Aura Innovation Centre (AIC) Privacy Policy

Privacy Notice

Aura Innovation Centre (AIC)

The Aura Innovation Centre (AIC) is owned and delivered by the University of Hull and is part funded by European Regional Development Fund and the Green Port Growth Programme. By connecting businesses with university research, public sector and local communities in one convenient place, the AIC supports businesses of all sizes, helping them to accelerate low-carbon projects, drive green innovation and deliver clean business growth.

The information that you provide will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The Aura Innovation Centre (AIC) provides flexible, high quality space including bespoke research, development and innovation facilities. Activities delivered from the centre include stimulating demand and building the low carbon supply chain. The AIC encourages, supports and underpins low carbon product and process innovation, facilitating collaboration between SME’s, supply chain companies the research base and others. The AIC provides business support services for businesses. This support includes low carbon business innovation support and comprises of events held virtually and in-person and a combination of academic and technical staff time to scope, design and deliver innovation projects together with materials and equipment support to Small & Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). The AIC also provides meeting and conference space and desk hire for businesses to rent during projects.

This Privacy Notice is for SME’s engaged or looking to engage with the AIC. It sets out the ways in which the AIC gathers, uses, stores and shares your data. The notice also sets out how long we keep your data and what rights you have in relation to your data under the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Where do we get your data from?

We collect data about you when you register an interest in the Aura Innovation Centre or attend one of our events (virtually and/or in-person). Much of the data we hold comes from Initial Enquiry Forms, Event Registration forms and the information you provide in an ERDF Eligibility form. Additional information may be provided during a Company Innovation diagnostic. Information relating to you and your business may have been provided to us by third parties e.g. other funded support programmes for the purpose of providing you with additional and appropriate support. Where third parties have provided this, we will seek express permission from you that the AIC may store this information. In addition to the information provided, the AIC will undertake checks to ensure eligibility and obtain documents that are publicly available and through internal systems e.g. FAME

What data do we collect and retain?

Personal data including name, email address, telephone number, job title, company/business details.

What is our legal basis for processing your data?

The University of Hull is contractually obliged to collect and retain certain types of data, in various formats to fulfil its functions as a business support provider. As a data controller, the University of Hull requires a legal basis to process your personal data. The lawful bases that are being relied upon are:

Consent: this means that you have agreed that we can use your data for this specific purpose. You are able to withdraw your consent at any time.

Necessary for the performance of a contract between you and University of Hull:

How do we use your data?

The AIC may process your personal data for the following purposes:

• To progress your enquiry and/or application for innovation support.
• Progress your event booking and notify you of registration details.
• To process payments and send out invoices.
• To track our engagement activity with you and your organisation.
• For reporting; statistical & research purposes; statutory purposes and subsequent evaluation of the project.
• Raise invoices to you for services including desk rental space, meeting and conference room hire, workshop services and commercial services.
• To provide information on engaged businesses via progress reports to the AIC’s external funding body – Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and other Government Departments.
• To enable the AIC to effectively communicate with you.
• We may also send you marketing communications to update you about initiatives, events and conferences, training and funding opportunities and newsletters and sector updates if you have given us your explicit consent to do so.

Who do we share your data with?

The AIC may share your data with:

• Staff directly involved in the AIC ERDF programme for the purpose of providing you with appropriate support.
• Employees of the University of Hull for the purpose of providing you with appropriate support.
• The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for contractual reasons.
• Third parties that process data on behalf of the AIC.
• Business support providers the AIC works with to provide you with appropriate business support.
• The information may be used by the University of Hull and its subsidiaries and partner organisations to support your enquiry and may be shared with funders, organisations delivering services on their behalf, the Managing Authority of the funds; Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Local Enterprise Partnerships and auditing bodies (e.g. the European Court of Auditors) for the purposes of administering and reporting on this project.

How do we keep your data secure?

The AIC takes information security extremely seriously and has robust systems in place to protect your data. Access to information is restricted and will only be shared as detailed above. The AIC is required to keep printed copies of all paperwork, this data is held within locked offices which can only be accessed by AIC staff.

All electronic documents are stored on a secure server at the University of Hull. Access to documents are restricted to staff directly involved in the AIC programme. If your information is shared with any of the parties listed above we will send these securely with password protection via email.

How long will we keep your data?

The AIC will retain your data in line with legal requirements or where there is a business need.

If you enquire about the AIC, attend an ERDF funded event, rent space or hire meeting and conference facilities or receive support from the AIC through a combination of academic and technical staff time to scope, design and deliver innovation projects together with materials and equipment support and workshop equipment support, this data will be maintained in line with the contractual requirements of the project. In line with the requirements of the ESIF Growth Programme 2014-2020 this data will be maintained for at least 10 years after the lifetime of the funding programme and will therefore be retained until at least 31 December 2035 and will be shared with our funding body, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for contractual reasons, for reporting; statistical & research purposes; statutory purposes and subsequent evaluation of the project.

Your right of access to your personal data

You have a right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. If you would like to request a copy of some or all of your personal data, please contact the University’s Information Compliance Department [email protected]

We want to make sure that your personal data is accurate and up to date. You may ask us to correct or remove information that you think is inaccurate.

Your other rights as a data subject

The GDPR provides you, as a data subject, with a number of rights in relation to your personal data. You have the right to withdraw your consent where that is the legal basis of our processing, have inaccuracies in the personal data that we hold about you rectified, a right to erasure, to request that the processing of your personal data be restricted, to object to certain processing activities and to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office about the way we process your personal data.

Changes to our privacy notice

We will keep our privacy notice under regular review and we will place any updates on our website https://aura-innovation.co.uk/ and inform data subjects of this change.

Who do I contact if I want to know more?

For further information about your right to access information we hold about you, or to make a complaint about the way in which we are handling your personal information please visit our Governance and Information Compliance pages or contact the Governance and Information Compliance Team at [email protected]. If you are not satisfied with our response or wish to raise a complaint with our supervisory body, you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

University of Hull Details:

The University of Hull is a registered data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office. The registered address is:

The University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6 7RX

If you would like to update your information or preferences, please email us at [email protected]

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