MenuClose
Scholarships Privacy Notice

Saïd Foundation Scholarships: Privacy and Confidentiality Statement for Applicants, Scholars and Alumni

1. Data protection

The Saïd Foundation collects, stores, uses and discloses data about scholarship applicants, our scholars and our alumni. We require this information for the management and administration of our scholarship programme, such as services to applicants, current scholars and alumni.

When processing personal data, the Saïd Foundation acts in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018. It is the Foundation’s policy to ensure that every employee maintains the confidentiality of any personal data held by the Foundation. The Foundation takes all reasonable precautions to preserve the integrity and prevent any corruption or loss, damage or destruction of personal data. We use personal data in accordance with this Privacy Notice which sets out, among other things the purposes for which the Saïd Foundation uses personal data.

We are committed to protecting personal data and we are being transparent about what information we hold. This statement explains how we handle and use the personal data we collect for scholarship applicants, our scholars and our alumni.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or our handling of your personal data more broadly, you can contact the Saïd Foundation at any time by email at admin@saidfoundation.org or by post at: 70-72 King William Street, London, EC4N 7HR.

2. The personal data we collect

We hold a range of personal data about applicants, scholars and alumni. We collect the following information directly from you as an applicant, scholar and/or alumni:

  • unique personal identifiers such as date of birth, your nationality and a copy of your passport;
  • contact details including your current address and email. These will be updated whenever you let us know that they have changed (please do so as soon as possible to ensure that the data we hold about you is accurate);
  • personal data provided by you for specific purposes (e.g. disability and medical conditions);
  • copies of medical reports submitted by you if you are a scholar;
  • UK bank details;
  • details of educational history, e.g. your university(ies) and courses you have studied, the dates of study, your academic results and copies of official transcripts;
  • details of your work and voluntary experiences
  • photographs of you at Said Foundation events.

We may collect the following information about you from third parties:

  • information obtained through a background check including on our scholar’s associations,
  • if you are a scholar, reports on your academic progress during your studies in the UK. These reports are provided by your academic supervisors.

3. Storage and retention of your personal data

We will only retain personal data for as long as necessary, and the appropriate retention period will vary according to the intended purpose for which we collected the data. For example, we will retain data in order for us to provide alumni services and for us to assess the impact of our scholarships.

The criteria we use to determine the retention period of personal information are: (i) the respective statutory retention period; (ii) our contractual and/or business relationships with you; (iii) (potential) disputes; and (iv) any guidelines issued by relevant regulators. After expiration of that period, the relevant information is routinely deleted, as long as it is no longer necessary for the fulfillment of a contract, the initiation of a contract or to protect or defend our position or that of a third party. If you have any questions about our retention periods, please contact us at admin@saidfoundation.org].

If you decide that you no longer wish to receive communication from the Saïd Foundation please be aware that we still need to retain a minimal amount of personal data so that we can keep a record that you have asked us not to contact you. You may also exercise your rights (set out in section 8 below) to ask us to erase your personal data.

All scholar and alumni data are stored on a secure database in the United Kingdom, and access to that information is restricted to the Saïd Foundation.

The Saïd Foundation will retain unsuccessful scholarship application forms for a period of three years before being deleted. This information will be stored on our secure application system.

4. The purposes for which we process your personal data

We process personal data for the provision of our scholarships and its related services. We only process data for specified purposes, these include:

  • The administration and provision of our scholarships;
  • To assess scholarship applications including carrying out background checks;
  • The payment of tuition fees, maintenance and other scholarship related costs;
  • To communicate with fellow students, both before, during and after your year of study in the UK;
  • To monitor and assess our scholar’s academic progress and performance during their studies;
  • To support the provision of the Saïd Foundation’s scholar support services including our mentoring programme;
  • To safeguard and promote the welfare of scholars and to ensure their safety and security;
  • To carry out research and statistical analysis;
  • To promote the work of the Saïd Foundation though publication on our website and social media platforms;
  • To publicise photographs of scholars and alumni at our Saïd Foundation events;
  • To share names and contact details with other alumni in order to encourage engagement and networking.

5. Lawful bases

We will rely on the following lawful bases for processing your personal data:

  • Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override ours. For example, we have a legitimate interest in assessing any scholarship applications made to us to consider whether or not to award a scholarship. This may include background checks and risk screening.
  • Where it is necessary for the performance of a contract with you;
  • Where it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation on us (for example, reporting to HM Revenue and Customs, Companies House or the Charity Commission).

