Home » Alumni » Terms and conditions of use

Open sidebar menu

Terms and conditions of use

 

Description of the service

The MWP Fellows Map is a bespoke web service provided and maintained by the EUI Communications Service (Web Unit) for the Max Weber Programme. The scopes of this project are:

• Support and facilitate accessibility to the MWP alumni profiles for a global relevant audience on the internet
• Communicate in a modern and accessible way the internationality and the high-quality profile of the Max Weber Programme fellows, over time
• Optimise resources by using a centralised data model to save time in managing and presenting data about MWP fellows (automatically generated pages vs manually edited pages)
• Adopt a future-proof data model, that will guarantee portability over time and over different platforms (ReST architecture).

This approach significantly improves compliance with the latest guidelines on data protection (e.g. GDPR), guaranteeing more control and advanced cybersecurity standards.

The Fellows are displayed on the map in their current professional/academic position. Internet users can search for fellows using a fast free-text search powered by the EUI's centralised search engine Prometheus.

At the same time users can browse the map manually and/or funnel the alumni through a set of filters, chosen in collaboration with the MWP administrative staff and focussed on enhancing the User Expereince (UX) of a targeted audience.

The information used to present the alumni on the map, on the detail pages and to index them on the EUI search engine (Prometheus) is shared and strictly regulated by the EUI Web Unit through a ReSTful database.

The database was created by the EUI Web Unit  to provide the service under these terms and conditions. It is currently hosted in a data center within the EU borders and the hosting provider is claiming to be GDPR compliant.

The database was created by the EUI Web Unit as a temporary solution to provide this service in a timely way according to the MWP needs. The database can be easily integrated and the data can be exported anytime to be part of a stronger EUI-wide data integration model managed by the relevant service.

The front-end service (map and personal profiles) would not be affected by the above-mentioned data migration that can be done without service interruption.

This project is part of a wider and continuous innovation process of the EUI Web Services, aimed at extending the accessibility of important academic-relevant information to our stakeholders, potential new candidates of the various EUI programmes as well as to other academic or general audiences.

In this process, a documented and structured accessibility to digital data is fundamental to be able to provide modern and adaptable interfaces that could target well definied and specific internet and intranet audiences.

 

Content strategy

The content strategy was developed and implemented by the EUI Web Unit in collaboration with the MWP administrative team. From the very early stages of the project, the EUI Web Unit guided and supported the MWP administrative team with a set of interviews, training, and meetings. The initial requests of the MWP administrative team were developed and discussed to finally identify, define and set the scope of the project as well as efficient ways to objectively measure its success. 

The joint working group (MWP staff - EUI Web Unit), will continuously monitor and eventually fine-tune the content strategy supported by available data and analytics and/or ad-hoc users behavior studies and observations.

The end user experience (UX) is designed to communicate in an accessible way the multiculturalism and the high-quality academic degree of the Max Weber Programme as well as the outstanding career prospects of the MWP fellows.

We aimed at presenting these key-elements with clarity (over simplicity and complexity) while offering specific and measurable services like, for example:

• Find MWP fellows by name or current affiliation (or other advanced filters)
• Find and use fresh information on MWP fellows (detail pages)

The wording was discussed with the MWP administrative team, and it has been optimised for the project's digital communications scope by the EUI Web Unit. The presentation layer and the design (e.g. color palette of the map and pages) was selected to strictly match our accessibility standards with digital branding needs.

The UI design was developed through a process of mockups, tested against the project's scope and developed according to the Web Unit's experience on digital UX, branding and design.

The approved mockups were then processed with the production of digital wireframes and finally coded into a set of one custom template and one custom web control component for the EUI's Content Management System (CMS) Contensis and released as part of the EUI centralised web services, under the section bespoke projects.

 

Technical development

The technical infrastructure was specifically developed to support the content strategy adopted, with the available resources (zero-buget), with a long-term view and in compliance with the quality, accessibility and security standards/constraints of the EUI Centralised Web Services.

