General conditions of use

1. Purpose

These General Terms of Use (hereinafter, the "Terms" or the "General Terms") describe the terms applicable to the service that Universia Holding, S.L., with registered office at Ciudad Grupo Santander, Avda de Cantabria s/n, 28660 Boadilla del Monte (Madrid), tax ID (CIF) B82976515 and accessible through this Contact Form (hereinafter, "Universia"), makes available to internet users through the Santander Open Academy portal accessible via the domain https://www.santanderopenacademy.com (hereinafter, jointly or separately, the "Portal").

The service provided through the Portal (hereinafter, the "Service") consists of providing a space that brings together universities and other educational institutions or entities that join the Portal (hereinafter, the "Institutions") and publish scholarship programs (hereinafter, the "Program" or "Programs"), events (hereinafter, "Events") or courses with limited places (hereinafter, "Limited-Place Courses"), and the users themselves who register on the Portal to assess the Programs and Limited-Place Courses that interest them most and to enroll in, manage or coordinate them (hereinafter, the "Portal Users" or the "User(s)"), as well as to interact with the Institutions. The Service also includes Universia making available to Users courses with unlimited places intended to equip Users to access better academic and professional development opportunities (hereinafter, "Unlimited-Place Courses"). Finally, Universia may also offer content that facilitates learning or strengthens Users' skills ("Content"). All Service functionalities are explained in greater detail in section 2 of these General Terms.

Any interested person who registers on the Portal or subscribes to the news newsletter, in any capacity, whether as a "Student", "Teacher" or "Researcher", shall be recognized as a User. "Teacher" means any person on the payroll of an Institution who meets the requirements of the specific Program or Limited-Place Course.

Any university, educational institution, local unit of Grupo Santander, entity or company that promotes, in the manner provided for in these General Terms and through the Portal, one or more Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses may register on the Portal as an "Institution".

These Terms are entered into in Spanish and shall apply from the time Users begin to use the Service, which will occur once they complete the registration process and expressly accept these Terms by clicking the corresponding button.

Users may consult a copy of these Terms at any time, as they will always be available through a link at the bottom of the web version of the Portal.

If Users wish to know how we process their personal data to provide the Service, we recommend consulting our Privacy Policy, accessible through a link at the bottom of the Portal.

Universia clarifies that participation in Programs, Events and Limited-Place Courses shall additionally be subject to the terms or legal rules of the relevant Program, Event or Limited-Place Course established by the corresponding Institution, which Users must read and accept beforehand. As a general rule, Universia is not involved in the delivery of such Programs, Events and Limited-Place Courses, and therefore any incident or claim relating to them must be addressed directly to the relevant Institution. Likewise, Institutions shall process Users' personal data for the delivery of their Programs, Events and Limited-Place Courses in accordance with their specific privacy policy.

By accessing, using or registering on the Portal, the User confirms and warrants that they are over 16 years of age, without prejudice to a higher minimum age being required for certain Programs, Events and Limited-Place Courses.

2. Description of the Service

The Service provided by Universia consists of the following functionalities, all related to the management of Scholarship Programs, Events, Limited-Place Courses or other content or courses aimed at strengthening Users' skills, completing their training through new forms of learning and enabling Users to access better academic and professional development opportunities.

2.1. Scholarship Programs

The Portal is a global space joined by Institutions from different countries and is connected and adapted to the needs of each center in order to complement and enhance Programs and create an ecosystem that promotes academic activity. Through the Portal, Institutions may create, publish and manage Program calls, monitor and control them, access and consult statistical analyses regarding Program progress, and invite third-party collaborators to manage or participate in them.

As a general rule, Programs shall consist of financial aid granted by Institutions to pay all or part of the expenses borne by Users when pursuing studies, carrying out research work or participating in a project, among other activities.

In this regard, Institutions' Programs may have been funded by third parties (hereinafter, the "Sponsors"), with whom the Institution may jointly manage the Program or allow access to details thereof because they have funded the Program. Sponsors may or may not use the Portal; if they do, they must accept these Terms, including those specific to Institutions, and be bound by them.

