EPFL general privacy policy

The protection of your data is guaranteed by the Data Privacy Policy of EPFL that processes private data in accordance with applicable laws.

epflcareer.ch and epfl-gethired.ch specific privacy policy

This specific privacy policy complements the Data Privacy Policy of EPFL.

In the following, the term "Employers" refers generically to entities outside EPFL that use the epflcareer.ch platform to advertise, on their own behalf or on behalf of third parties, job offers, recruitment events and other career-related activities to EPFL students and graduates, as well as to other audiences.

The use of the data collected, stored and processed through the epflcareer.ch platform ("the Platform") , which the job board epfl-gethired.ch is a part thereof, is governed by the following policy.

1. Data processing controller identity
EPFL is responsible for the processing of your data. EPFL staff members in charge of the processing can be reached at EPFL's Career Center at cc@epfl.ch

2. Data collected, stored and processed

    • Employers and their representatives:
      • Personal Data: first name, last name, gender, professional email address, professional telephone numbers (optional)
      • Professional Data: employer's name, employer's address, department where employed (optional), job title (optional)
      • Password (in crypted form)
      • Total number of connections on the platform
      • Date of last connection
      • Acceptance of our General Terms and Conditions
      • Acceptance of our Data Privacy Policy (this document)
    • EPFL students, incl. exchange students hosted at EPFL and recent graduates.
      • Personal Data: first name, last name, gender, SCIPER, @epfl.ch email address, private email address
      • Only when spontaneously provided by the student: private postal address, phone numbers, date of birth, citizenship. These data can be supplied by users but are not required to use the platform
      • Academic data: level of education, section/doctoral school, last semester of enrollment, exmatriculation date, deadline for thesis defense (PhD candidates only)
      • Password (in crypted form)
      • Total number of connections on the platform
      • Date of last connection
      • Acceptance of our General Terms and Conditions
      • Acceptance of our Data Privacy Policy (this document)
      • Additional documents asked for when registering or applying for participating in an event on the Platform, such as CV, motivation letter, academic transcript, etc. Such documents are only stored for a limited time, see Art. 7)
    • Other authorized users ("guests")
      • Personal Data: first name, last name, gender, email, professional or student status.
      • Password (in crypted form)
      • Total number of connections on the platform
      • Date of last connection
      • Acceptance of our General Terms and Conditions
      • Acceptance of our Data Privacy Policy (this document)
    • Visitors
      Access to the Platform by visitors other than those listed above is limited. They are not given access to the parts of the Platform requiring identification. No personal information is collected for browsing the parts of the Platform that are visible to the general public.

3. Purpose and justification of the processing
The data is processed primarily for the purpose of delivering the agreed-upon service, i.e.

    • For employers and their representatives: to enable them to advertise job openings, recruitment events and other career-related activities with EPFL students, EPFL graduates and other individuals.
    • For EPFL students, EPFL recent graduates and other authorized users:
      • allow them to register and participate in the various activities proposed by the Career Center, by other EPFL services or by third parties in conjunction with the Career Center.
      • allow them to find out about job offers, recruitment events and other activities organized by employers (registration for or application to these activities is not possible through the Platform).

Some data may be processed for statistical purposes for EPFL's internal use. The processing is justified by EPFL's legitimate interest in the proper functioning and optimisation of the Platform in accordance with Art. 36b, para. 2, letters d and e of the Federal Act on the Federal Institutes of Technology (RS 414.110).

More information about EPFL's Career center activities can be found at https://career.epfl.ch

4. Usage of data
The data is used for the purpose described hereabove. Personal contact details can also be used for communicating with users registred on the Platform, in relation to the purpose of the Platform.

5. Place of processing
The data is processed exclusively in Switzerland.

6. Communication of data to thrid parties
The data processed on the Platform is not communicated to third-parties, with the exception of those duly commissioned by EPFL to assist in the delivery the service, in particular Talentwerk AG in St-Gallen, who host the Platform. Information related to a particular individual is never communicated to third parties without his/her explicit consent, except if required by law.

7. Data retention period
The data is stored as long as users use the Platform, and

    • for employers and their representatives: up to 5 years after the date of their last connection
    • for EPFL students and recent graduates: up to 3 years after their exmatriculation date.
    • for other authorized users: up to one year after their registration date

The data not subject to legal obligations imposing a longer retention period (in particular the Federal Act on Archiving RS 152.1) will be deleted after that period.

Documents uploaded to the Platform by users other than employers or their representatives are systematically deleted after one month. This applies in particular to documents containing personal data that may be requested during a registration or application process, such as CVs, cover letters, transcripts, etc.

Documents uploaded to the Platform by employers or their representatives are deleted at the same time as their personal data, i.e. 5 years at the latest after the date of their last connection.

8. Security
EPFL ensures the security of personal data of registered users by implementing appropriate technical and organisational measures to prevent any accidental or intentional manipulation, loss, destruction, communication of data or unauthorised access to it. These measures are in line with the state of the art with regards to the risks incurred.

9. Your rights

    • Right of access: you have the right to know what personal data is kept about you on the Platform and to ask (in writing) to see a copy.
    • Right to be informed: you have the right to be informed about how your personal data is used.
    • Right to withdraw consent: when your personal data is processed with your consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time
    • Right to oppose the transfer of personal data: you have the right to oppose the transfer of specific personal data, to the condition that you prove legitimate interest.
    • Right of rectification: If you believe your personal data is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to ask for it to be rectified or completed.

      Requests to exercise your rights can be made at dpo@epfl.ch. A proof of personal identification may be asked for. The data controller reserves the right to refuse any request that is considered abusive or contrary to the law.

This privacy policy may be updated at any time. The updated policy will be announced when the user attempts to connect to the Platform for the first time after the update and his/her consent will be seeked.

Last updated: 14 September 2021