Data protection and the processing of personal data

Data protection is a fundamental right of the individual that safeguards the enforcement of a person’s rights and liberties with regards to the processing of personal data. Personal data refers to data based on which a person can be identified either directly or indirectly. Such data includes the person’s name, e-mail address, phone number, location data, personal identity code, customer data and the IP address of the computer.

The legislation governing data protection was revised in 2018 when the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU (679/2016/EU) entered into effect. The objective of the Regulation is to increase the openness and transparency of the processing of personal data and to strengthen the rights of data subjects to monitor the processing of their personal data. In addition, the Regulation unifies data protection regulation in the EU. The Finnish Data Protection Act (1050/2018), which entered into force in the beginning of 2019, supplements and amplifies the provisions of the Data Protection Regulation.

Processing of personal data at Samiedu Vocational College

When you are a student at Samiedu Vocational College or a customer of its services, the educational institution collects your personal data in different registers according to the purpose. Personal data is only collected to the extent that is necessary to deal with a matter. In principle, the processing of personal data in vocational education and training has a legal basis. In some cases, the processing of personal data may be also be based on consent or a customer service agreement. The privacy statements tell you the purpose of processing personal data and other matters that are important in the processing.

As a data subject, you have the right to know what personal data relating to you is collected and how it is processed. If necessary, you can also request copies of the personal data. The request concerning personal data and the reply are usually free of charge. You will receive the data you need within a month. If the data cannot be delivered to you within this time due to a legitimate reason, we will let you know about the delay.

If the data is incorrect, you may demand their rectification. If the data has been collected on the basis of consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. However, if the right to process the data is based on legislation, you do not have the right to prohibit the processing of the data or demand the erasure of the data. If you are dissatisfied with the processing of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority (in Finnish).

When processing and archiving personal data, the personnel of the Eastern Finland Municipal Federation of Education observe good data processing practice, data protection legislation and special legislation, and the data protection and data security instructions of the Municipal Federation of Education itself. In addition, the personnel regularly attend data protection training. The processing of personal data is restricted with access rights and they may be processed only by individuals who have the right to process personal data to perform their duties or due to a customer relationship. The processing of personal data is supervised and the use of systems is monitored.

You can read more about the revised data protection legislation by clicking on the following links:

EU General Data Protection Regulation (679/2016/EU)

Data Protection Act (1050/2018) (in Finnish)