Data Protection
As with all projects, data protection legislation must be followed. International volunteering is not covered in the general data protection policy that students sign when they first register at the University.
If as part of your overseas volunteering project student data is being taken outside of the EEA you will need to develop an agreement with the partner organisation on how the data will be managed and ensure that students agree to their data being sent. Depending on the nature of the partnership, a data sharing agreement may be required.
For overseas projects the following areas may also require more consideration and care:
- You may have access to more personal data and ‘special category’ personal data than normal, for example due to the need to support students with additional health needs or in relation to equal opportunities.
- This information may need to be shared with an external host organisation and therefore may require a specific and detailed privacy notice for students to sign to agree to their data being shared in this way.
- If you are sending data to a host country (outside of the EEA) you will need to pay particular care as legislation is very specific in these circumstances.
We suggest you speak to your Information Governance guardian or HOSA in the first instance. Or for more information please contact the Information Governance Team.