The Institution shall be subject to the results of Universia's validation process for publication of the first Program. When creating the Program, the Institution declares that it has complied in all respects with any applicable laws, regulations and rules relating to the Program and that it has not breached and will not breach any agreement by which the Institution is explicitly or implicitly bound.

Institutions that publish Programs through the Portal are solely responsible for managing, organizing and delivering such Programs and for guaranteeing Users' rights as consumers, and Universia assumes no liability in this regard. In addition, Institutions are generally academic institutions and, unless specifically stated otherwise, Users are therefore protected by consumer rights in their dealings with Institutions. Institutions are also solely responsible for fulfilling the obligations arising from agreements they reach with Users in relation to Scholarship Programs, and Universia shall not be involved in any way.

Enrollment, processing and any other management relating to Scholarship Programs may be carried out exclusively through the web version of the Portal.

2.2. Events

The Portal may include the publication of Events related to education, training, professional development, employability or other matters connected with the purpose of the Portal.

Through the Portal, Institutions may create, publish and manage Events aimed at Users. Events may be held in person, online or in hybrid format and may take different forms, including, among others, conferences, seminars, webinars, workshops, round tables, networking activities or any activity of a similar nature. The specific characteristics of each Event, including its content, format, schedule, participation requirements, selection criteria, capacity or available places and other applicable conditions, shall be indicated in the corresponding call published on the Portal and/or, where applicable, in the legal rules or specific terms applicable to the Event.

Institutions' Events may be organized, promoted, sponsored or funded by third parties (hereinafter, the "Sponsors"), with whom the Institution may jointly manage the relevant Event or allow access to certain information related to it where necessary for its organization or delivery. Sponsors may or may not use the Portal; if they do, they must accept these General Terms, including those specific to Institutions, and be bound by them.

Institutions that publish Events through the Portal shall be solely responsible for their organization, management, delivery, modification or cancellation, as well as for the information provided about them and compliance with the obligations they assume toward Users or third parties in connection with such Events, and Universia assumes no liability in this regard. Likewise, Institutions are solely responsible for fulfilling obligations arising from agreements reached with Users in relation to Events, and Universia shall not be involved in any way.

Participation in Events may be subject to the specific terms and conditions established by the relevant organizing Institution, which Users must consult and, where applicable, accept in advance.

Enrollment, processing and any other management relating to Events may be carried out exclusively through the web version of the Portal.

2.3. Courses

2.3.1 Limited-Place Courses

As with Scholarship Programs and Events, through the Portal Institutions may create, publish and manage courses with limited places ("Limited-Place Courses"), monitor and control them, access and consult statistical analyses regarding the progress of Limited-Place Courses, and invite third-party collaborators to manage or participate in them (e.g., evaluators).

Limited-Place Courses shall mainly consist of Institutions granting a free place to participate in courses whose main subjects may include languages, skills, technology and sustainability, among others.

The selection process for certain Limited-Place Courses or editions thereof will include a voting system allowing registered candidates to receive online votes on the Portal through the display of their public profile, in order to strengthen their candidacy.

To prevent fraud in voting, only Users duly registered on the Portal may vote. Each User duly registered on the Portal may cast a maximum of one vote per candidate, while being able to vote for as many candidates as they wish. Voting shall not be limited by the voter's territory; therefore, the same voter may cast one vote for as many candidates as they deem appropriate in any participating geography. Voters will not be able to view the votes accumulated by candidates.

Likewise, Institutions' Limited-Place Courses may have been funded by Sponsors, with whom the Institution may jointly manage the Limited-Place Course or allow access to details thereof because they have funded the Limited-Place Course. Sponsors may or may not use the Portal; if they do, they must accept these Terms, including those specific to Institutions, and be bound by them.

