Website Privacy Policy

The University is the ‘data controller’ as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998. Personal information will only be collected and/or processed by the University in accordance with the Act.

In order to operate the University of Strathclyde website, we may collect and store personal information you submit to the University via this website. Please read the following privacy policy to understand how the University uses and protects the information that you provide.

By submitting your personal information via the website, you are consenting to the University holding and using it in accordance with this policy. The policy is subject to change and any changes to it in the future will be notified on this page. We recommend that you check the privacy policy each time you visit this site.

In this policy ‘Site’ means the Power Networks Demonstration Centre website at www.pndc.co.uk

Information that we collect from you

We collect information about you:

• when you provide us with your personal details (such as your name, contact details, email address, etc) by registering with us or submitting an enquiry via the Site
• when you respond to surveys which we ask you to complete for research purposes
• from your usage of the Site and any other information you post on the site or send to us via email or other means

IP Addresses and Cookies

Information Collected
Information is gathered from clients via the methods outlined below:

1. Log Files
PNDC’s web hosting provider tracks requests made of it to centrally held log files. Log files can contain any or all of the following types of data:

• date and time of connection
• identification of the file(s) requested
• whether the request was successful
• size (in bytes) sent in response
• referring page (where the client came from), as supplied by the client browser
• software used to access the server, as supplied by the client browser

Information gathered is used for server system administration, identifying broken links, and for producing usage statistics. Logged information may be kept indefinitely. Log files do not contain any personal information.

The University of Strathclyde also uses the following log reporting services on its website to measure and analyse visitor information.

Analytics service from Google (www.google.com/analytics/)

Examples of data collected automatically from all users include:

• the Internet protocol (IP) address
• computer and connection information such as browser type and version, operating system, and platform
• Uniform Resource Locator (URL) click stream data, including date and time, and content viewed or searched for on the Site

The University also generates statistics on which operating systems are in use on PCs across campus

2. Cookies
Cookies are small files that are sent from the web server to the client’s computer via the client’s browser. They are then stored in the client’s computer as text files and passed back to the server. Cookies are generally used to identify users and on occasion, prepare customised web pages for them. Cookies may remain on the client’s computer merely for the duration of the session (visit) or they may remain indefinitely. Most standard web browsers may be configured to refuse cookies.

The University of Strathclyde does not use cookies extensively on its servers at present. Such cookies that are used are transient, do not contain any personal information and cannot be used to identify an individual user. Further information is available from Jisc legal, from where we take our legal guidance.

How we use your information

We use your information to:

• enable us to supply you with the goods, services and information which you have requested
• ensure that content from the Site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer
• analyse the information we collect so that we can administer, support and improve and develop the Site
• provide you with information, products or services that you request from us or which we feel may interest you, where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes
• notify you about changes to our service

We may use and analyse the information we collect so that we can manage and improve the services on the website. Demographic and statistical information about user behaviour may be collected and used to analyse the popularity and effectiveness of the website. Any disclosure of this information will be in anonymised form and will not identify individual users.

Disclosure of your information

Authorised personnel within the University will be able to access the information you provide to us. We may also disclose your information to authorised third parties, acting on behalf of the University, for the purposes set out in the policy or for purposes approved by you.

Unless required or permitted to do so by law, we will not otherwise share, sell or distribute any of the information you provide to us without your consent.

Your rights
You have the right to access the personal data which the University holds about you. The University charges a £10 fee to process such a request. Please see http://www.strath.ac.uk/dataprotection/accessingyourpersonaldata/ or contact dataprotection@strath.ac.uk

For further information on your rights under the Data Protection Act please see www.strath.ac.uk/dataprotection/dataprotection-rightsofindividuals/


For further information on the University’s policies in relation to Data Protection please see www.strath.ac.uk/dataprotection If you wish to enquire about Data Protection, this Privacy Policy or Cookies please contact dataprotection@strath.ac.uk