Privacy Policy and Cookies

Introduction

The Special Account for Research Funds of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (hereafter referred to as ELKE AUTH) places great importance on the lawful and secure processing of your personal data and is committed to protecting your privacy.

ELKE AUTH, in compliance with the applicable legal framework, takes appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure the secure processing of your personal data, safeguarding the appropriate level of security against risks arising from unlawful processing. This Privacy Policy outlines the basic principles, guarantees, legal bases, and purposes according to which ELKE AUTH collects, stores, uses, and processes your personal data, which it collects when you visit or use this Website.

By using the Website and Services, you confirm your acceptance of the Privacy Policy, as it applies, including any modifications, additions, or changes made by ELKE AUTH.

Protection Framework

The collection, processing, and protection of your personal data by ELKE AUTH is conducted in accordance with the principles and requirements set forth by Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016, on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR), and Law 4624/2019 "Data Protection Authority, measures to implement Regulation (EU) 2016/679" (Official Gazette A' 137/29.08.2019). ELKE AUTH continuously updates and takes into account all guidelines, decisions, and opinions of the Data Protection Authority (DPA).

Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, the following definitions apply:

1. Personal Data: Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (Data Subject). An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, through identifiers such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of that person.
2. Processing: Any operation or set of operations performed on personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination, or otherwise making available, alignment, restriction, erasure, or destruction.
3. Controller: The natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of processing personal data.
4. Processor: The natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller.
5. Consent: A clear affirmative act by which the data subject signifies agreement to the processing of their personal data.

Personal Data We Collect

We collect the following personal data:

Contact Forms: When you contact us through relevant contact forms, we collect and process your name, email address, and any information you provide in the message.

Communication: When you communicate with ELKE AUTH in any way (email, social media), we collect and process the information you provide.

Cookies: ELKE AUTH processes information collected through cookies. For more details, read the Cookies Policy.

Website Traffic Data: Data such as website visit date, navigation details, user login data, and IP addresses are collected through log files.

Principles of Data Processing

ELKE AUTH collects, stores, and processes your personal data in a lawful and transparent manner for specific, explicit, and legitimate purposes. It strives to ensure that the data is accurate, up-to-date, and limited to what is necessary.

Purpose and Legal Basis for Processing

The primary legal basis for processing personal data by ELKE AUTH is the fulfillment of a public interest task or the exercise of official authority assigned to it. Specifically, the Website supports the research activities of the university, including the management of external funding. The processing is also necessary for security purposes and compliance with legal obligations.

Data Retention

ELKE AUTH retains personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which they were collected, in accordance with the law.

Data Subject Rights

Data subjects have the following rights:

1. Right to be informed.
2. Right of access.
3. Right to rectification.
4. Right to erasure.
5. Right to restrict processing.
6. Right to data portability.
7. Right to object.
8. Right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority.
9. Right to withdraw consent at any time.
10. Contact Information

For questions regarding data processing, you can contact the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of AUTH via email at data.protection@auth.gr or by phone at +30 2310996200. Complaints can also be submitted to the Data Protection Authority at www.dpa.gr.

Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

Greek law applies to disputes regarding this Privacy Policy. The Greek courts have jurisdiction.

Modification of the Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated to reflect changes in the Website’s operations or services offered, always in line with the current legal framework.

The purpose of this Policy is to inform users about the use of Cookies on this Website and to obtain their consent for this purpose.

What are Cookies?

To ensure that the Website functions properly, we may place a small piece of data known as a Cookie on your computer or mobile device. A Cookie is a text file stored by a web server on a computer or mobile device. The content of a Cookie can only be retrieved or read by the server that created it. The text in a Cookie often consists of identifiers, site names, and some numbers and characters. Cookies are unique to the browsers or mobile applications you use and allow websites to store data such as your preferences.

Why Do We Use Cookies?

The collection of information (through Cookie technology) helps ensure the smooth operation of the website, retain your preferences during navigation, improve your experience while using the Website, analyze your activity on the Website, enhance the functioning of the Website, personalize its content and the advertisements displayed on it and other online locations, as well as measure and analyze the effectiveness of the ads. The specific purpose of each Cookie is described in the tables below.

Applicable Law

Cookies are governed by the e-privacy Directive 2002/58/EC, as amended by Directive 2009/136/EC, which was incorporated into Greek law through Law 3471/2006 and Law 4070/2012, as expressly stated in the 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Recital 173. According to applicable law, Law 3471/2006 (Article 4, paragraph 5, as amended by Article 170 of Law 4070/2012), "The installation of cookies is only allowed with the user's consent and after appropriate information is provided." Therefore, during the user's first visit to the website www.rc.auth.gr, pop-up windows appear where the visitor/user can consent to the installation of the cookies specifically mentioned.

Consent

Where your consent has been obtained for the use of Cookies, you have the option to withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the "Cookies" files from your device, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. Please note that deleting Cookies may affect your ease of access to the Website and its services and may reduce its functionality or usability.

Duration of Cookie Storage

Cookies are either temporary (session Cookies), which are retained until you close your browser, or permanent (persistent Cookies), which are kept for a longer period. The duration of Cookies varies based on the type of each one, and they are either automatically deleted upon expiration or manually deleted through your browser whenever you wish. The Cookies used by this Website are stored for the period specified in the tables above.

Cookies and Personal Data

For more information regarding your personal data, your rights, and any other relevant information, please read the Website's Privacy Policy.