Queen’s University Belfast (“we”, “us” and “our”) is committed to protecting your personal data.
The notice is addressed to Medical/Dental Trainees/CCT fellows undertaking a Postgraduate
Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or Master’s Degree at the School of Medicine Belfast, (“you” and
“your”). This Privacy Notice tells you why we need to collect personal information about you, what
we will do with it, and how we will look after it. It also tells you about your legal rights in
relation to your Personal Data. If you have any questions about this privacy notice, please contact
us. Contact details are provided below.

Trainees who are registered students of Queen’s University Belfast should also refer to the
University’s Student Privacy Notice available at http://www.qub.ac.uk/about/Leadership-
and-structure/Registrars-Office/Information-Compliance-Unit/Data-Protection/ in relation to how
we collect and use your personal data as a student.
WHO WE ARE
We are Queen’s University Belfast, a university with a reputation for excellence in
education and research and a member of the Russell Group. Founded in 1845 as Queen's
College Belfast, we became an independent university in 1908. The Postgraduate and
Professional Development Office is located within the School of Medicine, Dentistry &
Biomedical Sciences (SMDBS), Whitla Medical Building, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL.

HOW YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS COLLECTED

1. Information you provide: When providing Postgraduate Education we will ask for
information about you, such as your name, Deanery, student number, contact details, project
details, GMC number, specialty, training posts, start date, completion, withdrawal dates,
academic progression and information relating to out of hours banding
requirements etc as appropriate to your status as a medical or dental trainee. This is known as
your “Personal Data”. We may also ask you for some special categories of information (for example
[criminal convictions, health, and religion]). This is known as your “Sensitive Personal Data”.

2. Data from other sources: We also collect information about you from other sources and this
also forms part of “Personal Data”. This includes information from:
• Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA) to provide updated
specialty posting schedule, expected CCT dates etc for trainees undertaking postgraduate
education at QUB.

HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

3. We use your Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data in the following ways:

• We will monitor and provide NIMDTA with notice on your enrolment on postgraduate
programme of study;

• We will monitor and provide NIMDTA with details related to your academic
progress which will include academic reports and other records in relation to any formal University
procedures including academic offences disciplinary or fitness to Practice investigations;

• We will monitor and provide NIMDTA with notice of your completion.

• We may also contact you to provide information on Clinical Academic medicine activities to
include training days, Research Training Days (held jointly between QUB, UMS and the Belfast
Trust), Irish Academy of Medical Science events, Fellowship Opportunities etc

• We may record and monitor academic activities and achievements of trainees. These will be
used in aggregate summaries for statistical purposes. These may also be used for promotional
purposes to promote Postgraduate Research and Clinical Academic Training Programmes.

LEGAL BASIS FOR COLLECTING AND USING YOUR PERSONAL DATA

4. We will only use your Personal Data if we have valid reasons for doing so. These reasons
are known as our “legal basis for processing”. In certain circumstances we may ask for your consent
to process your information. At other times we may be required to process your information to
enable us to fulfil our part of the contract we have with you. There are circumstances where we
have a legitimate interest to process your personal data, for example to provide you with a service
which you have requested. The legal bases for processing your Personal Data are,

• Vital Interest of patient safety - We are required to collaborate closely with NIMDTA to
meet the GMC standards for postgraduate medical education and the directives of the Department of
Health and to ensure that doctors and dentists in training gain the requisite knowledge, skills,
attitudes and qualifications to become capable practitioners. Patient safety is at the core of the
standards and education and training should only take place where patients are safe, the care and
experience of patients is good and education and training are values.

• Legal Obligation - NIMDTA are responsible for the educational governance of all approved
foundation programmes and specialty training including GP training programmes. Deaneries are
expected to demonstrate compliance with the standards and requirements that are set out by the
General Medical Council.

WHO WE SHARE YOUR DATA WITH

5. In line with our Data Protection Policy and Procedures we can share your information,
including Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data, with the following parties for the purposes
set out above for the reasons outlined in section 3:

• The Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA);

DATA PROCESSING OUTSIDE EUROPE

6. We will not transfer your Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data outside of
the European Economic Area.

HOW LONG YOUR INFORMATION WILL BE KEPT

7. We will keep your personal data only as long as is necessary for the purpose(s) for which
it was collected, and in accordance with the University’s Records Management Policy. We will only
keep your information if we need it for one of the reasons described above. We place great
importance on the security of the Personal Data that we hold, including the use of physical,
technological and organisational measures to ensure your information is protected from
unauthorised access and against unlawful processing, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure,
destruction and damage.

YOUR RIGHTS

8. The Data Protection Act 2018 provides you with a number of legal rights in relation to your
Personal Data, including the right:
• to request access to your Personal Data;
• to request correction of your Personal Data that is wrong or incomplete;
• to request erasure or the restriction of processing of your Personal Data;
• to request the transfer of your Personal Data in a structured; commonly used
machine-readable format;
• not to be subject to automated decision making; and
• to withdraw your consent.

9. If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, or require further information
about any of the rights, please contact us.

10. Where we need to collect your Personal Data, whether for the purposes of providing a service
you have requested or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide
that information when requested, we may not be able to provide the service or perform
the contract. We may, therefore, have to cancel the contract or the service we provide to you but
we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

11. There may also be times where we cannot stop using your Personal Data when you ask us to,
but we will tell you about this if you make a request.

CONTACTING US

12. If you have any questions or comments about this privacy notice, the University’s Data
Protection Officer can be contacted at:

Data Protection Officer

Registrar’s Office Lanyon South
Queen’s University Belfast University Road
BT7 1NN
info.compliance@qub.ac.uk

COMPLAINTS

13.You have the right to complain about how we treat your Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data
to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office Wycliffe House
Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

14. We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. We will notify you of the changes
where we are required by law to do so.