In the course of providing our graduate and professional programs (including African Philosophy, Politics, Economic Thought, and Sociology), we may collect the following:

• Identity Details: Name, date of birth, nationality, and identification documents.
• Contact Details: Email address, billing address, and telephone numbers.
• Academic and Professional Details: Educational history, CVs, professional qualifications, and areas of research interest.
• Financial Details: Payment card details and transaction history (processed through secure third-party gateways).
• Technical Details: IP address, login data, browser type, and usage patterns on our online learning platform.
• Research Details: Information provided during research commissions or policy entrepreneurship initiatives.

We process your data for the following purposes:

• Contractual Necessity: To register you as a student, deliver our curriculum, and manage your academic progress.
• Educational Mission: To facilitate networking between the diaspora and continental initiatives, supporting our “brain gain” strategic objectives.
• Legitimate Interests: To improve our online curriculum, monitor student engagement, and communicate updates regarding the political project of Pan-Africanism.
• Legal Obligation: To comply with UK higher education regulatory requirements (e.g., Office for Students) and tax laws.

We only process personal data when we have a valid legal basis:

• Consent: Where you have given us clear consent to process your data for a specific purpose (e.g., marketing).
• Contract: Where processing is necessary for the performance of the student agreement.
• Legitimate Interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests as a specialized educational institution, provided these do not override your fundamental rights.
• Legal Obligation: Where we must comply with the law.

The School of Pan African Studies serves a global diaspora and maintains deep links with the African continent. Your data may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the United Kingdom.

Where we transfer personal data from the UK to recipients in African nations (including partners and service providers supporting our diaspora-to-development (“Brain Gain”) model), we will ensure that the transfer complies with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

When we transfer data to countries without a UK “adequacy decision”, we use one or more of the following safeguards, as appropriate:

• International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA): the UK IDTA (or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, where applicable) entered into with the overseas recipient to provide appropriate safeguards under the UK GDPR.
• Risk assessment and supplementary measures: where required, we will assess the destination country’s legal and practical landscape and implement proportionate supplementary measures (for example, encryption, access controls, and contractual restrictions on onward transfers).
• Onward transfers: we will require recipients to obtain our written approval before making onward transfers and to ensure equivalent protections apply. We may also rely on other lawful transfer mechanisms permitted under the UK GDPR, where applicable (for example, explicit consent for a specific transfer, or where the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract with you), and will document the basis relied upon.

We have implemented robust technical and organisational security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way. This includes encrypted learning management systems and secure communication channels for our global scholars.

Privacy by Design (digital-first education): As a digital-first institution, we seek to embed data protection into the design and operation of our online learning environment and related services. This includes, where proportionate and appropriate: data minimisation in course delivery; role-based access controls for staff and faculty; secure default settings on learning tools; the use of privacy-enhancing technologies where available; and (where required) Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) for new or high-risk digital features, integrations, or research/analytics activities.

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Specific retention periods are outlined in our Data Retention and Records Management Policy.

Under the UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

• Request access to your personal data.
• Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Request erasure of your personal data (“the right to be forgotten”).
• Object to processing of your personal data.
• Request restriction of processing.
• Request transfer of your personal data (data portability).
• Right to withdraw consent at any time.

To exercise these rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer at the contact details provided above.

Our website and learning platforms may include links to third-party websites (e.g., African development partners or research archives). Clicking on those links may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements.

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us directly. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk).