NielsenIQ University Program Privacy Notice

NielsenIQ is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide. Our approach marries proprietary NielsenIQ data with other data sources to help clients around the world understand what’s happening now, what’s happening next, and how to best act on this knowledge. For more than 90 years NielsenIQ has provided data and analytics based on scientific rigor and innovation, continually developing new ways to answer the most important questions facing the advertising, retail and fast-moving consumer goods industries. For more information, visit www.nielseniq.com.  

This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) describes how Nielsen Consumer LLC (“NielsenIQ,” “NIQ,” “we,” “our,” or “us”), as data controller, handles the personal data we collect, and the rights you may have over this information based on your application to and participation in the NielsenIQ University Program (“NIQU Program”). By submitting your participation application, you acknowledge NIQ’s collection and processing of personal data about you in relation to the NIQ University Program (collectively, “NIQU Applicant Data”). NielsenIQ belongs to the group of companies listed here, which together form the NIQ Group.  

Notice at Collection of NIQU Applicant Data 

This Notice at Collection provides some key information about our privacy practices: the categories of personal data we collect; how we obtain, share, and maintain personal data; and how you can exercise your personal data rights and choices. Submission of your application and NIQU Applicant Data is entirely voluntary.  

Either initially or after we have welcomed you to participate in the NIQU Program, NielsenIQ may collect the following information directly from you:  

• Identifiers including your name, address, email address, phone number, date of birth, and signature.  

• Professional or Employment-Related Data, like details about your education, university coursework and areas of study, and other data included in your application responses.   

• Financial Data. If we offer stipends or awards using direct deposit, we may collect your routing and account numbers. 

• Sensitive Personal Data that may be revealed through your application responses, such as your race or ethnicity.  

• Protected Classification Characteristics, under State or Federal law, such as your age, race, gender, and sexual orientation. 

• Audio, Electronic, Visual, or Similar Data recorded via photographs, audio or video records when interacting with us in person, by phone or video. 

Legal Basis for Processing. We collect your NIQU Applicant Data for the primary purposes of facilitating our application process, selecting our NIQU Program participants, communicating with you to evaluate your application, or otherwise as needed to efficiently and securely manage our NIQU Program administration . 

Depending on your country of residence, local law may require us to state a legal basis for processing your NIQU Applicant Data. We will process your NIQU Applicant Data based on our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of certain third parties, provided that such processing shall not outweigh your rights and freedoms. We will process your NIQU Applicant Data based on your consent in connection with promotional activities. We may also process your NIQU Applicant Data as necessary for participating in the NIQU Case Competition.  

Promotional Activities. With your consent, we may also ask you to participate in voluntary promotional activities. NielsenIQ may use your name, photograph, likeness, and/or voice and NIQU Case Competition writing response, and any NIQU Program feedback, in any publicity or advertising relating to the NIQU Program without compensation or approval as to content (except where prohibited by law). If you agree to participate, your quote and picture may be used multiple times on external channels such as social media, our career site, and other platforms like job boards for promotional activities. We may also feature you internally in our internal NIQ communications.  

We do not sell or share NIQU Applicant Data.  We may use your NIQU Applicant Data and your NIQU course participation information to present you with networking or employment opportunities.  

Automated Decision Making and Artificial Intelligence. We may use automated processes throughout our application process. To the extent that these activities constitute automated decision making or profiling, we take steps to do so in a fair, ethical, and non-discriminatory manner, with human intervention throughout our data processing. We do not solely rely on automated processing that produces a legal or similar significant effect, such as a decision to offer or decline your request for employment. 

Our automated processes may include the use of personal data to train our artificial intelligence (AI) systems and large language models (LLMs). NIQ maintains a steadfast commitment to the responsible, ethical, and secure application of AI and machine learning to enhance and evolve our programs and processes. This includes the integration of generative AI capabilities. Our deployment and use of AI is subject to applicable law and NIQ’s AI Safety Policies and Guiding Principles.  

Retention. We may store NIQU Applicant Data for as long as needed for the purposes indicated in this Notice. In any event, we will not retain your NIQU Applicant Data longer than permitted by local law from the date of collection unless you provide your consent or in which case a different retention period may apply. Records not specifically designated as Applicant Data may have different retention periods (e.g., email server records of emails communications). Records not specifically designated as NIQU Applicant Data may have different retention periods (e.g., email server records of messages received or sent). 

Disclosing Personal Data. We may disclose your NIQU Applicant Data (in accordance with applicable law) to our affiliates, employees, clients, service providers, and other third parties. 

• Our Corporate Affiliates. To achieve the objectives described above, and because we are part of a larger group of companies operating internationally, we may from time to time make NIQU Applicant Data available to other companies within the NIQ Group. 

• Our Employees and Administrators. NIQU Applicant Data is controlled primarily (but not exclusively) by the NIQU Program staff and may be stored electronically or in hard copy. Other staff involved in processing or information management may also have access to some or all NIQU Applicant Data. 

• Our Clients. We may disclose NIQU Applicant Data with our clients that are co-leading the course session and NIQU Case Competition or otherwise participating in NIQU class sessions. 