The Institution shall be subject to the results of Universia's validation process for publication of the first Limited-Place Course. When creating the Limited-Place Course, the Institution declares that it has complied in all respects with any applicable laws, regulations and rules and that it has not breached and will not breach any agreement by which the Institution is explicitly or implicitly bound.

Institutions that publish Limited-Place Courses through the Portal are solely responsible for managing, organizing and delivering them and for guaranteeing Users' rights as consumers, and Universia assumes no liability in this regard. In addition, Institutions are generally academic institutions and, unless specifically stated otherwise, Users are therefore protected by consumer rights in their dealings with Institutions. Institutions are also solely responsible for fulfilling obligations arising from agreements reached with Users in relation to Limited-Place Courses, and Universia shall not be involved in any way.

Where indicated in the information relating to the Limited-Place Course in question, in accordance with the specific conditions applicable to it, the Institution may issue a personal and non-transferable certificate of completion identifying the User who participated in it.

Enrollment, processing and any other management relating to Limited-Place Courses may be carried out exclusively through the web version of the Portal.

2.3.2 Unlimited-Place Courses

Free of charge, Universia offers Users a catalog of training courses with unlimited access ("Unlimited-Place Courses") intended to strengthen their skills and complete their training so that they can access better academic and professional development opportunities. The main subjects of Unlimited-Place Courses may include languages, business, finance, technology and sustainability, among others.

Unlimited-Place Courses shall be accessible to all Users who have registered on the Portal whenever they are available. Unlimited-Place Courses consist of theoretical content, video content and other items of interest, which Users may consult as often as needed.

Likewise, once Users complete and view all content comprising an Unlimited-Place Course, a multiple-choice self-assessment will be made available to them. If they complete it successfully, where indicated in the information relating to the Unlimited-Place Course in question, the Portal may issue a personal and non-transferable certificate of completion identifying the User who participated in it.

Universia reserves the right, at its discretion, to disable the possibility of starting Unlimited-Place Courses during certain periods. In all cases, the relevant period will always be indicated in the publication of the Unlimited-Place Course. This information will therefore be available before Users enroll in the Course. However, once a Course has been started, the User may access, undertake and complete it whenever they wish, regardless of whether Universia has disabled the possibility of starting a Course. In other words, Universia's temporary disabling of the possibility of starting a Course will not affect Users who had already started it, who may complete it.

Users who register on the Portal may access Programs, Limited-Place Courses and Unlimited-Place Courses, as well as search for, follow and enroll in calls for Programs and Limited-Place Courses that may be of interest to them. When Users search for Programs or Limited-Place Courses using the search engine, the order or ranking shall be determined in accordance with the parameters described later in these General Terms. In the User's private area (Profile), Users may also check the status of their calls (both followed and applied for) and access notifications about them.

2.4. Content

Free of charge, Universia may offer Users content in various formats (text, audio, video, etc.) intended to strengthen Users' skills and complete their training (the "Content"). The purpose of this range of content is to enable Users to increase their capabilities and skills so that they can access better academic and professional development opportunities.

3. Information of Institutions and Users

The information voluntarily shared by Users and/or an Institution through the Portal in relation to the Programs, Events and Limited-Place Courses in which Users enroll is jointly defined as the "Information" of the Users and/or Institution. Users and the Institution are solely responsible for the Information they have shared on the Portal in connection with a call for a particular Program, Event or Limited-Place Course, and shall hold Universia harmless from any claim (judicial or extrajudicial) arising or that may arise from such Information.

Likewise, in certain Programs, Events and Limited-Place Courses, the Institution will share information about registered Users with different entities or professionals in order to complete the selection process established in each case (e.g., evaluators). In addition, the selection process for some Limited-Place Courses will include a voting system, as described in section 2.3.1, making it necessary to publish the public profile of registered Users. Therefore, the sharing of any type of information or content with them shall be at the User's own responsibility, and the User should first assess what information or content they will share, its value to them and the context in which they will share it.

