Privacy Notice
SAE Austria GmbH | Vienna
This Privacy Notice provides information on how SAE Austria GmbH processes personal data. It applies in particular to our website, enquiries, study and course contracts, communication, events, alumni activities, and administrative processes.
1. Controller
The controller is:
For data protection enquiries, you can reach us at: datenschutz@sae.edu
2. Data Protection Officer
Our Data Protection Officer can be reached at: datenschutz@sae.edu or by post at the address mentioned above.
3. Joint Controllership within the AD Education Group
For certain central group processes, SAE Austria GmbH processes personal data jointly with other companies of the AD Education Group within the meaning of Art. 26 GDPR.
This applies in particular to central administration, CRM, HR, student administration, learning platforms, communication, and reporting processes, as well as alumni support.
The following entities are jointly responsible for these joint processes:
AD Education Germany Holdings GmbH provides central systems, defines group-wide standards, and coordinates joint data protection processes. SAE Austria GmbH processes the data in its daily operational business and remains the primary point of contact for individuals contacting the organisation.
The essential content of the joint controllership agreement is that AD Education Germany Holdings GmbH coordinates central systems, standards, and data protection processes, whilst the respective operational company is responsible for specific communication, contract performance, and the support of the data subjects.
You may assert your data protection rights against any of the joint controllers. For simplicity, you can contact the following central point of contact at any time:
4. What Data We Process
Depending on the occasion, we process the following data in particular:
- Master data, e.g. name, address, date of birth
- Contact details, e.g. email address, telephone number, postal address
- Educational data, e.g. course data, attendance, performance records, academic progress
- Contractual and administrative data
- Payment and financial data, e.g. tuition fees, payment status, bank details
- Communication data, e.g. emails, messages, conversation notes
We generally receive this data directly from you. In individual cases, we also receive data from third parties, e.g. authorities, funding bodies, agencies, educational partners, or payment service providers.
5. Purposes and Legal Bases
We process personal data for the following purposes:
6. Obligation to Provide Data
Insofar as data is required for a contract, registration, statutory obligation, or funding processing, this data must be provided. Without this data, we may not be able to process the respective enquiry, registration, service, or contract performance.
Voluntary information and consent can be refused or subsequently withdrawn at any time without any disadvantage.
7. Recipients of Personal Data
Personal data is only disclosed to entities that require it for the respective purposes. These include in particular:
- internal departments and locations
- companies within the AD Education Group, as required
- IT, hosting, cloud, CRM, learning platform, and communication service providers
- payment, accounting, and financial service providers
- debt collection agencies and credit reference agencies for address tracing within the scope of receivables management
- authorities, funding bodies, auditing bodies, or courts, as required
- external advisers, insurance companies, and other service providers, as required
Where necessary, service providers are contractually bound as processors.
8. Transfer to Third Countries
We process data within the EU or EEA where possible. For individual service providers or central systems, processing may take place in countries outside the EU or EEA.
In these cases, we ensure that the statutory requirements for third-country transfers are complied with, in particular through adequacy decisions, EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or other appropriate safeguards. A copy of these safeguards can be obtained upon request from datenschutz@sae.edu.
9. Retention Period
We store personal data only for as long as it is required for the respective purpose or as long as statutory retention periods exist.
Contractual, accounting, and payment data is regularly stored for the duration of statutory retention obligations. Data based on consent is deleted when the consent is withdrawn, unless another legal basis applies.
10. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our website uses technically necessary cookies and comparable technologies for the website to function.
We only use non-essential cookies, tracking, or marketing technologies if you have given your prior consent. You can withdraw or amend your consent at any time via the cookie banner.
11. WhatsApp and Superchat
If you communicate with us via WhatsApp or use a WhatsApp chatbot, we process your telephone number, your WhatsApp profile name, message contents, communication data, and technical data related to the chat usage in particular.
For this purpose, we use the WhatsApp Business API in conjunction with Superchat / SuperX GmbH, Prenzlauer Allee 242–247, 10405 Berlin.
The processing is carried out to handle your enquiry, for customer communication, to implement pre-contractual or contractual measures, or — if you have consented — for information and offers.
Depending on the purpose, the legal bases are Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, or Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.
If the processing is based on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time, e.g. by sending a corresponding message in the chat or via email to datenschutz@sae.edu.
Communication data may be processed by Superchat, WhatsApp, and Meta. A transfer to countries outside the EU or EEA cannot be ruled out. In this case, the protective mechanisms specified under Section 8 apply.
12. No Automated Decisions
We do not make any solely automated decisions within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR.
13. Your Rights
In accordance with statutory requirements, you have the following rights:
- Access to your personal data
- Rectification of incorrect data
- Erasure of personal data
- Restriction of processing
- Data portability
- Objection to processing based on legitimate interests
- Withdrawal of granted consents with effect for the future
- Lodging a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority
To exercise your rights, you can contact: datenschutz@sae.edu
You can also assert your rights against any jointly responsible company.
The competent supervisory authority for SAE Austria GmbH is:
14. Changes to this Privacy Notice
We may adapt this Privacy Notice if legal, technical, or organisational changes occur. The current version will always be provided on our website.
