BUILA Privacy Policy

Effective date: 05/08/2026[1]

BUILA (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of its members, website visitors, and stakeholders. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you visit our website or interact with BUILA services.

1. Who We Are

BUILA is a professional association and registered company (company registration number 17247423) representing UK universities engaged in international higher education.

Our registered office is:

BUILA 1 Parliament Street, Hull, HU1 2AS Email: [email protected]

BUILA acts as the Data Controller for personal data collected through this website and related member services.

2. Information We Collect

Personal information is any information that relates to an individual. It does not include information where the identity of the individual has been fully and effectively removed (anonymous data).

We may collect and process the following types of personal information:

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

• Your name, job title, and institutional affiliation
• Contact details (email address, telephone number)
• Membership account details (username, password)
• Event registrations and professional development attendance
• Survey responses, feedback, or forum posts
• Payment information for event bookings (processed securely via Eventbrite and Cvent)

Where an event registration involves accessibility requirements, dietary requirements, or health or disability-related information, this is special category data. We only collect and use this information with your explicit consent, and only for the purpose of making appropriate arrangements for your attendance.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically from You

When you access our website, we collect the following information about you:

• Website usage data (pages visited, time on site, referring websites)
• IP address and browser type
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 8)

2.3 Information Provided to Us by Third Parties

We may collect personal information about you from third parties, including as follows:

• If you provided your information to the British Universities' International Liaison Association before the incorporation of BUILA, your personal information was transferred to BUILA upon our incorporation so that we can continue to provide our services to you.

3. Where We Obtain Your Personal Information

We collect personal information about you that you have given us in different ways, for example where you:

• Apply for a membership
• Register for or attend an event
• Participate in our surveys
• Use our website
• Subscribe to our mailing lists
• Use BUILA WhatsApp Groups
• Contact us via email, phone, in person or by post

4. How We Use Your Information

We may use your personal information to:

• Manage your BUILA membership and provide access to the members' area
• Communicate updates, newsletters, and sector information relevant to your role
• Process event registrations and payments
• Run our events
• Moderate and administer BUILA online forums and discussion spaces
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations
• Improve website functionality and user experience

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that another purpose is compatible with the original purpose.

5. Legal Basis for Processing

We process personal data under one or more of the following lawful bases:

• Consent: where you have opted in to receive communications or participate in BUILA activities, or where we collect special category data as described in Section 2.1.
• Contract: to fulfil obligations relating to your membership or event registration.
• Legitimate Interest: to manage association activities and improve member engagement.
• Legal Obligation: where required to comply with UK laws and regulations.

You may unsubscribe from our email communications by following the instructions in any email that we send you, or you can withdraw your consent and request us to remove your personal information at any time by emailing us at the email address in the 'Contact' section at the bottom of this Privacy Policy.

We do not carry out any automated decision-making using personal information which produces legal effects or otherwise significantly affects individuals.

6. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell or rent your personal data.

We may share data only when necessary:

• With service providers who process data on our behalf, including JISCMail, HubSpot, Cvent and Eventbrite
• With event co-organisers (e.g. British Council, UUKi, UKCISA) where required for event administration
• Third parties as part of a sale, merger or acquisition, or other transfer of all or part of our assets including as part of any bankruptcy proceedings
• Our professional advisors, lawyers, accountants and auditors
• Where required by law, regulation, or valid legal request

Where we share data with event co-organisers, each organisation processes that data as an independent controller for its own purposes, unless we tell you otherwise for a specific event.

All third parties are required to handle your data in accordance with UK GDPR and maintain appropriate security safeguards.

7. International Data Transfers

BUILA does not transfer personal information to countries outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area (EEA).

If this changes, for example as we adopt new tools or communication channels, we will update this policy and put appropriate safeguards in place before any such transfer takes place.

8. Cookies and Analytics

Our website uses cookies to enhance your experience while using the site. Cookies are pieces of information that some websites transfer to the computer or device that is browsing that website and are used by many websites for record-keeping purposes.

BUILA uses cookies to:

• Improve site performance and accessibility
• Analyse website traffic and usage trends
• Remember login sessions for members

Our website also uses Google Analytics and similar tools, which collect anonymous usage data. Where a cookie is not strictly necessary for the website to function, we ask for your consent before it is set, for example through a cookie banner or preference centre. Simply not disabling cookies in your browser settings is not treated as consent.

A full list of the cookies we use, including their names, purposes, and how long each one lasts, together with details of any third parties who may access them, is set out in our Cookie Policy at [insert link once published].

9. Data Storage and Retention

Your data is securely stored on servers located within the UK or the EEA.

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined above or as required by law.

Inactive member accounts may be deleted after a reasonable period.

The criteria we use to determine the retention period of personal information are: (i) the respective statutory retention period; (ii) our contractual and/or business relationships with you; (iii) any disputes or potential disputes; and (iv) any guidelines issued by relevant regulators. After expiration of the retention period, the relevant information is routinely deleted, as long as it is no longer necessary for the purposes described above. If you have any questions about our retention periods, please contact us at the email address in the 'Contact' section at the bottom of this Privacy Policy.

10. Your Rights

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you may have the right to:

• request access to the personal information we hold about you;
• request that we rectify or erase your personal information;
• request that we restrict the processing of your personal information;
• object to our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances;
• under certain circumstances, ask us to transfer personal information to you or to a third party;
• where we previously obtained your consent, withdraw consent to processing your personal information;
• make a complaint to us directly about the handling of your personal information and/or our compliance with data protection legislation, a right introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025; and
• lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office at www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at the email address in the 'Contact' section at the bottom of this Privacy Policy. We will respond within one calendar month. Please be aware that we may be unable to comply with your requests, for example if we are legally prevented from doing so or can rely on an exemption.

11. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data from loss, misuse, or unauthorised access.

This includes encryption, secure password management, and restricted administrative access.

While we seek to use appropriate organisational, technical and administrative measures to protect personal information within our organisation, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please notify us immediately in accordance with the 'Contact' section below.

12. External Links

Our website may contain links to external websites. BUILA is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external sites.

We encourage you to review their privacy policies before sharing any personal information.

13. Updates to This Policy

This is an evolving policy that we expect to review and update as our data practices and communication channels develop.

The latest version will always be published on our website with the effective date shown above.

Where we make a significant change, for example a change to the purposes for which we process your data, we will use reasonable efforts to inform you by email in addition to updating the website.

We expect to publish an updated version by mid-September 2026, which will include a full Cookie Policy and further guidance on how personal data is used within Discourse and WhatsApp Communities.

14. Contact

If you have questions or concerns about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact:

Email: [email protected]

Enquiries sent to this address, including data protection queries, are logged and managed internally to ensure a timely response.
 

[1]Version 1, effective date 05/08/2026.