Data protection at universities: What you need to know now!

Data protection at universities: What you need to know now!

On August 14, 2025, the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) held a special campus walk through the university's collection of antiquities. Alumni had the opportunity to explore the impressive exhibits and find out about the latest developments at their alma mater. This event is part of the initiatives aimed at strengthening the network among alumni.

A central element of alumni engagement is the FAU Community Portal, which is free and voluntary. When registering, alumni automatically become part of the “FAU Alumni Network”, a platform that promotes exchange between former students and the university. The members are integrated into specific faculty or department groups, which further strengthens the networking aspect. Loud fau.de You can leave these groups at any time in order to maintain the flexibility of the alumni.

Privacy and Terms of Use

When registering for the portal, users must accept the terms of use that govern the handling of personal information. This information is crucial to protect user privacy. What is particularly noteworthy is that users can manage their data in the portal themselves, including the option of configuring their visibility. However, basic information such as first name, last name and reference to FAU remain permanently visible to make networking easier.

The data protection regulations guarantee that personal data is only processed with consent, but also corresponds to the current data protection guidelines. An SSL-encrypted connection protects data transmission, while there is a clear structure for deleting inactive profiles: user profiles with outdated address data are deleted after six weeks without feedback. The entire data protection declaration is available on the FAU homepage.

Additionally mentioned uni-ulm.de the importance of data protection, especially for alumni networks. Here, too, personal data is processed in accordance with the provisions of the GDPR in order to protect the rights of alumni. Universities are tasked with strengthening alumni trust through transparent data processing practices.

The Alumni and Career Service offers free services such as electronic newsletters, invitations to events and support in organizing year meetings. This not only helps to bind alumni to their university, but also provides ongoing support for professional development.

For further information about the data protection guidelines and the processing of personal data, the contact points of the FAU and the University of Ulm are available. In particular, alumni can send inquiries or revoke their consent by email to alumni@fau.de and dsb@uni-ulm.de.

Overall, the event and the associated initiatives show how important FAU attaches to the connection with its former students and at the same time takes the legal framework into account to ensure their data protection and privacy.