General conditions of use

1. Purpose.

These General Conditions of Use (hereinafter, the "Conditions" or the "General Conditions") describe the terms applicable to the service provided by Universia Holding, S.L. with registered office at Ciudad Grupo Santander. Avda de Cantabria s/n, 28660 Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) with CIF B82976515 and accessible through this Contact Form (hereinafter "Universia"), makes available to Internet users through the portal accessible through the following domains: https://www.becas-santander.com, www.santander-grants.com and www.bolsas-santander.com and through the mobile applications called "Santander Learning Room" available for iOS and Android (hereinafter, jointly or independently, the "Portal").

The service provided through the Portal (hereinafter, the "Service") consists of offering a space that brings together universities and other educational institutions or entities that adhere to the Portal (hereinafter, the "Institutions") and that publish scholarship programmes, grants, academic projects or contents (hereinafter, the "Programme" or the "Programmes"), and the users themselves who register on the Portal to evaluate the Programmes that most interest them and to register, manage or coordinate them (hereinafter, the "Portal Users" or the "User(s)"), as well as to interact with the Institutions. Universia may also offer content that facilitates learning or reinforces the competences of the Users (the "Learning Room").

Users will be able to access the Learning Room through the domains indicated in the previous paragraph and also through the mobile applications called "Santander Learning Room" available for iOS and Android. However, the rest of the Service's functionalities will not be accessible through the mobile applications for the time being. These applications are also considered part of the Portal.

Any interested party who registers on the Portal or has subscribed to the newsletter, in any modality, "Student", "Teacher", "Researcher" indistinctly, will be recognised as a User. Registration and deregistration from the Portal must be carried out on the web version of the Portal, as the mobile applications do not yet allow this. Professor" means any person on the payroll of an Institution who fulfils the requirements of the specific Programme.

Any university, educational institution, local unit of Santander Group, entity or company, which promotes one or more Programmes on the Portal, in the manner stipulated in these General Conditions, may register on the Portal as an "Institution".

These Conditions are drawn up in Spanish and will take effect when Users begin to use the Service, which will occur when they have completed the registration process and expressly accept these Conditions by clicking on the button concerned. 

Users may consult a copy of these Terms at any time, as they will be available at all times in a link at the bottom of the web version of the Portal and on the home page of the mobile application.

If users wish to know how we process their personal data to provide the Service, we advise them to consult our Privacy Policy, which is accessible in a link at the bottom of the Portal.

Universia clarifies that participation on Programmes will also be subject to any legal terms or conditions that may be established for each Programme by the Institution concerned, which users must read and accept beforehand. In general, Universia is not involved in running these Programmes, and therefore any incidents or claims concerning them should be taken up directly with the Institution concerned. The Institutions will process the personal data of users for the Programmes in accordance with their specific privacy policy.

When accessing, using or registering on the portal, the user confirms and guarantees that they are at least 16 years old, without prejudice to there being a higher minimum age for admission to certain programmes.

2. Description of the service

The Service provided by Universia is composed of the following functions, all relating to the management of scholarship Programmes or intended to enable Users to compete more successfully in scholarship Programme selection processes.

2.1. Scholarship Programmes

The Portal is a global space to which Institutions from different countries adhere and is connected and adapted to the needs of each centre, in order to complete and strengthen Programmes and create an ecosystem to promote academic activity. Through the Portal, Institutions can create, publish and manage calls for Programmes, as well as monitor and control them, access and consult statistical analyses on the evolution of the Programmes, and invite third party collaborators to manage or participate in them. 

In this regard, the Institutions' Programmes may have been financed by third-party organisations (the "Promoters"), with which the Institution may jointly manage the Programme or to which it may provide access to details of the Programme, since they have financed the Programme. The Promoters may use the Portal or not use it, but if they do so they must accept these Conditions, including specific terms for Institutions, and be ruled by them.

Users who register on the Portal will be able to access the Programmes, as well as search, track and register for those Programme calls that may be of interest to them. When users search for Programmes using the search engine, the order or ranking of the Programmes will be determined in accordance with the parameters described in the Santander Scholarship Results Ranking Parameters, which will be updated from time to time. On the other hand, in the User's private area (Profile), he/she will be able to consult the status of his/her applications (both followed and applied), and access notifications about them.

