Privacy Declaration

The following privacy declaration applies to the use of the website www.ifi-ge.de.

We attach great importance to data protection. The collection and processing of your personal data is carried out in accordance with the applicable data protection regulations, in particular the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We collect and process your personal data in order to be able to offer you the above mentioned portal. This declaration describes how and for what purpose your data are collected and used and what options you have in connection with personal data.

By using this website, you consent to the collection, use and transfer of your data in accordance with this privacy statement.

1    Responsible authority

The authority responsible for the collection, processing and use of your personal data within the meaning of the GDPR is

Institute for Innovation Research and Management – ifi
Prof. Dr. Bernd Kriegesmann
Buscheyplatz 13
D-44801 Bochum

If you wish to object to the collection, processing or use of your data by us in accordance with these data protection provisions, either as a whole or for individual measures, you can send your objection to the above-mentioned responsible body. You can save and print out this data protection declaration at any time.

The data protection officer of the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences is
Ms Kristina Homscheid
(Contact: Kristina.Homscheid(at)w-hs.de).

2    General use of the website

2.1    Access data

We collect information about you when you use this website. We automatically collect information about your usage pattern and your interaction with us and register data about your computer or mobile device. We collect, store and use data about every access to our online offer (so-called server log files). The access data include the name and URL of the accessed file, date and time of access, amount of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, operating system, referrer URL (i.e. the previously visited page), IP address and the requesting provider. We use this protocol data without allocation to your person or other profiling for statistical evaluations for the purpose of operation, security and optimisation of our online offer, but also for anonymous recording of the number of visitors to our website (traffic) as well as the extent and type of use of our website and services, as well as for accounting purposes to measure the number of clicks received from cooperation partners. Based on this information, we can provide personalized and location-based content and analyze traffic, troubleshoot and correct errors and improve our services. We reserve the right to subsequently check the log data if there is a justified suspicion of illegal use based on concrete evidence. We store IP addresses in the log files for a limited period of time if this is necessary for security purposes or if it is necessary for the provision of services or the invoicing of a service, e.g. if you use one of our offers. After cancellation of the order process or after receipt of payment, we delete the IP addresses if they are no longer required for security purposes. We also store IP addresses if we have concrete suspicion of a criminal offence in connection with the use of our website. We also save the date of your last visit (e.g. when registering, logging in, clicking on links etc.) as part of your account.

2.2    E-mail contact

If you contact us (e.g. via contact form or e-mail), we will save your details for the purpose of processing the enquiry and in the event that follow-up questions arise. We only store and use other personal data if you give your consent or if this is legally permissible without special consent.

2.3    Legal bases and storage period

The legal basis of the data processing according to the above paragraphs is Article 6, paragraph 1, letter f (GDPR). Our interests in data processing are, in particular, to ensure the operation and security of the website, to investigate the way in which visitors use the website and to facilitate the use of the website.

Unless specifically stated, we store personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes pursued.

3    Your rights as an affected person by data processing

Under applicable laws, you have various rights regarding your personal data. If you wish to assert these rights, please send your request by e-mail or by mail, clearly identifying yourself, to the address mentioned in point 1.

Below you will find an overview of your rights.

3.1    Right of confirmation and information

You have the right to obtain confirmation from us at any time as to whether personal data concerning you is being processed. If this is the case, you have the right to obtain from us free information about the personal data stored about you, together with a copy of this data. Furthermore, you have the right to receive the following information:

1.    The processing purposes;

2.    The categories of personal data processed;

3.    The recipients or categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, in particular in the case of recipients in third countries or international organisations;

4.    If possible, the planned duration for which the personal data will be stored or, if this is not possible, the criteria for determining that duration;

5.    The existence of a right of rectification or erasure of personal data relating to you or of a right to have the processing limited by the controller or to object to such processing;

6.     The existence of a right to lodge an appeal to a supervisory authority;

7.    If the personal data are not collected from you, all available information on the origin of the data;

8.     The existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, in accordance with Article 22 paragraphs 1 and 4 of the GDPR and, at least in these cases, meaningful information on the logic involved and the scope and intended impact of such processing on you.

