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Privacy Policy

World Science Scholars, a program of the World Science Foundation, d/b/a World Science Festival (hereinafter referred to as “World Science Scholars,” “us,” “we,” “our,” or “Company”) has created this Privacy Policy to apply to all users and clients of this website, www.worldsciencescholars.com and all digital assets contained or offered therein (collectively, our “Services”). This Privacy Policy describes, among other things, the types of information we collect from users when you use our Services, how we use it, and how you can access your information.

This Privacy Policy is integrated into our Terms & Conditions of Use (“Terms & Conditions”). By using the Services and providing us with personal Information (defined below), you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy and the Cookie Policy referenced below and to the updates to these policies posted here from time to time. If you are based outside of the United States, in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or outside the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK, this Privacy Policy serves as notice of how we process your Personal Data (defined below) for which we are a Controller. If we require your consent, we will request it formally, in adherence to applicable data protection laws.

To make sure you stay informed of all changes, you should check these policies periodically. Updates will be referenced by the “Last Updated” date shown above.

  1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

    We may collect the following types of personal data about you which are described in more detail below: (A) information you provide to us, (B) information we may automatically collect, and (C) information we may receive from third parties. All of the information listed in (A)-(C) above, are detailed below, and hereinafter referred to as “Information.”

    1. Information You Provide Us:

      In using our Services, you may provide us with Information, including, without limitation:

      • Contact information such as name, email address, postal address, and telephone number(s);
      • Demographic information such as gender, ethnicity, and age range;
      • Academic history/background;
      • Account information and log in credentials, including unique identifiers such as username and password;
      • Payment and transaction information including credit or bank card information;
      • Communications and opinions in courses and online discussion forums offered through the Services;
      • Additional information as otherwise described to you at the point of collection or pursuant to your consent.
    2. Information We May Automatically Collect About You:

      Our Services may automatically collect certain Information about you. We use this Information to help us design our Services to better suit our users’ needs. This Information may include:

      • IP address, which is the number associated with the service through which you access the Internet, like your ISP (Internet service provider);
      • Date and time of your visit or use of our Services;
      • Domain server from which you are using our Services;
      • Type of computer, web browsers, search engine used, operating system, or platform you use;
      • Data identifying the web pages you visited prior to and after visiting our website or use of our Services; and
      • Your movement and activity within the website, which is aggregated with other information.
      1. Cookies & Technologies Used to Collect Information About You

        We collect the above Information directly and through the use of third parties. We collect this Information by using certain technologies, such as cookies, web beacons, and other technologies. Third-party service providers, advertisers, and/or partners may also view, edit, or set their own cookies or place web beacons. The use of these technologies by such third parties is subject to their own privacy policies and is not covered by this Privacy Policy, except as required by law. To learn more about Cookies and the Tracking Technologies we use on Services, please see our Cookie Policy.

          1. Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our Services. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our website.
          2. Flash Cookies. We may use local shared objects, also known as Flash cookies, to store your preferences such as volume control or display content based upon what you view on our site to personalize your visit. Third parties, with whom we partner to provide certain features or to display advertising based upon your browsing activity, use Flash cookies to collect and store information. Flash cookies are different from browser cookies because of the amount of, type of, and how data is stored. Cookie management tools provided by your browser will not remove Flash cookies.
          3. Web Beacons. Website pages may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit us, for example, to count users who have visited those pages and for other related statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain content and verifying system and server integrity). We also use these technical methods to analyze the traffic patterns, such as the frequency with which our users visit various parts of the Services. These technical methods may involve the transmission of Information either directly to us or to a third party authorized by us to collect Information on our behalf. Our Services may use retargeting pixels from Google, Facebook, and other ad networks. We may also use web beacons in HTML emails that we send to determine whether the recipients have opened those emails and/or clicked on links in those emails.
          4. Analytics. Analytics are tools we use, such as Google Analytics, to help provide us with information about traffic to our website and use of our Services, which Google may share with other services and websites who use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network. Learn more about Google’s Privacy Policy here: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US. You can opt-out of having your activity on our Services made available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out add-on for your web browser by visiting: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout for your web browser.
          5. Mobile Application Technologies. If you access our website and Services through a mobile device, we may automatically collect information about your device, your phone number, and your physical location.
    3. Information We May Receive from Third Parties