The Institution will be subject to the results of the validation process planned by Universia for the publication of the first Programme.

At the time of creating the Programme, the Institution declares that it has complied in all respects with any applicable laws, rules and regulations governing the subject matter of the Programme and that it has not and will not violate any agreement by virtue of which the Institution is explicitly or implicitly bound.

The Institutions that publish the Programmes through the Portal are solely responsible for the management, organisation and development of such Programmes, as well as for guaranteeing the rights of Users as consumers, and Universia assumes no responsibility in this regard. In addition, the Institutions generally have the character of academic institutions, so that unless otherwise specifically indicated, Users are assisted by the rights of consumers in their relations with the Institutions. Likewise, the Institutions are solely responsible for complying with the obligations arising from the agreements they reach with Users in relation to the Scholarship Programmes, and Universia shall not be involved in any way whatsoever.

The registration, processing and development of any other management related to the Scholarship Programmes may be carried out exclusively on the web version of the Portal.

2.2. Learning Room

Universia offers Users, free of charge, a catalogue of thousands of contents in various formats (text, audio, video, etc.) aimed at reinforcing Users' skills and completing their training (the "Learning Room"). The purpose of this catalogue of content is to enable Users to increase their skills and abilities, so that they can compete with a better chance of success in the selection processes for the Programmes offered on the Platform by different Institutions.

The specific contents that make up the Learning Room catalogue will be available for access on the Portal for a limited period of time, as they generally depend on the intellectual property licences granted by their owners. Therefore, Universia informs Users that the contents offered in the Learning Room may be withdrawn at any time, without prior notice, and that the contents available may vary depending on the country in which the User is located. In other words, Universia offers Users a catalogue of content that varies over time, and not access to specific content. In addition, the contents will be accessible on the Portal, but except for specific exceptions, they cannot be downloaded to Users' devices to be enjoyed at a later date.

The Learning Room catalogue is the same in the web and mobile versions of the Portal. However, the web version allows access to some specific contents without the need to register on the Portal, as well as the possibility of downloading such contents to the User's device. However, most of the contents cannot be downloaded and in order to access them it is necessary to complete registration on the Portal. In addition, access to the contents accessible after registration is subject to the following limitations:

• Each User may initiate access to a maximum of four (4) contents in each calendar month.
• From the moment the User accesses a specific content for the first time, he/she may consult it again within the following twenty-one (21) calendar days, even if this period extends into the following calendar month. In such a case, access to that content will only count for the month in which it was accessed for the first time.

The Learning Room also allows you to review and rate content, create and share lists of favourite content, and receive notifications about content you have accessed or new content included in the catalogue.

Unlike the Scholarship Programmes, the Learning Room will be accessible both on the web version of the Portal and on the mobile applications called "Santander Learning Room" available for iOS and Android.

3. User content

3.1. Content of Programmes

The content that Users and/or the Institution voluntarily share through the Portal in relation to the Programmes for which the Users register are jointly defined as the "Content" of the Users and/or the Institution. The Users and the Institution are solely responsible for the Content that they have shared on the Portal in connection with a particular Programme, indemnifying Universia from any claim (judicial or extrajudicial) that arises or may arise from such Content.

In particular, the Institution will be responsible for immediately informing Universia if any Content shared by Users on the Programme provided by it is unlawful, constitutes defamation or slander against any person, company and/or association, or contains forbidden items, such as a virus or spam or links to these.

The Content of Users and/or the Institution is subject to these Conditions. As the Portal is international, these Conditions may be subject to laws applicable in the country in which the User resides and/or the Institution that publishes the Programme has its registered address.

The Content of Users and/or the Institution must be truthful. In this regard, the User and/or the Institution guarantees the authenticity of any and all Content shared on the Portal, and Universia accepts no liability in this respect.

Users may report to Universia any content that they consider to be illicit or contrary to the rights of third parties through the contact details provided in these Conditions. To do so, the User who wishes to report content must justify why he/she considers it to be illicit or contrary to the rights of third parties.

4. Acceptance of these Conditions

Provision of the Service will always be subject to acceptance by the User and by the Institution of the Privacy Policy and of these General Conditions.

