As of May 25th, 2018, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) imposes data privacy and data protection requirements to agents and institutions that control or process personal data within countries located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”). Such requirements apply to entities located in- and outside the EU, who control or process the personal data of anyone who is in the EU, regardless of EU citizenship.

 

AI4REALNET is an EU project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. The sole responsibility for this website lies with INESC TEC, which is the leader of the project consortium. The European Commission is not responsible for any use of the information contained herein.

 

INESC TEC – Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science, located at Campus da FEUP, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal, holds responsibility for the management of the AI4REALNET website, newsletters and social media profiles (LinkedIn, X and YouTube). For that reason, in what concerns the processing of personal data handled within the AI4REALNET website, INESC TEC is considered the Data Controller.

 

The AI4REALNET consortium is committed to ensuring that all project activities are conducted in an ethically responsible manner. The following “Privacy Policy” explains how INESC TEC collects, uses, discloses, and protects the information, ensuring compliance with the national and European data protection legislation in force.

 

The AI4REALNET project covers the perspective of AI-based solutions addressing critical systems (electricity, railway, and air traffic control) modelled by networks that can be simulated, and traditionally operated by humans, and in which AI complement and augment human abilities. It engages a variety of institutions in a project consortium:

 

• INESC TEC – Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Tecnologia e Ciência
• Institute for Technological Research SystemX
• Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology
• University of Kassel
• Polytechnic University of Milan
• University of Amsterdam
• Delft University of Technology
• Zurich University of Applied Sciences
• University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
• Linköping University
• EnliteAI GmbH
• Reseau de Transport d’Electricite
• TenneT TSO B.V.
• DB Netz AG
• Swiss Federal Railways
• NAV Portugal
• Flatland Association

 

Data processing and legal grounds for processing

 

The Data Controller collects information that users deliberately provide on the AI4REALNET website, namely when they fill out forms, subscribe to a newsletter, or otherwise communicate with us. According to the purposes indicated INESC TEC processes such data most of the times based on users’ consent, the performance a contract or service with the user, and to a much more limited extent on its own legitimate interests.

 

Any personal data collected at the AI4REALNET website is locally stored, under the supervision of the Data Controller. It includes the following details about the user:

 

• First and last name;
• Country;
• E-mail address;
• Company name;
• Company’s business activity.

Additional information about the user may be automatically collected by the AI4REALNET website through cookies, according to the user preferences. Please refer to the Cookie Policy for more details.

 

 

Purpose of personal data processing

 

The Data Controller collects users’ personal data solely to the extent required to fulfil specific purposes:

 

• To notify users about changes to the website, updates and news on the AI4REALNET project, and to communicate about upcoming events related to the project;
• To manage user applications to open calls;
• To manage events and webinars;
• To establish new partnerships and collect feedback from the project’s stakeholders;
• To provide users with access to the AI4REALNET social media profiles;
• To deliver and monitor the performance of newsletters or any other marketing campaigns related to the project.

 

Disclosure and sharing of personal data

 

By default, no personal data collected at the AI4REALNET website are to be shared with external parties, except when and to the extent indispensable to manage the activities for which they were specifically collected, comply with related contractual obligations or with legal requirements. 

Third parties may comprehend public authorities and auditing entities; activity partners in the project, or outsourced service providers e.g., event’s organisers, IT, communications, and data-storage service providers, which would act, in the latter case, as data processors on behalf of INESC TEC. The Data Controller will not share users’ personal information with or sell it to third-party marketers.

 

 

AI4REALNET’s Newsletter

To subscribe to the project’s newsletter, individuals must provide the email address where they wish to receive it. Individuals can unsubscribe anytime by clicking on the ‘unsubscribe’ link available in the footer of each newsletter. The newsletter uses third-party services, namely Mailchimp.

 

 

AI4REALNET’s Social Media

The AI4REALNET project uses the following social media channels to widely disseminate its activities: LinkedIn, X and YouTube. You should read their privacy policies before using them. Users can access them through the project’s website. INESC TEC is the partner responsible for its management.

 

 

Cookies and third-party services

 

The AI4REALNET website was developed by SUBA – The Growth Agency, with the contribution of all members of the project consortium.

 

Cookies are small files that a browser stores on the visitors’ computer or mobile device. These files are necessary for the server's functioning; for example, the server needs to differentiate all users who visit this website and maintain the performance during navigation.

 

In addition to the aforementioned performance cookies, strictly necessary for the functioning of the website, other cookies may be installed, but only after the users' consent. Examples of said cookies are those relating to statistical analysis tools. It is important to point out that the website does not install this type of cookies by default.

 

The AI4REALNET website may contain links to third-party websites or tools over which INESC TEC has no control. However, these resources do not run automatically on our website, thus requiring the users' activation and consent for that purpose. By default, our website blocks the installation of said cookies. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or other similar platforms managed by third parties may install cookies for the purpose of sharing content on social networks or for compiling consultation statistics, but only when activated by the users. In this sense, when used by visitors to our website, they are allowed to activate the resource in question and consent to the collection of that data by the corresponding third party. From that particular moment, INESC TEC will neither determine nor ensure which data about the use of the embedded content is collected. Moreover, INESC TEC will not guarantee that the list of cookies installed by such third parties remains unchanged. We advise the users to review the privacy policy of such service providers before making any their decision on the provision of consent regarding the processing of data.

 

In addition, users will always be able to control and manage these and other aforementioned cookies through the web browser settings, which can block and erase them. For this purpose, you should check your browser's "Help" menu to find out the correct way to change or disable cookies. However, we warn you that the deactivation of the strictly necessary cookies can substantially affect the browsing experience on the website, preventing users from accessing relevant features.

For more information on how to manage cookies and check your settings, we recommend visiting the site www.allaboutcookies.org.

 

 

Storage limitation and Data Subjects Rights

 

Users’ personal data shall be processed and stored by the Data Controller for a maximum of 5 years, corresponding to the duration of the AI4REALNET project activities. However shorter storage periods will apply according to the purpose of the processing in question. In the case of open calls management, data shall be processed only during the course of the considered initiative/project and shall be deleted when they are not anymore necessary for that purpose. As for the newsletters and mailing lists subscription, in general, data is stored until the user unsubscribes from those lists by clicking on the unsubscribe button provided in each message, which will determine the automatic removal from the corresponding list. Data collected through registration forms for events or webinars will generally be deleted shortly after they end, within a 15 days’ timeframe. Other periods may be indicated in specific privacy policies when the user applies to or registers in each initiative through this website. 

 

Following the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation, individuals may exert, during that period, their right to access, rectify, restrict, delete, or object to, their personal data. To exercise any of your rights please use the following email address: AI4REALNET@inesctec.pt.

 

Under the terms of the Article 77 of the GDPR, the data subject has the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in the European Union. In Portugal, the supervisory authority is the CNPD (www.cnpd.pt).

 

INESC TEC’s Data Protection Officer can also be reached at dpo@inesctec.pt.

 

This privacy policy was updated on the November 22th, 2023.