      We may collect additional Information about you from third-party websites, social media platforms, such as, but not limited, to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube (“Social Media Platforms”), and/or sources providing publicly-available information (e.g., from the U.S. Postal Service) to help us provide services to you, help prevent fraud, and for marketing and advertising purposes.

      Information we may access about you, with your consent, may include, but is not limited to, your basic Social Media Platform information, your location data, your list of contacts, friends or followers and certain information about your activities on the Social Media Platform. Please keep in mind that when you provide Information to us on a third-party website or platform (for example, via our applications), the Information you provide may be separately collected by the third-party website or the Social Media Platform.

      The Information we collect is covered by this Privacy Policy, and the Information the third-party website or Social Media Platform collects is subject to the third-party website or platform’s privacy practices. We encourage you to be aware when you leave our sites or applications and to read the privacy policies of other sites that may collect your Information.

  2. LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

    World Science Scholars may occasionally provide links to sites operated by outside parties (“Third-Party Websites”) that we believe may be of interest to you. We do not disclose your Information to these Third-Party Websites without obtaining your consent. In addition, from our Services you may be able to interact with social media sites (“Social Media Platforms”), for example, by “liking” us on Facebook. If you choose to click on a link to one of these Third-Party Websites or choose to interact with or through a Social Media Platform, your activities are not governed by this Privacy Policy and will be governed by the privacy policy on that Third-Party Website or Social Media Platform. Please review their privacy policies and terms of service before disclosing any Information there. World Science Scholars does not review, does not endorse, and is not responsible for the privacy practices of these Third-Party Websites and Social Media Platforms.

    We may also maintain a World Science Scholars page on Facebook or other Social Media Platforms. Those pages and your interaction with them are governed by the privacy policies of Facebook or other relevant Social Media Platform, and not our Privacy Policy. As with other Third-Party Websites, World Science Scholars does not endorse and is not responsible for the privacy practices of these forums, although we may have a presence on them.

  3. INFORMATION SECURITY

    We use commercially reasonable measures to provide our Services. However, you should assume that no data transmitted over the Internet or stored or maintained by us or our third-party service providers can be 100% secure. Therefore, although we believe the measures implemented by us reduce the likelihood of security problems to a level appropriate to the type of data involved, we do not promise or guarantee, and you should not expect, that your Information or private communications will always remain private or secure. We do not guarantee that your Information will not be misused by third parties. We are not responsible for the circumvention of any privacy settings or security features. You agree that we will not have any liability for misuse, access, acquisition, deletion, or disclosure of your Information.

    It is your responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of your log-in credentials and unique identifiers used to access the Services. You are also responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the Information you submit to World Science Scholars. Submitting inaccurate information, or failing to maintain the accuracy of information that changes (for example, a change of email address) may disrupt your ability to use World Science Scholars, may affect the information you receive from us, and may impact our ability to contact you. You can update your Information at any time by logging into World Science Scholars and visiting your user account page.

    If you believe that your Information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorized person, you shall promptly contact us via wsu@worldsciencefestival.com so that necessary measures can quickly be taken.

  4. DATA RETENTION

    We will retain your Information for as long as needed to provide you Services. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your Information to provide you Services, please contact us at contact us via wsu@worldsciencefestival.com. We will retain and use your Information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. In accordance with our routine record keeping, we may delete certain records that contain Information you have submitted to us. We are under no obligation to store such Information indefinitely and disclaim any liability arising out of, or related to, the destruction of such Information.