If personal data are transferred to a third country or to an international organisation, you have the right to be informed of the appropriate safeguards pursuant to Article 46 of the GDPR in connection with the transfer.

3.2    Right of rectification

You have the right to ask us to correct any incorrect personal data concerning you without delay. Taking into account the purposes, you have the right to request the completion of incomplete personal data, including by means of a supplementary declaration.

3.3    Right of deletion ("Right to be forgotten")

You have the right to request us to delete personal data relating to you immediately and we are obliged to delete personal data immediately if one of the following reasons applies:

1.     The personal data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or otherwise processed.

2.     You revoke your consent on which the processing was based pursuant to Article 6 paragraph 1 letter a or Article 9 paragraph 2 letter a of the GDPR and there is no other legal basis for the processing.

3.     You object to the processing in accordance with Article 21 paragraph 1 of the GDPR and there are no overriding legitimate reasons for the processing, or you object to the processing in accordance with Article 21 paragraph 2 of the GDPR.

4.     The personal data have been processed unlawfully.

5.     The deletion of the personal data is necessary to comply with a legal obligation under Union law or the law of the Member States to which we are subject.

6.     The personal data have been collected in relation to information society services offered, in accordance with Article 8 paragraph 1 of the GDPR.

If we have made the personal data public and we are under an obligation to delete them, we shall take reasonable measures, including technical measures, taking into account the available technology and the implementation costs, to inform data controllers who process the personal data that you have requested them to delete all links to these personal data or copies or replications of these personal data.

3.4    Right to restrict processing

You have the right to demand that we restrict processing if one of the following conditions is met:

1.     The accuracy of the personal data is disputed by you, for a period of time which enables us to verify the accuracy of the personal data;

2.     The processing is unlawful and you have refused to delete the personal data and instead demand the restriction of the use of the personal data;

3.     We no longer require the personal data for the purposes of the processing, but you require the data for the assertion, exercise or defense of legal claims, or

4.     You have lodged an objection to the processing pursuant to Article 21 paragraph 1 of the GDPR, as long as it is not yet clear whether the legitimate reasons of our company outweigh yours.

3.5    Right to data portability

You have the right to receive the personal data concerning you that you have provided to us in a structured, common and machine-readable format and you have the right to transfer this data to another responsible person without hindrance by us, provided that

1.     The processing is based on a consent pursuant to Article 6 paragraph 1 letter a or Article 9 paragraph 2 letter a or on a contract pursuant to Article 6 paragraph 1 letter b of the GDPR and

2.     The processing is carried out using automated procedures.

When exercising your right to data transfer in accordance with paragraph 1, you have the right to obtain that the personal data be transferred directly from us to another controller, insofar as this is technically feasible.

3.6    Right of objection

You have the right to object at any time, for reasons arising from your particular situation, to the processing of personal data concerning you that is carried out on the basis of Article 6 paragraph 1 letters e or f of the GDPR, including profiling based on these provisions. We will no longer process personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate reasons for processing that outweigh your interests, rights and freedoms, or unless the processing serves to assert, exercise or defend legal claims.

Where personal data are processed by us for the purpose of direct marketing, you have the right to object, at any time, to the processing of personal data concerning you for the purpose of such marketing, including profiling, insofar as it relates to such direct marketing. You have the right to object, for reasons arising from your particular situation, to the processing of personal data concerning you for the purposes of scientific or historical research or for statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89 paragraph 1 of the GDPR, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

3.7    Right of revocation of a data protection consent

You have the right to revoke your consent to the processing of personal data at any time.

3.8    Right of appeal to a supervisory authority

You have the right to complain to a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement, if you consider that the processing of personal data concerning you is unlawful.

