Privacy Policy
Last updated: 2026-09-10
The following privacy notices provide an overview of the collection and processing of your data on the Laufbahndiagnostik platform of ZHAW (hereinafter «Laufbahndiagnostik»). These privacy notices are addressed to all users of Laufbahndiagnostik.
Who operates Laufbahndiagnostik at ZHAW?
Laufbahndiagnostik is operated at ZHAW by the IAP Institute of Applied Psychology and hosted by ZHAW ICT (Finance & Services). The company pia IT Solutions GmbH, Austrasse 4, 8045 Zurich, provides technical support in collaboration with ICT.
The IAP Institute of Applied Psychology ensures the continuous further development of Laufbahndiagnostik.
Which sources and data do we use?
We process exclusively data that you actively enter yourself, such as when completing a questionnaire or counselling tool, as well as the personal information you provide (e.g., name, email address, educational background).
Every access to Laufbahndiagnostik is recorded in log files. This includes technical data such as your IP address, browser type details, and the date and time of access.
For what purposes do we process your data, and on what legal basis?
We process your data to provide, continuously develop, and conduct academic research on the questionnaires and counselling tools available on the Laufbahndiagnostik platform.
We process your master data to authenticate your identity and manage access permissions.
Counsellor's Accounts: We process your data to connect counsellors with clients. Counsellors with whom you link your profile will have access to your data. You may disconnect this link at any time.
Corporate Accounts: We process your data to enable companies using the Laufbahndiagnostik platform to evaluate usage by their employed counselling staff. In this context, individuals authorized by the company will have access to your data. These individuals require access to send invitations to complete questionnaires and counselling tools on behalf of counsellors and to make profiles accessible to them.
We process your data in compliance with the Act on Information and Data Protection (Informations- und Datenschutzgesetz, IDG) of the Canton of Zurich, the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP/DSG), and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR/DSGVO), in each case to the extent these legal frameworks are applicable.
All data on Laufbahndiagnostik is treated in strict confidence. Any reuse of data for academic research purposes and for the ongoing development of questionnaires and counselling tools occurs exclusively in anonymized form. Due to this anonymization, no conclusions can be drawn about individual persons.
Based on your consent
Insofar as you have granted us consent to process personal data for specific purposes, the lawfulness of such processing is based on your consent. Any consent granted may be revoked at any time. Revocation of consent does not affect the lawfulness of data processed prior to the revocation.
Using Laufbahndiagnostik, including profile creation, is free of charge. In order to complete questionnaires and counselling tools, you must register once. During registration, your first and last name as well as additional personal information are collected. Your full name appears on your individual profiles. Using the email feature integrated into Laufbahndiagnostik, you can forward your profile. Associating your full name with the profile ensures that profiles are not mixed up.
By registering and using Laufbahndiagnostik, you consent to the data processing described above. Any consent granted may be revoked at any time. Revocation does not affect the lawfulness of data processed prior to revocation.
For the fulfilment of contractual obligations
In certain cases, we process your data because it is necessary for the performance of a contract entered into with you.
To protect our legitimate interests
Examples include: asserting legal claims and defense in legal disputes; ensuring IT security and stable IT operations; analyzing traffic on the Laufbahndiagnostik platform to improve its functionality; and preventing and investigating criminal offenses.
Processing based on legal requirements or for the performance of a task in the public interest
Where the processing of your data is based on legal mandates, we rely primarily on § 6a of the Universities of Applied Sciences Act (Fachhochschulgesetz – FaHG). This concerns the fulfillment of tasks assigned to us as an institution of higher education by law. Our statutory mandate includes teaching, continuing education, applied research and development, and the provision of specialized services (§§ 6–8 of the ZHAW University Regulations / Hochschulordnung).
Data security
Your data is stored on our own servers in Switzerland, processed with all due care, and securely protected against unauthorized access by third parties. ZHAW implements the necessary technical and organizational measures to ensure the security of your data.
Data entered into forms is transmitted in encrypted form. Any online transmission of personal data is at your own risk. The data you submit is stored on our servers, maintained with utmost care, and shielded from third-party access. Entering third-party data requires their prior explicit consent.
Who receives my data?
Within ZHAW, access to your data is granted only to employees who require it to fulfill their duties. These may include researchers, support personnel, or system administrators. Your data will only be disclosed to third parties (e.g., other public authorities) if required by law or official administrative order, or if disclosure is necessary for legal enforcement or criminal prosecution. In addition, data may be shared in anonymized form with research partners of the ZHAW IAP Institute of Applied Psychology.
Counsellors with whom you are linked have access to your data. If your counsellor is employed by a company using the Laufbahndiagnostik platform, additional individuals authorized by that company will also have access to your data. You may unlink these connections at any time.
How long is my data stored?
We process and store your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill our contractual and legal obligations, or for as long as deemed necessary for the purposes for which it is processed. Under our data retention guidelines, your data is stored for a period of 5 years. If you do not log in or show any activity within this period, your documents will be permanently deleted upon expiry of the deadline. Logging back in resets the retention period and extends document availability for another 5 years.
Deletion
You can download or delete your personal data and documents yourself at any time. Deletion does not affect the lawfulness of data processed prior to the deletion request. Following receipt of a deletion request, the affected data will no longer be used, processed, or stored. Complete erasure will be carried out provided that no statutory retention obligations prevent it.
What data protection rights do I have?
In addition to your right to revoke consent as described above, you have the following data protection rights, subject to the applicable data protection laws:
Upon request, we will:
- Provide information on whether and which personal data concerning you we process and how (right of confirmation, right of access);
- Rectify your personal data if it is inaccurate (right to rectification);
- Delete your personal data if it is inaccurate or if we are no longer permitted to process it (right to erasure / deletion).
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us (see Controller and Contact Details below).
If we do not comply with a request, we will inform you of the underlying reasons.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority, in particular at your place of residence or at the registered seat of ZHAW (right to lodge a complaint).
Cookies
Cookies are files stored on a computer system via an internet browser. Generally speaking, securely conducting a multi-page online survey is not feasible without session cookies.
You can prevent the placement of cookies at any time upon login or via your web browser settings, permanently objecting to cookie deployment. Furthermore, cookies that have already been set can be deleted at any time via a browser or third-party utility.
The Laufbahndiagnostik platform utilizes the following cookies:
1. HTTP Session Cookie (Cookie Store)
2. Persistent Cookie („Stay logged in“)
3. Tracking/analysis cookies (for the „Monitoring“ page)
IT system logs
Whenever the internet is used—such as accessing websites or sending emails—technical data is transmitted automatically. Some of this data may qualify as personal data and is stored in our system logs. System logs are retained by ZHAW to diagnose operational disruptions and maintain system security. Once this data is no longer needed for operational or statutory requirements, it is permanently deleted.
Changes to the privacy notices
This Privacy Policy is subject to continuous review and updates. You will be notified of any material changes.
Who is responsible for data processing and who can I contact?
The data controller is:
ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte WissenschaftenGertrudstrasse 15
8401 Winterthur
E-Mail: info.laufbahndiagnostik@zhaw.ch
If you have any questions regarding data protection, please contact:
ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte WissenschaftenGertrudstrasse 15
8401 Winterthur
E-Mail: datenschutz@zhaw.ch