  5. MARKETING OUR COURSES AND SERVICE

    When you sign up to one of our mailing lists World Science Scholars adds you to the database and sends you emails to keep you updated with our latest courses, offers and events.

    When we are sending out direct marketing World Science Scholars relies on your ‘opt in’ consent to do this unless you are already an existing user of our Services. World Science Scholars may also make contact with publicly available professional or work email addresses it researches online to support its legitimate interests to promote its courses, events, and products. If you would like to unsubscribe please click the link provided on each email.

    World Science Scholars may use aggregated statistics from its marketing campaigns to analyze the progress and effectiveness of its campaigns. To carry out this processing World Science Scholars relies on its legitimate interests to promote its course and business offerings with appropriate safeguards in place to protect the privacy and ensure the choice of those on its mailing list.

  6. YOUR CHOICES
    1. Email. By using our Services, you agree that we may contact you by email as set forth herein. If you do not want to receive marketing and promotional emails from us, you may click on the “unsubscribe” link in the email to unsubscribe and opt-out of marketing email communications or contact us via wsu@worldsciencefestival.com.
    2. Mobile Push Notifications. By using our Services, you agree that we may contact you by calling or sending messages to your phone. You can use the settings on your mobile device to enable or turn off mobile push notifications from us or contact us via wsu@worldsciencefestival.com.
    3. Text Messages. By using our Services, you may be reached by text message in the course of participating in a class discussion or otherwise interacting on our Services. If you no longer want to receive text messages from us, reply STOP (or as otherwise instructed) in the text message or contact us via wsu@worldsciencefestival.com.
    4. Location Choices. You can change the privacy settings of your device at any time to turn off the sharing of location information with our Services. If you choose to turn off location services, this could affect certain features or services of our Services. If you have specific questions about the privacy settings of your device, we suggest you contact the manufacturer of your device or your mobile service provider for help.
    5. Opting Out of Direct Marketing. To exercise choices regarding the marketing information you receive, you may also review the following links:
  7. ACCESSING, CORRECTING, OR DELETING YOUR INFORMATION

    Upon request as set forth below and subject to certain exceptions and limitations and applicable laws, we will inform you of the existence, use and disclosure of your Information and will provide you access to that Information. To the extent other state laws provide users with additional data subject rights, those rights may be honored by the Company following proper authentication and verification.

    We encourage you to review, update, and correct Information that we maintain about you, and you may request that we delete Information about you that is inaccurate, incomplete, or irrelevant. We may not accommodate a request to change Information if we believe the change would violate applicable law in our control.

    To access, correct, or delete your Information, contact us at:

    Email: scholars@worldsciencefestival.com
    Call Us: 212-348-1400
    Write us: World Science Festival
    475 Riverside Drive, Suite 950
    New York, NY 10115
  8. NOTICE TO INDIVIDUALS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU) OR EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (EEA)

    This Section is included in this Privacy Policy to comply with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). It applies only to individuals coming to our Services from within the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) and only if we collect through the Services any Personal Data as defined in such laws (which may include some or all of your Information as defined in this Privacy Policy) as defined of those individuals or if we track individuals in the EU or EEA who access our Services.

    1. Controller

      World Science Scholars is the controller for the Information (as defined below in Section II) we process, unless otherwise stated.

      Email: scholars@worldsciencefestival.com
      Call Us: 212-348-1400
      Write us: World Science Festival
      475 Riverside Drive, Suite 950
      New York, NY 10115
    2. Your Data Protection Rights

      To the extent any European Data Protection Legislation and certain Non-European Data Protection Legislation applies and we hold such personal data in our capacity as a data controller as defined under those laws, you may request that we:

      • Restrict the way that we process and share your personal data;
      • Transfer your personal data to a third party;
      • Revoke your consent for processing of your personal data;
      • Provide you with access to your personal data;
      • Remove your personal data if no longer necessary for the purposes collected;
      • Update your personal data so it is correct and not out of date; and/or
      • Object to our processing of your personal data.

