This policy explains how Brussels Academy handles personal data when you browse this website, request information, register for training, buy a publication or subscribe to updates.
1. Who is responsible for your data
Brussels Academy BV, enterprise number 0766.997.905, is the controller for personal data processed through this website and its services. Contact us at office@brusselsacademy.eu or our registered office: Wijgmaalsesteenweg 100, 3020 Herent, Belgium.
2. Data we collect
Depending on how you use our services, we may collect:
- Your name, email address, organisation, professional role and contact details.
- Training interests, enquiry details, registration and waiting-list choices, attendance, learning progress and certificate information.
- Billing contact and address, VAT number, company details and VAT-check results, together with order, invoice and payment-status information. Payment-card details are handled by the payment provider and are not stored by Brussels Academy.
- The form, service or third-party source of your contact details, expressed interests, newsletter preferences, subscription choices and their wording, source and date, historical confirmation records, and unsubscribe requests.
- Technical information needed to operate and secure the website, such as IP address, browser information, logs and cookie choices.
3. Why we use personal data
- To answer enquiries and prepare requested training or organisational support.
- To process registrations, verify relevant VAT and billing details, administer payments and invoices, and record attendance and certificates.
- To deliver requested resources and administer learner access.
- To send EU funding insights, training updates, resources and Brussels Academy offers by email on the legal bases described below.
- To maintain security, prevent misuse, meet legal obligations and improve our services.
4. Legal bases
Enquiries and booking requests are processed to take steps at your request; registrations, paid resources, learner access and certificates are processed to perform our contract. We retain accounting and tax evidence to meet legal obligations. Proportionate security, fraud prevention and service administration rely on legitimate interests, subject to your rights. Website marketing subscriptions rely on your consent. For free-resource requests, we record your marketing choice and activate a new subscription only after email verification. Other marketing choices and newsletter subscriptions take effect when submitted. For other professional outreach, we rely on legitimate interests only where permitted by applicable law, as described below. You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting earlier lawful processing.
5. Newsletter and marketing preferences
Providing an email address alone does not subscribe you to marketing. Free-resource requests require both the delivery and marketing choices. We first send a verification email; resources are released and a new marketing subscription is activated only after you verify your email. Unverified resource requests are not transferred to NetHunt. For other forms, selecting the separate, initially unticked marketing box and submitting starts your subscription immediately (single opt-in); the footer newsletter form has the same effect. Marketing remains optional for enquiries, accounts, training registrations, purchases and waiting lists. We record the wording, source and date of your subscription choice and, for free-resource requests, email verification. We obtain professional contact details from Apollo.io and use NetHunt to send information about Brussels Academy trainings. Where permitted by applicable law, we rely on our legitimate interests in promoting relevant professional training. You may object to direct marketing at any time, free of charge, using the unsubscribe link or contacting office@brusselsacademy.eu. You can withdraw consent at any time, free of charge, using the unsubscribe link in a marketing email or by contacting office@brusselsacademy.eu. Campaign and website preferences are maintained separately; contact us for a preference correction or a request covering both systems. A new enquiry or purchase does not by itself renew withdrawn permission. Unsubscribing from marketing does not stop necessary service messages, such as order confirmations, invoices, requested resource delivery or password recovery. A purchaser cannot give marketing consent on behalf of another participant.
6. Service providers and recipients
We share only information needed for the relevant service. The website and transactional email use one.com hosting; payments use Mollie. WordPress, WooCommerce, LearnPress and WP Overnight operate on our hosting to manage accounts, learning and documents. We use NetHunt CRM, provided by NetHunt Inc., and its connected email service to manage website and professionally sourced contacts and send the communications described above. Contact records may contain your email, name, organisation, form or service source, expressed interests and consent status and date. Entries using the same email address may be combined. A CRM record is not permission to send marketing. For EU VAT checks, relevant country, VAT number and, where required, company identity are sent to the European Commission’s VIES service. Available company details may fill empty invoice fields. If you are signed in, your own saved contact and billing details may also prefill registration. You can review and correct these details; manual entry remains available if lookup is unsuccessful. Zoom may receive information needed when you join a live training. Professional advisers and competent authorities receive information where required.
7. International transfers
Some providers, including NetHunt and its service providers, may process data outside the European Economic Area. Where this occurs, we rely on an adequacy decision or appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses, together with any additional measures required by law. NetHunt’s published Data Processing Agreement describes its international-transfer safeguards and subprocessors. You may contact office@brusselsacademy.eu for information about the safeguards relevant to your data or a copy where applicable.
8. How long we keep data
We review closed enquiries after 12 months, routine delivery-message records after 90 days and expired resource-access records after 30 days. These are review thresholds: unresolved requests, active access, disputes and legal holds are checked before deletion or anonymisation. Accounts, training completion and certificate evidence remain available while needed to provide the service or verify completion, with annual necessity review. Invoices, credit notes and related purchase evidence follow the applicable Belgian accounting and tax retention requirements, including any longer legally required period. Withdrawal from marketing stops future marketing; limited suppression and consent evidence may be retained to respect that choice. Restricted migration/recovery copies are reviewed with the records they protect and are not used as mailing lists.
9. Your rights
Subject to applicable conditions, you may request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability or objection. You may object to direct marketing at any time. We normally respond within one month; if a permitted extension is necessary, we explain the reason within that first month. Erasure does not override required accounting retention or the rights of other people. Send your request to office@brusselsacademy.eu. We verify identity proportionately before disclosing or changing records.
10. Complaints
You may contact Brussels Academy first so we can address your concern. You also have the right to complain to the Belgian Data Protection Authority or another competent supervisory authority.
11. Security and children
We use proportionate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data. Our services are intended for adults and professional audiences. We do not knowingly collect children’s data through this website without an appropriate legal basis and safeguards.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our services, providers or legal obligations change. The latest version and its date will remain available on this page.