To access the Service, the User and the Institution must register on the Portal through the registration process set up for this purpose. The registration process must be carried out on the web version of the Portal, as the mobile applications do not yet have the necessary infrastructure to do so. In the same way, the possible deregistration must necessarily be carried out on the web version of the Portal.

The initial registration and subsequent access to the Service may be carried out through Universia's own system or through third party authentication systems or social connectors that Universia offers at any given time, such as Google Sign-In or Facebook Login. In the event that the User registers or accesses the Service from one of these third-party authentication systems, the User agrees to comply with the applicable regulations and the specific terms that regulate the use thereof. In particular, if the User uses Google's authentication system called Google Sign-In, the User must comply with the Google APIs Terms of Service, while if it uses Facebook Login, it must comply with the Meta Platform Terms. In particular, when you are an Institution, you may not use the data of other Users for any purpose that breaches such Meta Platform Terms.

Universia will grant access to the Service as soon as the User successfully completes the registration process on the Portal. Universia reserves the right to deny at any time, without right to compensation, access to the Portal to those Users and that Institution that do not comply with these Terms and Conditions or the applicable regulations. If Universia has reasonable grounds to believe that use has been made in violation of these Terms and Conditions, it shall be entitled to remove the Profile of the offending User and Institution with prior notice.

5. Registration and access to the Service

The registered User/Institution's e-mail and password are mandatory for access to and use of the Service. The User/Institution must select the identifier (ID or login) and any password they wish, with an undertaking to keep and use it with all due care.

Use of the password is personal and non-transferable, and may not be made available to third parties, even on a temporary basis. In this regard, the User/Institution must take the necessary steps to ensure the safe custody of their chosen password and to prevent third parties from using their password. Consequently, the User/Institution will be solely responsible for any use made of their passwords. If the User/Institution becomes aware or suspects that their password is being used by third parties, they must notify this circumstance to Universia as soon as possible.

Registration on the Portal is of a personal nature. The User/Institution guarantees to keep all information provided to Universia permanently updated so that it corresponds, at all times, to the real situation of the User. In any case, the User/Institution shall be solely responsible for any false or inaccurate statements made and for any damage caused to Universia or to third parties as a result of the information provided.

Finally, Users who access the Service from the mobile applications may configure the possibility of receiving notifications about the Service itself, such as, for example, reminders about the remaining time in which the User may continue to access a Content that he/she is consuming. This is a specific functionality of the mobile version that is not available in the web format.

6. Specific conditions for Institutions

The conditions set out in the following paragraphs of this section are applicable to Institutions only.

These General Conditions provide that the Institutions are strictly forbidden to request any kind of additional information in the fields offered directly by Universia to the Institutions at the time a Programme is created.

In particular, any Institution that includes a request for information regarding sensitive data, such as ethnic or racial origin and/or data relating to health, on the application forms and/or in spaces that are freely configured or are for free text on the Portal for any of their programmes will have to provide Universia with the regulation that allows it to collect this type of data, before the pertinent programme is published. As applicable, and at the request of Universia, the Institution will have to provide a reference to the regulation in the terms and conditions of the Programme and explain why this information is being requested.

The Institution will use all the means at its disposal to properly disseminate and promote usage of the Portal and of the Programmes posted on it.

The Institution's website will show the logo of the Portal and/or a connection link to the Portal.

During the process of creating a Programme, the Portal allows the Institution to insert accompanying images so as to make the Programmes more illustrative. In this regard and without prejudice to the provisions of these terms and conditions, the Institution declares and guarantees, as necessary, that it owns all or sufficient rights to allow the commercial use of the respective names, logos, trademarks and any other work/asset afforded protection under current intellectual and industrial property law that appears in any of the images for the programmes created by the Institution.

The Institution acknowledges that only those who have sufficient authorisation or who have been duly granted a representative mandate to represent and bind the Institution within the context of the Service may use the Service in its name and on its behalf, including registration of the Institution in the Service. The Institution guarantees that it will only allow people who meet these requirements to use the Service and gain access to the Portal.

