PROTECTION OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

Privacy Policy Statement 

CATALYST project

(Terms and Conditions)

last updated : 06.08.2026

 

This privacy statement provides information about how your personal data is processed and protected within the framework of the CATALYST project (“we”, “us”, “the CATALYST partners”).

Processing operation: Processing of the personal data of CATALYST website visitors and platform users, submitted via the application / registration form.

Joint data controllers: The CATALYST project partners, acting jointly (see Section 1 for the full list). The essence of the joint-controller arrangement is set out in Section 6.

Data Protection Officer (DPO): Pande Pop Antoska — info@iece.edu.mk

Coordinating / intermediary organisation: Institute for Research in Environment, Civil Engineering and Energy (IECE), North Macedonia — info@iece.edu.mk

 

Table of contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Why do we process your personal data?
  3. Legal ground(s) for processing your personal data
  4. Which personal data do we collect and how?
  5. How long do we keep your personal data?
  6. Who has access to your personal data and to whom is it disclosed?
  7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
  8. What rights you have over your data?
  9. Contact information

 

 

  1. Introduction

Website: https://projectcatalyst.eu/

Learning platform (LMS): https://catalystplatform.eu/

The organisations participating in the CATALYST project, acting as joint data controllers, are:

  • Institute for Research in Environment, Civil Engineering and Energy — IECE (North Macedonia)
  • Small Business Chamber (North Macedonia)
  • Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production — CSCP (Germany)
  • Bells (Germany)
  • Federal Association of Green Businesses (Germany)
  • BEST Institute of Continuous Vocational Qualification Training and Personnel Training (Austria)
  • Apflbutzn Faires Gwand (Austria)
  • University Institute of Lisbon — ISCTE (Portugal)
  • Intellectual Institute of Lisbon (Portugal)
  • CENTIMFE (Portugal)
  • Athens University of Economics and Business (Greece)
  • Creative Thinking Development (Greece)
  • Sporos Platform (Greece)
  • UN SDSN network (France)

The CATALYST partners are committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. We collect and process personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) and applicable national data protection law, and strictly within the framework of the CATALYST project activities and the Erasmus+ Programme rules. All data is treated as confidential.

This notice is addressed to all partners participating in the CATALYST project and to the registered learners of the CATALYST platform.

 

  1. Why do we process your personal data?

We process your personal data in order to operate the CATALYST online learning platform and professional network, which are part of this EU co-funded project. Being part of the platform and network requires you to register and to share certain personal data where necessary for the purposes of the project.

No personal information is collected without your knowledge. You can browse most of this website without providing any information about yourself; in some cases, however, personal information is required to provide a specific service (for example, registering for a course). Where this is the case, the data is handled in accordance with the GDPR and this statement.

We collect only the minimum data necessary for each purpose. Personal data is not shared with third parties — other than the external service providers described in Section 6 — and is not used for any purpose other than those stated here, without your prior consent and notification. Wherever personal data is collected, the purpose is stated clearly at the point of collection.

 

  1. Legal grounds for processing your personal data

Your personal data is processed on the following legal grounds under the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679):

  • Consent — Article 6(1)(a): for registration on the platform, for optional communications, and for the use of non-essential cookies.
  • Legal obligation — Article 6(1)(c): for retaining project records required for reporting, auditing and control by the European Commission / EACEA.
  • Legitimate interests — Article 6(1)(f): for the secure operation and administration of the website and platform, where these interests are not overridden by your rights.

Where we rely on consent, consent is — in line with Article 4(11) and Article 7 GDPR — freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous. We obtain it directly from you, by email, via an electronic registration form, or in any other electronic or written form. You may withdraw your consent at any time; this does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

 

  1. Which personal data do we collect and how?

We collect the following categories of personal data:

  • First name and last name
  • Country of residence
  • Professional occupation
  • Email address and account credentials (for platform registration)

Data is collected through the CATALYST website and e-learning platform, by completing an online form. It is collected only to the extent necessary to fulfil a specific purpose. With your consent, we may also use your contact details to inform you about other project activities that may be of interest to you.

By completing a form on the CATALYST website and submitting it, you agree to the collection and storage of the personal data requested, under the conditions specified in this statement.