      If you wish to object to the use and processing of your personal data or withdraw consent to this Privacy Policy, you can contact us in the following ways:

      Email: scholars@worldsciencefestival.com
      Call Us: 212-348-1400
      Write us: World Science Festival
      475 Riverside Drive, Suite 950
      New York, NY 10115

      The requests above will be considered and responded to in the time-period stated by applicable law. Note, certain Information may be exempt from such requests. We may require additional information from you to confirm your identity in responding to such requests. You have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authorities applicable to you and your situation, although we invite you to contact us with any concern as we would be happy to try and resolve it directly. Please contact us at:

      Email: scholars@worldsciencefestival.com
      Call Us: 212-348-1400
      Write us: World Science Festival
      475 Riverside Drive, Suite 950
      New York, NY 10115
    3. Lawful Basis for Processing Your Information

      As described throughout this Privacy Policy, we believe the foregoing handling of your Information, which may include your personal data, furthers our legitimate interests in commercial activities that are not overridden by the interest or fundamental rights and freedoms of the individuals at issue. Depending on what personal data we collect from you and how we collect it, we rely on various grounds for processing your personal data, including the following reasons:

      • To administer our contractual relationship, including setting up any services you may request;
      • Because it is in our legitimate interest to effectively and efficiently operate our business and provide you with the services offered through the Services and other useful content and for other marketing, design, and advertising purposes;
      • To process employee data, prevent against fraud, provide technology security, and other necessary operational matters;
      • In order to fulfill any legal obligations, we may have to collect this Information from you; and/or
      • Because you have provided your consent for us to do so.

      If the processing of your Information is based on your consent, European Data Protection Legislation and certain Non-European Data Protection Legislation also allows users the right to access, revoke or modify your consent at any time. Please see the How to Contact Us section, below, to review or modify your consents.

    4. Consent to Transfer

      World Science Scholars is operated in the United States and we may use service providers based in the United States to operate our business and our relationship with you. Please be aware that Information, including your Personal Data, that we collect will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, a jurisdiction in which the privacy laws may not be as comprehensive as those in the country where you reside and/or are a citizen. We collect and transfer to the U.S. only Information, including Personal Data: with your consent; to perform a contract with you; or to fulfill a compelling legitimate interest of World Science Scholars in a manner that does not outweigh your rights and freedoms. We endeavor to apply suitable safeguards to protect the privacy and security of your personal data and to use it only consistent with your relationship with us and the practices described in this Privacy Policy. We also enter into data processing agreements and model clauses with vendors whenever feasible and appropriate.

  9. CHILDREN’S INFORMATION

    We do not knowingly collect or maintain any Information on our Services from persons under 13 years of age, and no part of our Services are directed to persons under 13 years of age. If you are under 13 years of age, please do not use or access our Services at any time or in any manner. Upon learning of the existence of Information concerning persons under 13 years of age that has been collected on our Services without verified parental consent, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

    If you are over 13 years of age but under 18 years of age, you must have your parent or legal guardian’s permission to use the Services. Please have them read this Agreement with you. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a user under the age of 18, by authorizing your child to use the Services, you are subject to the terms of this Agreement and responsible for your child’s activity on the Services. You can contact us at wsu@worldsciencefestival.com to help you manage your child’s experience.

  10. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

    We reserve the right to change, modify or amend this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our products and service offerings, accommodate new technologies, regulatory requirements, or other purposes. If we modify our Privacy Policy, we will update the “Last Updated” date below and such changes will be effective upon posting. It is your obligation to check our current Privacy Policy for any changes.

  11. HOW TO CONTACT US

    If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the Information we have collected about you, please contact us at the following:

    Email: wsu@worldsciencefestival.com
    Call Us: 212-348-1400
    Write us: World Science Festival
    475 Riverside Drive, Suite 950
    New York, NY 10115

Last Updated: November 25, 2020

World Science Scholars is a program
of the World Science Festival.

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