Personal data protection

The Institution, since it receives data from Users, will be obliged to comply with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation 679/2016 (GDPR), or of any other data protection regulations that may apply, as the data controller. Specifically, pursuant to these Conditions, the Institution undertakes to:

• Comply with the obligations under the GDPR for a Data Controller as a result of acquiring this status following the disclosure of data governed by the Institution's adherence to the portal and to these Conditions.
• Provide its privacy policy to Users in relation to the Programmes.
• Allow data subjects to exercise their rights of access to and rectification, erasure and portability of their data and to restriction of and objection to processing by providing them with an address for these purposes.
• Ensure the application of appropriate technical and organisational measures so that the level of security is in accord with risk exposure.
• Abide by the confidentiality of the data obtained by reason of the membership of the Institution of this Portal, and not disclose such data or make it available to third parties unless so required by a court or supervisory authority.

Universia also declares the lawful origin of the personal data to be communicated to the Institution, guaranteeing that they have been obtained in compliance with the requirements established in the GDPR. In this regard, Universia declares that it has obtained the informed, free, specific and unequivocal consent of the users or that it has an adequate legal basis for the transfer of their data to the Institution, as well as having complied with the other requirements established by current Data Protection regulations.

Data processor

In relation to any arrangements made by the Institution to complete the procedures for its Programmes on the Portal, Universia will act as the data processor, as the entity providing the Portal. Solely in connection with the foregoing, Universia is subject to compliance with the following obligations:

• When it acts as data processor, to only access Users' data to allow the Institution to use the Portal as a tool which the Institution uses to complete the selection processes concerning its Programmes.
• Carry out only the following processing activities: collection, registration, structuring, amendment, conservation, extraction, consultation, comparison and access.
• Ensure that people who can access users' data have undertaken confidentiality commitments in relation to any personal data that may be processed.
• When any User or Data Subject exercises their right of access and right to rectification and erasure, restriction of processing, and data portability, and the right not to be the subject of automated individual decision-making, in relation to Universia, manage the response to these rights, always restricted to processing carried out directly on the Portal.
• Assist the Institution in performing impact assessments and preliminary consultations, whenever this is mandatory in accordance with data protection regulations.
• Use only those subcontractors that have accepted the obligations stipulated in this section, and ensure, if international transfers are to be made to these subcontractors, that they are based on proper safeguards such as an adequacy decision or the signature of standard contractual clauses (applying additional measures, if necessary), or on binding corporate rules.
• Provide the Institution with additional information, if requested, concerning the identity of the subcontractors and of the international transfers made.
• Permit and assist with audits or inspections. This obligation will be considered to have been met when Universia provides the Institution with an audit report draw up by Universia or by third parties tasked by it.
• Notify the Institution of any security breaches in relation to its Programmes affecting the personal data of Users enrolled on them.
• Adopt the security measures described in these General Conditions of Use.
• Destroy data on management of the Programmes on termination of the General Conditions of Use, without prejudice to subsequently retaining the data as necessary to prepare, lodge or defend against any claims, where permitted by applicable legislation, or provide the data for judges and courts, the Public Prosecutor's Office or public administrations.

If a claim is brought against Universia and it has to respond to any kind of administrative or compensatory liability in respect of processing activities concerning the Institution, Universia may exercise a line of recourse to claim against the Institution, which must hold Universia harmless with respect to the damage and loss incurred.

Any concepts used in this clause will be interpreted in accordance with the definitions laid down in General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

7. Intellectual property

7.1 Licence granted to Users or Institutions

The copy, designs, images, databases, videos, audios, contents, logos, structure, brands and other items in the Portal are protected by international laws and treaties on intellectual and industrial property.

All rights regarding the Portal, its associated documentation, and all updates, amendments, improvements, extensions, or corrections to the Portal, including all assessment options added to it, the Service and any of the items or content that make it up belong exclusively to Universia and to third parties (the "Content"), without prejudice to the provisions of these Conditions for Users or Institutions. Universia or the pertinent third party will keep all Content rights exclusive.

Users also accept and recognise that all content available on the Portal are protected under the sui generis rights over databases provided for in Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996 of 12 April, which enacts the restated text of the Intellectual Property Law, and consequently, said content may not be extracted or reused in full or a substantial part, or non-substantial part insofar as this goes against the normal use of said content and causes unjustified harm to Universia's legitimate interests.