In particular, the Institution shall be responsible for immediately informing Universia if the Information shared by Users in the relevant Program, Event or Limited-Place Course promoted by it is unlawful or constitutes defamation or slander of any person, company and/or association, or contains prohibited elements such as viruses or spam, or links thereto.

The Information of Users and/or the Institution shall be subject to these Terms. Since the Portal is international in nature, these Terms may be subject to the law applicable in the country where the User resides and/or where the Institution publishing the Program, Event or Limited-Place Course is domiciled.

The Information of Users and/or the Institution must be truthful. For these purposes, the User and/or Institution warrants the authenticity of all Information shared on the Portal, and Universia assumes no liability in this regard.

Users may report to Universia any Information they consider contrary to third-party rights using the contact details provided in these Terms. To do so, the User wishing to report certain Information must explain why they consider it contrary to third-party rights.

4. Acceptance of these Terms

Provision of the Service shall always be conditional upon the User's and the Institution's acceptance of the Privacy Policy and these General Terms.

To access the Service, the User and the Institution must register on the Portal through the registration process provided for this purpose.

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 offered by Universia from time to time, such as Google Sign-In or Facebook Login. If the User registers for or accesses the Service through one of these third-party authentication systems, they undertake to comply with applicable regulations and the specific terms governing their use. In particular, if the User uses Google's authentication system known as Google Sign-In, they must comply with the Google APIs Terms of Service, while if they use Facebook Login, they must comply with the Meta Platform Terms. In particular, where an Institution is concerned, it may not use other Users' data for any purpose that breaches those Meta Platform Terms.

Universia will allow access to the Service as soon as the User correctly completes the registration process on the Portal. Universia reserves the right to deny access to the Portal at any time, without entitlement to compensation, to Users and Institutions that breach these Terms or applicable law. If Universia has reasonable grounds to believe that the Portal has been used in breach of these Terms, it may delete the Profile of the offending User and Institution, subject to prior notice.

5. Registration and access to the Service

To access and use the Service, it is essential to use the registered User/Institution email address and associated password. The User/Institution must select the identifier (ID or login) and password they wish to use and undertakes to keep them secure and use them with due care.

Use of the password is personal and non-transferable, and it may not be assigned, even temporarily, to third parties. Accordingly, the User/Institution must take the necessary measures to safeguard the password selected by them and prevent its use by third parties. Consequently, the User/Institution is solely responsible for any use made of their password. If the User/Institution knows or suspects that their password is being used by third parties, they must inform Universia as soon as possible.

Registration on the Portal is personal. The User/Institution warrants that all information provided to Universia will be kept permanently up to date so that it reflects the User's actual circumstances at all times. In all cases, the User/Institution shall be solely responsible for any false or inaccurate statements they make and for any damage caused to Universia or third parties by the information they provide.

6. Specific Terms

6.1 Specific Terms for Users

The terms detailed in the following paragraphs of this section apply only to Users.

Users undertake to use the Service lawfully and honestly. Any fraudulent use of the Service is prohibited, including, among others:

  • Falsifying information relating to the User or any of their characteristics when registering for the Service or attending or participating in Programs, Events or Courses.

  • Multiple registrations for the Service or enrollments in Programs, Events and Courses by the same person.

  • Impersonating persons other than the User when using the Service or participating in Programs, Events and Courses.

  • Fraud in participation in Courses so as to alter the results (grades, assessments, certifications, etc.) attributable to the User's participation.

Any fraudulent use of the Service or fraudulent conduct constitutes a breach of these Terms and may therefore give rise to the actions and measures set out herein (e.g., termination of the user account concerned).

6.2 Specific Terms for Institutions

The terms detailed in the following paragraphs of this section apply only to Institutions.

These General Terms provide that Institutions are strictly prohibited from requesting any additional information not included in the fields that Universia directly makes available to Institutions when creating a Program, Event or Limited-Place Course.

