Processing of sensitive data in doctoral research

The University of Lapland has decided to offer secure devices and software for processing sensitive research data classified as level 1R and 2A also to those doctoral researchers who are not employed by the university. This includes, for example, special categories of personal data. At the same time, the decision means that doctoral researchers working without an employment relationship can act as the data controller together with the University of Lapland when processing personal data.

You can enter into a right-to-work agreement with the university. Under this agreement, you will recieve a secure computer on loan for a fixed period of time for data processing, as well as the right to use secure software for storing and processing sensitive data. This is not an employment contract. To conclude the agreement, you should contact your supervisor as well as the Administrative Manager of your faculty. A data management plan must be prepared for this purpose.

All doctoral researchers must note that when processing sensitive data classified as level 1R or 2A, you must always contact Data Protection Officer and Chief Information Security Officer of the University of Lapland before starting data collection and before preparing the data management plan. The classification of data is described in the information security guidelines.

We would also like to remind you that doctoral research must comply with legislation related to data collection, use, and re-use, as well as the  guidelines and policies of the University of Lapland. This is particularly important when your research involves personal data or other confidential data. For example, data protection legislation must always be taken into account when handling interview and survey data.

Please familiarize yourself with our Research Data Management Guide before collecting data. The doctoral school offers courses on data management, both as contact teaching and for self-study.

For questions related to data management, you can contact the library’s research services at research.library@luc.fi.