• Our Service Providers. We may disclose NIQU Applicant Data with third parties that provide services to us, such as software, video and website hosting, data analysis, infrastructure and IT services, consultants, customer service, email delivery, and auditing. 

In certain circumstances, we may disclose NIQU Applicant Data to: 

• Governmental, Regulatory, and Public Authorities, to comply with legal or regulatory obligations or requests (such as labor and tax authorities). 

• Relevant Third Parties as Part of a Corporate Transaction. In the event of a reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets, or stock (including in connection with a bankruptcy or similar proceeding), we may disclose or transfer your NIQU Applicant Data to certain third parties, such as the acquiring entity and its advisers. 

• Other Third Parties. We may disclose your NIQU Applicant Data to other third parties at your direction or with your consent. Additionally, we will disclose NIQU Applicant Data as necessary or appropriate to: (a) comply with applicable law; (b) enforce our terms and conditions; (c) protect our operations; (d) protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, and/or those of you or others; and (e) allow us to pursue available remedies or limit damages that we may sustain. 

Privacy Rights and Choices. In accordance with applicable law (and subject to certain exceptions), you may have certain rights in relation to your NIQU Applicant Data, including the right to:  

• Access your Data (including a copy in a portable format). You may have the right to request a privacy report detailing the information we maintain about you and the purposes for doing so, unless your request proves impossible or involves disproportionate effort to fulfill. Under certain conditions, you may request that we transfer your information to another organization, or directly to you, but we may not be required to respond to your requests “to know” or access specific pieces of your information more than twice in any 12-month period.   

• Request a List of Third Parties though we will not license or sell NIQU Applicant Data collected from or about you, and we are not required to provide the names of NIQ Group customers or other trade secrets. 

• Correct or Rectify inaccurate information that we maintain about you, subject to appropriate verification.  

• Delete or Erase information that we maintain about you, under certain conditions.  

• Restrict or Limit Processing of your information, under certain conditions. This includes a right to restrict the use or disclosure of your sensitive personal data.   

• Object to Processing the information that we maintain about you based on our legitimate interest, under certain conditions. We will no longer process your information unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests or for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.  

• Withdraw Consent at any time where we rely on consent as the legal basis, with effect for the future.   

• Appoint an Authorized Agent on your Behalf. Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may submit a request related to your information. Agents may need to demonstrate via written, signed documentation that you’ve authorized them to act on your behalf.  

• Appeal or Lodge a Complaint in the event of a suspected infringement of applicable data protection laws, you may appeal our decision directly with us or lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.  

We empower and support the exercise of your rights. At any time, you may request or assert any of the rights listed above by contacting university.relations@smb.nielseniq.com. If you believe there has been a violation of your privacy rights, please contact us or the supervisory authority.  

We will not discriminate against you if you decide to exercise your privacy rights.  

Data Transfers. Due to the international nature of our business, it may be necessary for us to transfer your personal data to other companies within the NIQ Group and to third parties outside the jurisdiction in which you reside that may not have the level of data protection that you enjoy under your jurisdiction (“Third Countries”). This can, for example, result in impeded enforcement of individuals’ rights, a lack of control over further processing, and access by state authorities.  

Within the NIQ Group, we have concluded an intra-group data transfer agreement with the relevant transfer mechanisms (standard contractual clauses of the European Commission) and additional safeguards to ensure an adequate level of protection for your personal data when it is transferred to Third Countries, including the United States and India.  

Insofar as we transfer your personal data to other recipients in Third Countries, we ensure that your personal data is protected by adequate safeguards recognized by your jurisdiction (for example, by concluding standard contractual clauses of the European Commission or by means of binding corporate rules of our business partners) and supplementary measures, as necessary. You can email us under the contact details found below to obtain a copy of transfer mechanisms. 

Data Security. We maintain a comprehensive information security program with administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility of your information. However, as no transmission of information over the internet is absolutely secure, we cannot guarantee the safety of your information.  

Revisions to this Notice. We reserve the right to change, modify, add, remove, or otherwise revise portions of this Notice at any time, for example as our processes develop and evolve, to comply with legal requirements, or to address changes in our business practices. When we do, we will post the revised Notice to our website or otherwise make it available to you. Your continued participation with the NIQ University Program following the posting of changes to these terms means you acknowledge these changes. If we change the Notice in a material way, we will provide appropriate notice to you and update the date at the top of the Notice. 

Contact Us. If you have any questions or concerns about this Notice, our privacy practices and the protection of your NIQU Applicant Data, or the privacy rights and choices available to you described in this Notice, you may contact us in the following ways: 

NIQ Webform	Your Privacy Rights
Email	connect.privacy@nielseniq.com
Data Controller	Nielsen Consumer LLC
U.S. Postal Mail	NielsenIQ, 200 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60606, USA  Attn: Legal Dept
Outside U.S. Postal Mail	NielsenIQ, Nielsen House, Oxford Business Park South, John Smith Drive, Oxford OX4 2WB, UK  Attn: Legal Dept
Data Protection Officer	niq@hewardmills.com    Attn: NIQU Participant