Users and Institutions only have a licence to view and use the Content that is necessary to enjoy the Service, in its executable version, non-transferable, without territorial limit, limited in time to the duration of the existing contractual relationship for the provision of the Service and for the sole purpose and to the extent necessary for you to use the Service in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. This licence shall not include the right to download the Content onto the Users' devices and shall terminate automatically upon termination of the contractual relationship governed by these Terms, without prejudice to Universia's right to remove any Content at any time, without prior notice.

7.2 Licence granted by the Users or Institutions

These Conditions do not constitute an assignment, transfer, or waiver of the rights pertaining to the Institution or to the User in respect of the assets regulated by applicable intellectual or industrial property law. Accordingly, the parties will retain the rights over their respective names, logos, trademarks, databases, and any other asset afforded protection under applicable intellectual and industrial property law.

Users will retain all their moral and physical intellectual property rights concerning Content they have shared on the Portal. Publication on the Portal of any Content will not under any circumstance constitute assignment by the owner to the other Users/Institution of any rights relating thereto.

Users/the Institution transferring such rights by virtue of these Conditions represent and warrant that:

1. They are the sole owner or are wholly entitled and authorised to make full use of all rights in respect of user content and to grant rights and licences in relation to any third-party material and/or content that appears or is included in the same, or that they have secured express written authorisation from all owners and rights holders of this third-party material and/or content as necessary for granting the rights and licences mentioned here.
2. The Content of Users/the Institution shared by any User on the Portal does not constitute an infringement of any patent, intellectual property right, registered trademark, trade secret or any other rights of third parties.
3. When creating the User/Institution Content, it states that: (a) the User/Institution has complied in all aspects with any legislation, regulations (including, without restriction, these General Conditions and the Legal Notice on the Portal) and applicable regulations; and (b) it has not infringed and will not infringe any agreements by virtue of which the User/Institution is explicitly or implicitly bound.
4. It does not constitute defamation or slander against any person, company and/or association. It does not contain any prohibited items such as viruses or spam, or any links to same.

Consequently, the Institution or the User are solely responsible for the Content, and hold Universia harmless against any claims (judicial or extrajudicial) that arise or may arise as a result of utilisation of same.

The Institution or the User will continue to be full holders of any intellectual or industrial property rights over the Content. Universia and the other Users or Institutions are merely granted, as necessary for implementation of the Service, a free, worldwide, non-exclusive licence to view and use, limited to the right to exploit as necessary for the Service and for the duration of the validity of the General Conditions.

Lastly, we wish to remind you that not all documents and information are protected through the different intellectual property systems, and so Universia recommends that Users and Institutions assess the need to upload documents, information or assets to the Portal that are not protected or cannot be protected. Universia will not be held liable for the use that the Institutions or Users make of any Content uploaded by other Institutions or Users or for any damage or harm that such Content may occasion as a result of any breaches of the licence of use regarding the same granted pursuant to this clause.

8. Liability of Universia

Universia shall be liable in accordance with the applicable regulations for any damage or harm caused to Users or Institutions by intent or gross negligence, as well as for any damage caused by negligence resulting in injury to the life or health of persons.

Universia offers Users the chance to apply for and take part in programmes and accepts no liability for any matters relating to the same. Universia will not be held responsible for any action including but not limited to the following: (i) any matters relating to management of the Programmes by the Institution; (ii) unwarranted use by the Institution of Users' Content; (iii) any action contrary to these General Conditions and the purpose and objective of the Portal by any of the Users.

In this regard, the Programmes will be regulated by their own terms and conditions, which must be read and accepted beforehand by Users as applicable to the Programme.

Universia, in accordance with the provisions of Law 34/2002, of 12 July, on Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce ('LSSI'), shall only be liable for the Contents of Users or Institutions to the extent that it has effective knowledge of the unlawfulness of the same and has not removed the unlawful content or deactivated the link shared by the User with due diligence. 

If any person considers they have shared illicit or inappropriate Content by Users, or any Content that constitutes or entails defamation or slander against any person, company and/or association and/or which contain forbidden features such as viruses or spam or links to same, it must promptly notify Banco Santander and Universia at Contact Form, although this communication does not under any circumstances entail the obligation to take down the corresponding content or link.

9. Liability of the User/Institution

Users and Institutions will be liable in accordance with the regulations applicable for any damages occasioned to Universia due to deception or gross negligence, and for any damage caused by negligence that inflicts harm on a person's life or health.