In some circumstances, we will process personal information concerning health, for example when you provide us with details of any medical conditions or disabilities that you have. We may rely on the conditions that we are processing personal information for health or social care purposes, counselling or safeguarding under the Data Protection Act 2018. We may also, in limited circumstances, use this data to protect your vital interests.

We may ask for your consent to use your personal information for a specific purpose. In particular, we may obtain your consent before we send you any email marketing, newsletters or other communications about topics and events which we think might interest you and/or in some cases, where we process particularly sensitive or ‘special category’ data. Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it any time by emailing us at admin@saidfoundation.org

We will always consider any potential risks to you through our use of such personal information and we will put in place safeguards to ensure as far as possible there is no intrusion into your privacy rights.

6. Requirement to provide certain personal data

In order for us to consider entering into an agreement with you to provide a scholarship, applicants must provide us with certain personal data. This includes:

  • your unique personal identifiers such as date of birth and your nationality;
  • your contact details including your current address and email;
  • details of your UK university applications such as a copy of your offer letter or application ID;
  • details of your education history, e.g. your university(ies) and courses you have studied, the dates of study, your academic results and copies of official transcripts;
  • details of your work and voluntary experiences;
  • copies of medical reports submitted by you.

If you choose not to provide this personal data to us, we will not be able to consider your application.

7. The sharing of your personal data

In order to administer our scholarships the Saïd Foundation will need to share our scholar’s personal data with their UK university and any partner organisations that co-fund their scholarship. We will also share information with alumni in order to facilitate student services such as the mentoring programme.

We share personal data with third parties that we contract to carry out background checks on our behalf. We also have third party organisations which are contracted by the Foundation to provide IT services such as our website and our online application system. Additionally, we may be required to disclose personal data to regulatory authorities, our professional advisors and our bank.

The Foundation will not sell personal data to third parties under any circumstances, nor do we permit third parties to sell on the data we have shared with them. Any transmission of data to or from external partners is managed through agreed processes as detailed in our partnership agreements with universities and co-funders. These agreements and processes comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

We reserve the right to disclose your personal data to third parties:

  • if we merge with another organisation to form a new entity, your personal information may be transferred to a new entity;
  • in the event that we buy, sell or spin out any programme or assets, we will disclose your personal data to the prospective buyer, seller or new entity;
  • if substantially all of our assets are acquired by a third party, personal data held by us may be one of the transferred assets;
  • if we are under any legal or regulatory duty to do so;
  • as part of any internal or external investigations that we carry out, including with e.g. an external investigator;
  • with healthcare professionals or counsellors to the extent that is necessary to safeguard and promote your welfare and security; and/or
  • to protect the rights, property or safety of Said Foundation, its personnel, users, visitors or others.

8. Your rights

Whenever we rely on your consent to use your personal information, you always have the right to withdraw your consent.

You also have certain rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data, including the right to:

  • ask us for access to, or rectification or erasure of your personal data;
  • ask that we restrict processing of your personal data (pending correction or deletion);
  • object to our use of your data in certain circumstances e.g. for communications or direct marketing;
  • ask for the transfer (or porting) of your data electronically to a third party;
  • ask for the erasure of your data;
  • ask for the rectification of your data.

Please note that not all of these rights are available to you in all circumstances. For instance, some are only available when we are relying on particular lawful bases or, alternatively, we may be able to rely on exemptions from complying with your rights.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, you should send your request in writing to admin@saidfoundation.org

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/concerns

Please contact the Saïd Foundation if you have any concerns or questions about the above information or you wish to ask us not to process your personal data for particular purposes.

9. International Data Transfers

We may transfer personal information to organisations based outside the UK or European Economic Area (EEA). Please note that certain countries outside of the UK or EEA have a lower standard of protection for personal information, including lower security protections. Where personal information is transferred, stored, and/or otherwise processed outside the UK or EEA in a country which does not offer an equivalent standard of protection to the UK or EEA, we will take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that the recipient implements appropriate safeguards designed to protect your personal information (for instance, entering into standard contractual clauses (or equivalent) approved by the UK Government). If you have any questions about the transfer of your personal information, please contact us using the details above.

10. Updates

This Privacy Notice may change from time to time – for example, to take into account changes at the Saïd Foundation or to reflect changes in regulation or legislation. It was last updated on 31st May 2022.

Updates to this Notice will be posted on this page – please check back from time to time. We will also use reasonable efforts to inform you of any significant changes by email where appropriate.

Go to top