In particular, any Institution that includes in registration forms and/or in freely configurable spaces or free-text fields enabled on the Portal for any Program, Event or Limited-Place Course a request for information concerning sensitive data such as ethnic or racial origin and/or, among others, health-related data, must provide Universia, before publication of the relevant Program, Event or Limited-Place Course, with the legislation authorizing it to collect such data. Where applicable, at Universia's request, the Institution must include a reference to such legislation in the rules of the Program, Event or Limited-Place Course, explaining the reason for requesting that data.

The Institution shall use all means available to it to ensure the proper dissemination and promotion of the use of the Portal and of the Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses published on it.

The Institution shall include the Portal logo and/or a link to the Portal on its website.

During the process of creating a Program or Limited-Place Course, the Portal allows the Institution to insert accompanying images so that the relevant Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses may be more illustrative. In this regard, and without prejudice to these Terms, the Institution declares and warrants, as necessary, that it owns or has sufficient title for the commercial exploitation of all rights in the respective names, logos, trademarks and any other work/asset protected by applicable intellectual and industrial property laws that appears in any of the images of Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses created by the Institution.

The Institution acknowledges that only persons who are sufficiently empowered, or who have been duly granted a representative mandate of sufficient scope to represent and bind the Institution in the context of the Service, may use the Service in the name and on behalf of the Institution, including registering the Institution for the Service. The Institution warrants that it will allow only persons meeting these requirements to use the Service and access the Portal.

Personal data protection

Lastly, by receiving Users' data, the Institution shall be required to comply with the provisions of General Data Protection Regulation 679/2016 (GDPR), or any applicable data protection legislation, in its capacity as data controller. In particular, under these Terms, the Institution undertakes to:

  • Comply with the obligations laid down in the GDPR for a data controller, as a consequence of acquiring this status following the disclosure of data governed by the Institution's adherence to the Portal and these Terms.

  • Provide Users with its privacy policy in relation to Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses.

  • Allow data subjects whose data have been transferred to exercise their rights of access, rectification, erasure, portability, restriction of processing and objection, providing them with an address for these purposes.

  • Ensure the implementation of appropriate technical and organizational measures to guarantee a level of security appropriate to the risk.

  • Respect the confidentiality of data obtained as a result of the Institution joining this Portal, without disclosing them or making them available to third parties, unless required by a Court or Supervisory Authority.

Likewise, Universia declares that the personal data to be disclosed to the Institution have been lawfully obtained and guarantees that they were obtained in compliance with the requirements established in the GDPR. In this regard, Universia states that it has obtained Users' informed, freely given, specific and unambiguous consent, or has an appropriate legal basis for transferring their data to the Institution, and has complied with the remaining requirements established by current Data Protection legislation.

Data processing on behalf of the controller

In relation to the actions carried out by the Institution to complete the processing of its Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses on the Portal, Universia shall act as data processor, as the entity providing the Portal. Solely in relation to the foregoing, Universia shall be subject to the following obligations:

  • When acting as data processor, access User data only to enable the Institution to use the Portal as a tool for completing selection processes relating to its Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses.

  • In particular, it may access the following categories of users: User/University Student.

  • In particular, it may access the following types of personal data of the data subjects identified above: (i) identification data; (ii) data relating to personal characteristics; (iii) personality-related data; (iv) academic and professional data; (v) employment-related data.

  • Carry out only the following processing activities: collection, recording, structuring, modification, storage, retrieval, consultation, comparison and access.

  • Ensure that persons who may access User data have undertaken confidentiality obligations in relation to the personal data they may process.

  • When any User or data subject exercises before Universia the rights of access, rectification, erasure and objection, restriction of processing, data portability and the right not to be subject to automated individual decision-making, directly manage the response to such rights, always limited to processing carried out on the Portal.

  • Assist the Institution in carrying out impact assessments and prior consultations where mandatory under data protection legislation.

  • Use only subcontractors that have accepted the same obligations set out in this section and, where international transfers to such subcontractors are to take place, ensure that such transfers are based on appropriate safeguards, such as an Adequacy Decision, the execution of Standard Contractual Clauses (applying additional measures where necessary), or Binding Corporate Rules.