The User/Institution undertakes to use the Service in accordance with the legislation in force, these Conditions, the principles of good faith and generally accepted usages, and to refrain from breaching public order by actions via the Portal. Thus, any use for unlawful purposes is forbidden, as is any use that may adversely affect or prevent, damage and/or overload, in any way, the utilisation and normal functioning of the Portal, or which directly or indirectly adversely affects any of the Users or any third party.

Any infringement of these General Conditions may give rise to civil or criminal extrajudicial or judicial proceedings against the User/Institution, which must hold Universia harmless in respect of any claims, lawsuits or damages that may be incurred as a result of the aforementioned infringement.

10. Queries, complaints and claims

Any User/Institution that has any queries concerning these Conditions or in relation to the Service offered on the Portal or wishes to lodge a complaint, claim or suggestion may do so by using the Contact Form.

11. Security

The Portal has security measures in place to protect the Service, in accordance with market standards. Users and Institutions may request detailed information about these measures using the contact details set out in these Conditions.

12. Conformity, Functionality, Compatibility and Interoperability of the Service

The Service shall be in accordance with the provisions of these Terms and Conditions. If a User notifies Universia of any non-conformity, Universia undertakes to use reasonable efforts to bring the Service into conformity again, unless the effort required is impossible or disproportionate. In the event that it is not possible to bring the Service into conformity again, Users have in any case the possibility to unsubscribe from the Portal at any time.  Universia shall also update the Service from time to time in order to improve it and to correct malfunctions.

The Service may be used exclusively for the functions described in these General Terms and Conditions and shall be compatible with the equipment or software normally used for similar services. In particular, we aim to be compatible with most web browsers on the market, provided they are properly updated, as well as with iOS 11 or Android 4.4 and later mobile operating systems. We also aim to make the Portal available 95% of the time in annual periods. However, Universia does not guarantee any kind of interoperability of the Service with devices or programmes other than those normally used to access similar services, which implies the impossibility of exchanging information with these other devices or programmes. In the event that Users have any doubts about the operation of the Service, they may raise them using this Contact Form.

Users may access the contents of the Learning Room with certain limitations, as described in section 2.2 of these General Conditions.

13. Changes to the Conditions

Any substantial modification of the Service and/or these Terms and Conditions will be notified to Users and Institutions prior to its publication and effective application, with reasonable notice. We will assume that you accept the new version of the Conditions if you continue to use the Service. If you do not agree, you may stop using the Service.

The amendments will not take retroactive effect.  

The reasons for which we may modify the Service and/or these Terms are, in particular, changes in regulations or jurisprudence, changes in the organisational structure of Universia or of the business group to which Universia belongs, or changes in the characteristics of the Service.

14. Subcontracting

Universia may have third parties to help it with any task relating to the management, development and maintenance of the Service, in addition to all of its elements, links, tabs, sections, sub-sections and similar.

15. Duration, cancellation and termination

These General Terms and Conditions shall begin to apply from the moment Users or Institutions register on the Portal and shall terminate (i) when they unsubscribe from the Portal (which they may do at any time and without giving any reason through the web version of the Portal) or (ii) when we are obliged to unsubscribe them, which could happen in the event that you fail to comply with the obligations assumed in accordance with these Terms and Conditions or any provision of the applicable regulations and, upon prior notification by us, persist in your non-compliance after thirty (30) days from the date of notification.

Furthermore, Universia does not guarantee access to the Service for any specific or minimum period of time. Universia may also terminate the General Terms and Conditions that bind us to Users and Institutions, which in practice means that we terminate the 'user', if we decide to stop providing the Service or to modify it substantially, although in such a case we will give reasonable notice.

16. Applicable legislation and jurisdiction

These General Conditions will be governed by Spanish law. Any dispute arising from access to or use of the Portal is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Madrid, Spain.

The foregoing provision will only be applicable if it is not contrary to the mandatory regulations applicable.

Finally, Users are informed that the European Commission has also launched an extrajudicial conflict-resolution platform which they can access via the following URL: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. However, Universia is under no obligation to resolve any conflicts that may arise via this channel.

Last modification date: 28/03/2023