The database, the core software (main functionality) and the User Interface (UI) are developed and supported by the EUI Web Unit and eventually integrated with third-party services when needed. External services are adopted under the full responsibility and control of the EUI Web Unit and in compliance with the same parameters adopted for internal developments.

This is a bespoke project and the technical infrastructure is calibrated on the specific size and scope of the project, that were defined and signed-off during the early stages.

The components cannot currently be released to the Web Working Group or used for a different scope, but would eventually need additional planning and relevant resources to guarantee sustainability over time.

Any change to the scope or any request for additional features will have to be discussed and eventually planned with the MWP administrative team and the EUI Web Unit in order to make sure that appropriate resources can guarantee the same quality, security and accessibility standards as well as compliance with the digital communication goals of the EUI and the MWP (specifically for this project), in a long-term view.

The digital information (alumni's data) used to provide this service is structured in a way that guarantees full integration with a modern ReST approach (e.g. - but not only - input or output API).
However, the MWP administrative team has explicitly authorized the use of the data provided only for this service (the MWP Fellows Map and the related auto-generated pages).
The EUI Web Unit guarantees on a flexible data integration. However, authorization to provide such integration should be requested and authorized by the MWP administrative staff.

Main technical components of the MWP Fellows Map:

• Database with MWP Alumni info (see next paragraph for more details)
• Web Platform (CMS Contensis)
• Front-end editing administrative module for data management (CMS Wordpress)
• Search engine, based on Prometheus (specific terms and conditions apply)
• Auto-generated personal pages of MWP alumni (CMS Contensis)
• Auto-generated overview pages with custom filters of alumni (CMS Contensis)
• Import/export scripts of existing data of MWP alumni

The data is provided to internet users through several caching layers and CDN networks. Further details can be requested anytime to the EUI Web Unit.

No technical or graphical customisation is allowed for specific detail pages at a peripheral level

 

Data integration, processing, management, and update

The data is provided and autonomously inserted by the MWP administrative staff team, who guarantees that the EUI has full rights to receive, store and process the data provided through this service. The data is stored in the database of the EUI Personal Websites, specifically created and managed by the EUI Web Unit. The database is hosted in a data center located within the borders of the European Union, under the control of the Web Unit.

The database is copied and distributed in other locations around the world (including outside of the EU borders) for website performance optimisation (e.g. CDN), backup procedures or other technical reasons. 

The database contains the following fields:

• Firstname - text field
• Surname - text field
• Profile photo - image
• Email - text field
• Biography - text field
• Website - text field
• User nationality - country
• Department - enum field
• PhD institution - text field
• PhD institution country - country
• Actual institution - text field
• Actual affiliation - text field
• General affiliation - text field
• Actual institution country - country
• Actual institution latitude - geolocation data
• Actual institution longitude - geolocation data
• Cohorts - enum field

The EUI Web Unit guarantees continuous monitoring, update and bug fixing in order to maintain the database and the related information stored in it secure and easily accessible according to the terms and conditions set and accepted by the MWP (in the name of the EUI) for this or other services that might be authorized to use the data.

Ownership of the content and authorization: the data subjects can request, anytime, by email to the data controller (the MWP administrative team) to edit or remove their information. The requests will be handled directly by the MWP administrative team, with the support of the EUI Web Unit (data processor) when needed.

The EUI Web Unit can access the data stored in the database, only if required and after informing the MWP administrative team.

 

Support and training

The service is provided and supported by the EUI Web Unit, as a bespoke project part of the EUI Centralised Web Services. More information on the EUI Centralised Web Services is available on the EUI Web Communications Portal (intranet access).

 

Controversies

In case of a controversy on the data published through this service, the EUI Web Unit should be informed. The complaint will be reviewed in collaboration with the MWP administrative team, and eventually forwarded to the most appropriate EUI service or department.