit consent is given, contact information (email address) may be shared with interested students for this purpose to facilitate personal communication. This data is also processed by the International Center.

Legal basis

The processing of your personal data is based on your explicit consent in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) GDPR.

Right to withdraw consent and right to object

In accordance with Article 7(3) GDPR, the data subject has the right to exercise their right of withdrawal of consent without providing reasons, to amend the declaration of consent with future effect, or to revoke it entirely by post using the contact information provided or by email to datenschutzbeauftragter-PleaseRemoveIncludingDashes-@uni-flensburg.de. The withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of the processing of your personal data carried out on the basis of consent prior to the withdrawal of consent. Please note that the underlying purpose may not be achievable if consent is withdrawn.

Please note, however, that in the case of publication on the Internet, it cannot be ruled out that content may be stored, modified, or redistributed by third parties. We have no influence over these external processes. Complete removal is not always technically possible and cannot be guaranteed under certain circumstances.

Recipients

Forwarding of contact information to interested students for individual contact (with consent)

Storage time

The personal data processed in connection with the creation and publication of the experience reports is stored for five years from the completion of the corresponding stay abroad. This storage time is based on the need for the experience reports and any shared contact information to remain available for a reasonable period of time in order to provide future mobility applicants with the insights, and to promote exchange between former and new participants. When this storage time elapses, the personal data is deleted, provided there are no legal retention obligations.

Necessity to provide data

Students are informed that they are expected to submit an experience report upon completion of their stay abroad. The experience reports are an essential tool for the International Center for quality assurance and the evaluation of existing partnerships.

Your rights, contact information, Data Protection Officer

For more information, please see the data protection information on the homepage.