Your personal data is not used for automated decision-making, including profiling.

 

  1. How long do we keep your personal data?

Personal data collected within the framework of the CATALYST project is retained by the project partners until 31 May 2031 — i.e. five years after the end of the project implementation period — in order to comply with the reporting, audit and control obligations of the Erasmus+ Programme. Once the retention period has passed, the CATALYST partners and any external providers will take appropriate measures to delete the personal data collected within the project.

Identification data used to link learners to the courses they attended, and to certificates and digital badges issued to them, may — only at your explicit request and with your consent — be retained for a longer period, so that the validity of your certificate can continue to be verified. You may withdraw this request and ask for deletion of this data at any time.

Deletion of personal data is carried out by anonymising the data collected and archived, so that it can be used only for statistical purposes. Anonymised data cannot lead to the identification of the person who provided the original data.

 

  1. With whom do we share your data?

Joint controllers. The CATALYST partners listed in Section 1 act as joint controllers within the meaning of Article 26 GDPR. IECE, as coordinating organisation, acts as the central point of contact and, together with the DPO, handles requests from data subjects on behalf of the partnership. Regardless of this arrangement, you may exercise your rights in respect of, and against, each of the joint controllers. The essence of the joint-controller arrangement is summarised in this section; the full arrangement is available on request.

External providers (processors). The CATALYST project may use external service providers (for example, hosting and platform providers) to process personal data on its behalf. Such providers have access only to the personal data strictly necessary to deliver their service, act solely on the partners’ instructions, and are bound by contract to process the data in compliance with the GDPR. Where possible, you will be informed and your consent requested.

Reporting and auditing. Data may be provided to the European Commission and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) for the purpose of reporting on, or auditing, the CATALYST project.

International transfers. Some CATALYST partners — including the coordinator, IECE — are established in North Macedonia, which is outside the European Union / European Economic Area. Where personal data is transferred to a partner or provider outside the EU/EEA, the transfer takes place only on the basis of an appropriate safeguard under Chapter V of the GDPR (such as an adequacy decision or Standard Contractual Clauses). Further information on the safeguards applied is available from the DPO on request.

 

  1. Cookies and tracking technologies

Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user’s experience more efficient. If you want to delete any cookies that are already on your computer, please refer to the instructions for your file management software to locate the file or directory that stores cookies. You can access them through some types of browser. More information about cookies, including how to block them or delete them, can be found at AboutCookies.org

To protect your privacy, third-party content (such as embedded videos or social-media buttons) does not set cookies simply by loading a page. A third-party cookie is set only if you actively interact with that content — for example, by clicking a social-media button or pressing play on a video.

When you follow a link to an external website, you leave the CATALYST domain and become subject to the cookie, privacy and legal policies of that external website. The CATALYST project does not control, and is not responsible for, the data-protection or accessibility compliance of external websites.

 

  1. What rights you have over your data

Under the GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

  • Right of access — to obtain confirmation of, and access to, the data we hold about you, in clear language.
  • Right to rectification — to have inaccurate data corrected and incomplete data completed.
  • Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) — to have your data deleted where the conditions of Article 17 GDPR are met.
  • Right to restriction of processing — to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
  • Right to object — to object to the processing of your data, including for direct-marketing or commercial purposes.
  • Right to data portability — to receive the data you provided in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
  • Right to withdraw consent — at any time, where processing is based on consent.

You can exercise these rights by contacting the joint controllers or the Data Protection Officer using the details in Section 9. We will respond within the time limits set by the GDPR.

If you believe that the processing of your personal data infringes data-protection law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority — in particular in the EU/EEA Member State of your habitual residence or place of the alleged infringement, or, for data processed by IECE, with the Agency for Personal Data Protection of the Republic of North Macedonia. A list of EU/EEA supervisory authorities is available on the website of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB).

  1. Contact information

If you would like to exercise your rights, or if you have comments, questions or concerns, or wish to submit a complaint regarding the collection and use of your personal data, please contact the joint controllers via the coordinating organisation:

CATALYST project — coordinating organisation (IECE)

Email: info@iece.edu.mk

Data Protection Officer (DPO): Pande Pop Antoska — info@iece.edu.mk