4    Data security

We make every effort to ensure the security of your data within the framework of the applicable data protection laws and technical possibilities. Your personal data will be transmitted encrypted. This applies to your orders and also to the customer login. We use the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) coding system, but would like to point out that data transmission on the Internet (e.g. when communicating by e-mail) can have security gaps. A complete protection of data against access by third parties is not possible. To protect your data, we maintain technical and organisational security measures which we continually adapt to the state of the art. Furthermore, we do not guarantee that our offer is available at certain times; disturbances, interruptions or failures cannot be excluded. The servers used by us are regularly and carefully secured.

5    Automated decision-making

There is no automated decision-making on the basis of the personal data collected.

6    Transfer of data to third parties, no data transfer to non-EU countries

As a matter of principle, we only use your personal data within our company.

If and to the extent that we involve third parties in the performance of contracts (such as logistics service providers), they will only receive personal data to the extent that the transmission is necessary for the corresponding service.

In the event that we outsource certain parts of the data processing ("contract processing"), we contractually oblige contract processors to use personal data only in accordance with the requirements of the data protection laws and to ensure the protection of the rights of the data subject. Data transmission to bodies or persons outside the EU outside the cases mentioned in this statement in point 2.3 does not take place and is not planned.

7    Use of cookies

The offer partly contains so-called "cookies". Cookies are text files which are stored by the operator of a website on your devices either temporarily or permanently and which your browser saves.

The cookies used are the double click cookie from Google (permanent storage) and the so-called "Matomo cookie" (temporary storage). The Double Click Cookie is then stored and saved by Google on your devices when you play the videos embedded in our website from Youtube. We do not receive any data from Google that is collected and processed on the basis of the cookie storage, but we cannot influence this storage. In order to make our website more interesting and user-friendly for you, we would not like to do without the partial embedding of YouTube videos in our website. The legal basis for this is based on Article 6 paragraph 1 letter f of the GDPR - safeguarding our legitimate interests.

You can prevent the use of cookies by setting your internet browser so that it does not accept cookies. However, you can also specify in your browser whether you wish to be informed about the setting of cookies and only allow cookies in individual cases, whether you want to exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or also generally. You can also activate the automatic deletion of cookies when you close your browser. How to do this depends on your browser.

If cookies are deactivated for our website, you may no longer be able to play all YouTube videos.

8    Web analysis by Matomo

8.1    Scope of processing of personal data

We use the open source software tool Matomo on our website to analyse the surfing behaviour of our users. The software sets a cookie on your device (for cookies see above). If individual pages of our website are called up, the following data is stored:

Two bytes of the IP address of the calling system of the user

1.    The accessed website
2.    The website from which the user accessed the accessed website (referrer)
3.    The sub-pages that are accessed from the accessed website
4.    The time spent on the website
5.    The frequency of visits to the website

The software runs exclusively on the local servers of our university. A storage of this data only takes place there. The data will not be passed on to third parties.

8.2    Legal basis for the processing of personal data

The legal basis for the processing of personal data is Article 6 paragraph 1 letter f GDPR. Our legitimate interest in this data processing lies in our need to provide you with a website that is designed to meet your needs and optimised for the terminal equipment used.

8.3    Purpose of the data processing

The processing of personal data enables us to analyse the surfing behaviour of our users. By evaluating the data obtained, we are able to compile information on the use of the individual components of our website. This helps us to constantly improve our website and its usability. For these purposes, we also have a legitimate interest in processing the data in accordance with Article 6 paragraph 1 letter f GDPR. By making the IP address anonymous, the interest of the users in their protection of personal data is sufficiently taken into account.

8.4    Duration of storage

The data is deleted as soon as it is no longer required for our recording purposes.

This website uses Matomo, an open source software for statistical evaluation of visitor access. Matomo uses cookies. The information generated by the cookies about your use of this offer is stored on the server of the provider in Germany. The IP address is anonymised immediately after processing and before it is stored. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser. However, we would like to point out that in this case not all functions of this website can be used to the full extent.