Privacy Policy for Microscope Users (English)

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Information according to Art. 13 and 14 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the processing of personal data in connection with the application of a microscope user account at the Life Imaging Center in Freiburg

The protection of your personal data is a major concern of the University of Freiburg and we want you to be  fully informed about the processing of your personal data.

We process your personal data (hereinafter referred to as “data”) in accordance with the legal requirements and organize this in a transparent manner. With the following data protection information, we explain to you which data are processed in connection with joining the Life Imaging Center as a user to use our microscopes and software, for what purposes and on what legal basis this is done. You will also receive information about ways to contact us and about your rights as a data subject.

Responsible in terms of data protection law

Data protection officer

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

Data protection officer

Friedrichstraße 39, 79098 Freiburg

Email: datenschutzbeauftragter@uni-freiburg.de

Responsible internal Institution

Life Imaging Center (LIC), University Freiburg, Habsburgerstr. 49, phone: +49 761 / 203-2934, email: info@quarep.org

Information on data processing and purposes

The Life Imaging Center operates a platform for microscopes and laboratories (miap.eu). This platform allows interested microscope users to collect information about a wide variety of microscopes and laboratories in various facilities that are members of the MIAP network, in order to be able to plan and carry out their experiments. The following institutions are currently members of the MIAP platform:

In Basel

In Freiburg

In Mulhouse

In Strasbourgh

The address and contact details of the facility as well as personal data of the responsible contact persons at the facility (photo, address, telephone number, email address, curriculum vitae) are accessible for everyone on the MIAP website. The consent to the publication of this data on the website is done via email.
The use of the microscopes in the Life Imaging Center is primarily intended for employees and students at the  University of Freiburg (e.g. master’s students, doctoral students, professors, etc.) and the Freiburg University Medical Center. It is also possible for external scientists to use the platform to carry out measurements. There is a usage fee for using the microscopes in the Life Imaging Center. The users need a network account in order to log in to the respective device. Therefore, university employees and external scientists must first formally register if they want to use a device from the Life Imaging Center. You can register on the MIAP website at:

LIC – Application & Booking

Personal data are recorded here. These data are used for billing purposes and to provide the best possible support for the user. Registration is done in an opt-in procedure. Users that register must confirm that they consent to the processing of the selected data and are again referred to the data protection declaration and their right to object. After the consent, the data processing processes are started. Immediately after submitting the contact form, the new members will receive an email to the given email address in which all the data they have given will be listed. The users must also confirm their identity or registration as well as the correctness of the given data in writing in printed and signed form to the operator. The data is only recorded for the use of the microscopes of the Life Imaging Center (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg). All other institutions have their own data processing.
The personal data collected during registration are first stored in an SQL database. The database is exported as an Excel table at regular intervals and transferred to a user Excel table using a VBA script.
A user account is created for every registered user so that they can use the microscopes and evaluation computers. Every user can use a booking calendar to book the microscopes. When a user carries out a measurement on a microscope, the time from login to logout is recorded in order to be able to carry out a billing later. The booking is also assigned to the respective user for billing purposes. Furthermore all registered user are added to a mailing list.
The data storage has the following purposes:

  • Creation of a login to gain access to the microscope computers and analysis software
  • Access to the booking calendar
  • Billing of the use of the microscope vis-à-vis the working group
  • Entry in the mailing list
  • Best possible support for users

Categories of data

  1. Date of the registration
  2. Name (title, first name and surname, suffix)
  3. Gender (optional)
  4.  Preferred language of communication (German or English)
  5. Address (street, streetnumber, city, postal code, county, country)
  6. Email address
  7. Lab phone number
  8. UserID and Uni-Card number
  9. Position
  10. Affiliation
  11. Name of the working group leader
  12. Expertise (field of expertise, microscopy experience, image analysis experience)
  13. Preferred microscope and technique (microcope technique, orientation, brand, laser wavelength, cell cultures, image analysis)
  14. Short description of project
  15. Classification of the sample (biological safety, donor, acceptor, vector, transfection, permission)
  16. Project data (project leader, source of salary, contract period, project name, cost center, Fond, PSP, project period)
  17. Fees (project name, cost center, Fond, PSP, project period)

Right of withdrawal

Consent to data processing is voluntary. You have the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. This also applies to individual data. The withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

You can send an informal email to info@miap.eu to withdraw your consent. You will not suffer any disadvantages from refusing or withdrawing your consent. However, the user account cannot be continued under these circumstances.

Legal basis for data processing

  • Employees / Members of the University of Freiburg: Art. 6 Para. 1 Subpara. 1 lit. e in conjunction with Para. 3 DS-GVO, Art. 88 DSGVO in conjunction with § 15 Para 1 LDSG in conjunction with §§ 83 ff. LBG, § 12 Para. 1 LHG
  • Voluntary information / external members:  Art. 6 Para. 1 Subpara. 1 lit. a in conjunction with 7 DSGVO (consent)

Data security

Communication with the web server takes place via an HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) connection. This means that the data is transmitted securely against eavesdropping. In addition, there are HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) and PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy) to prevent the connection encryption from being broken.

Storage duration or criteria for determining the duration

Your data will only be processed/stored as long as required to fulfil the purposes mentioned above. If you withdraw your consent your data will be deleted within one month. This does not apply if, in deviation from this, a longer storage or retention period is required by law or it is necessary for legal enforcement within the statutory limitation periods.

For the purposes of financial accounting and in the area of the university treasury, your personal data will be deleted after the statutory retention periods, which result in particular from the Baden-Württemberg State Budget Code (LHO), the Commercial Code (HGB) and the Tax Code (AO). According to these provisions, the storage periods are up to 10 years, according to the LHO generally 6 years for receipts and 10 years for accounting, cash register and organizational documents.

Recipients or Categories of Recipients

Internal recipients are those employees who need the data for their work in the context of the fulfillment of tasks.
External recipients:

  • Financially responsible person of the respective working group (invoice recipient)
  • Visitors to the homepage worldwide

Your rights as a data subject

  1. You have the right to obtain information from us about any data we process concerning your person and / or to obtain the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning you.
  2. You also have the right to erasure or restriction of processing and data portability.
  3. If you have given us your consent, you also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, whereby the legality of the processing carried out on the basis of the consent up to the time of withdrawal is not affected. You can also withdraw your consent for the processing of individual data.
  4. You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you are of the opinion that the processing of your personal data violates legal provisions. Such a supervisory authority is, for example, the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Baden-Württemberg, Lautenschlagerstraße 20, 70173 Stuttgart, email: poststelle@lfdi.bwl.de (https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.datenschutz.de/).
  5. If you would like to assert the rights of data subjects against the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, please contact datenschutz@uni-freiburg.de.

Information about objection to Art. 21 Para. 1 GDPR

You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to the processing of your personal data which is based on Art. 6 Para. 1 Subpara. 1 lit. e and f GDPR.

Additional information

Please note the general data protection information on our website at Privacy Policy.