Privacy Policy

PhD Circle is a Swiss association based in Zurich (hereafter “Association”, “PhD Circle” or “we”). PhD Circle is responsible for processing your personal data or personal information.

We collect data directly from you with your knowledge and consent. We may also link this data with your public profiles such as LinkedIn, professional websites, or academic directories. All data is processed for the purposes explained in this Privacy Notice. You have the right to ask us for a copy of your data, correct any mistakes, delete your details, or tell us to stop using your data in some cases.

You can contact us at any time at info@albphdcircle.com to explain your choices and submit your requests.

Why Do We Collect and Process Your Data?

Membership Management – We collect your name, surname, contact details, address and workplace to manage your membership in the Association. We obtain this information from your membership application. These records are kept for the duration of your membership. We keep your name and surname for 10 years after you discontinue membership in the Association to fulfil our legal requirements and any post-membership queries.

Community Map – Your name, location, institutional affiliation, and professional interests help us build the Community Map, enabling community members to connect. You provide this information through your application to the Community Map and voluntary submissions. Only your name, surname, location, country of graduation, and email are required to create a Community Map Profile and be included in the Community Map. You may voluntarily include additional information about your professional interests, such as research areas, education background, city of origin and current location, past and current employment, and membership in other organizations. You may also choose to include links to other databases such as your personal website, LinkedIn, Google Scholar, ScholarGPS, Mendeley, ORCID, or ResearchGate. The map uses criteria related to location, language, university, specialty, experience, and field of study or research that you have provided to us to identify similarities with other community members.

Your participation on the Community Map is based on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time. Your information and personal data are displayed on the map exclusively to other Community Map participants. This continues until you ask to be removed. Your data is deleted once you request removal of your profile from the Community Map. The Community Map is managed by PhD Circle and authorized persons from the Association have access to your information and personal data to manage and maintain the Community Map.

WhatsApp Group – If you join our WhatsApp groups, we use your name, phone number, profile photo, and messages so that the Association and Community Map members can communicate with each other. The personal data and the phone number is accessible and available to other participants in the WhatsApp group. We only access these details if and when you choose to join the WhatsApp group and do not collect data from those WhatsApp groups. Your participation in the WhatsApp groups is based on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time by leaving any of the WhatsApp groups.

Be mindful that messages you exchange in these groups may be transferred to people outside the group. WhatsApp’s access to and processing of your personal data and messages is explained in their privacy policy [https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/?lang=en]. You can adjust your privacy and confidentiality settings within WhatsApp.

Workshops, Webinars, and Retreats – For workshops, webinars, and retreats, we collect your name, email, payment details, and any relevant preferences or dietary information. We collect this information through event registration forms or online event platforms.

We retain these records as long as necessary to manage events, communicate with participants, and meet legal or accounting requirements. Records are never kept longer than ten years according to legal requirements.

Website Administration – To improve our website’s performance and ensure its proper functioning, we automatically collect technical data such as cookies, IP addresses, device information, browser type, and error logs during your visits to our pages. Data of this kind is obtained through your interactions with our website and analytical tools.

Social Media – If you subscribe or interact via our social media channels, we use your name and email to send regular news and updates. This information is collected directly through your participation on social platforms. We are present on the following social media platforms:

• You can find the privacy policy of LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.
• You can find the privacy policy of Meta (Instagram and Facebook) at https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/.
• You can find the privacy policy of YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/intl/en_be/howyoutubeworks/privacy/.

Newsletters – If you subscribe to our newsletter, we use your name and email to send news and updates. This information is collected directly from your subscription or through your participation on social platforms.

Newsletter subscription records are kept until you unsubscribe, after which removal occurs within one month.

Legal Basis, Data Transfers, Access, Security, and Organizational Measures

All collection and processing of your personal data is grounded in the association’s legitimate interests to manage memberships, your explicit consent when required (such as for joining the Community Map, the WhatsApp groups or receiving newsletters), or the fulfilment of our legal obligations.

We may store or process your data with trusted service providers who help us run the association. Data is stored in the EU and Switzerland. If needed, we may store data in other countries that offer adequate protection as recognized by Swiss and EU authorities. When transferring data to countries without adequate protection standards, we implement appropriate safeguards such as contractual clauses to ensure your information remains protected. For example, we use services from Google Inc, which participates in the Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework program. Google stores data in the USA.

Access to your data is limited strictly to board members, association administrators, or selected service providers who have a legitimate need to use it to perform their duties for PhDCircle. Personal data is not shared with third parties unless required by law or essential for delivering a service, such as event registration or payment processing.

You maintain control over your data. At any time, you can exercise your rights to access, correct, erase, or to withdraw consent for any activity for which it was previously granted. To request this or if you have any questions about our privacy practices, you can contact us at [info@albphdcircle.com].