  • Provide the Institution, upon request, with additional information regarding the identity of subcontractors and international transfers carried out.

  • Allow and contribute to audits or inspections. This obligation shall be deemed fulfilled when Universia provides the Institution with an audit report prepared by Universia or by third parties engaged by it.

  • Notify the Institution of any security breach relating to its Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses that affects personal data of Users enrolled in them.

  • Adopt the security measures described in these General Terms of Use.

  • Destroy data relating to the management of Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses upon termination of the General Terms of Use, without prejudice to any further retention required for the establishment, exercise or defense of potential claims where permitted by applicable law, or to make the data available to judges and courts, the Public Prosecutor's Office or Public Administrations.

  • The duration of this data processing engagement shall be as agreed with the Institution so that it may manage the call for the Program, Event or Limited-Place Course in question, as well as any subsequent period required by the Institution to manage procedures following the call.

If a claim is brought against Universia and it is required to assume any type of liability, whether administrative or compensatory, for processing activities concerning the Institution, Universia may seek recourse against the Institution, which shall hold Universia harmless from the losses and damages suffered.

Any concepts used in this clause shall be interpreted in accordance with the definitions set out in Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the General Data Protection Regulation.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 License granted to Users or Institutions

The texts, designs, images, databases, videos, audio, content, logos, structure, trademarks and other elements of the Portal are protected by intellectual and industrial property laws and international treaties.

All rights in the Portal, its related documentation and all updates, modifications, improvements, extensions or corrections to the Portal, including all assessment options incorporated therein, the Service, the Content and any elements or content comprising them are owned exclusively by Universia and third parties (the "Material(s)"), without prejudice to the provisions of these Terms regarding User or Institution Information. Universia or the relevant third party shall retain exclusive ownership of all rights in the Materials.

Likewise, Users accept and acknowledge that the set of Materials available on the Portal is protected by the sui generis database right provided for in Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996 of 12 April, approving the consolidated text of the Intellectual Property Act, and therefore they may not extract or reuse all or a substantial part of such set of Materials, or even a non-substantial part where doing so constitutes an act contrary to the normal use of such set of content that causes unjustified harm to Universia's legitimate interests.

Users and Institutions are granted only a license to view and use the Materials necessary to enjoy the Service, in executable, non-transferable form, without territorial limitation, temporally limited to the term of the contractual relationship for provision of the Service and solely for the purpose and to the extent necessary for you to use the Service in accordance with these Terms. This license does not include the right to download the Materials to Users' devices and shall terminate automatically when the contractual relationship governed by these Terms ends, without prejudice to Universia's right to remove any Material at any time without prior notice.

7.2 License granted by Users or Institutions

These Terms do not entail any assignment, transfer or waiver of rights belonging to the Institution or User in relation to assets governed by intellectual or industrial property laws; each shall retain all rights in their respective names, logos, trademarks and any other asset protected by applicable intellectual and industrial property legislation.

The User/Institution shall retain all intellectual property rights, both moral and economic, in the Information they have shared on the Portal. Publication of any Information on the Portal shall under no circumstances entail the transfer by its owner to other Users/Institutions of any rights related thereto. The User/Institution making a submission under these Terms declares and warrants that:

  1. They are the sole owner or are fully empowered and authorized to exploit all rights in their Information and to grant the rights and licenses related to any third-party material and/or content appearing in or incorporated into it; and that they have obtained the express written authorizations of all owners and rightsholders of such third-party materials and/or content necessary to grant the rights and licenses set out herein.

  1. The User/Institution Information shared on the Portal by the User does not infringe any patent, intellectual property right, registered trademark, trade secret or any other third-party right;

  1. When creating the Information, the User/Institution declares that: (a) they have complied in all respects with all applicable laws, regulations (including, without limitation, these General Terms and the Portal Legal Notice) and rules; and (b) they have not breached and will not breach any agreement by which the User/Institution is explicitly or implicitly bound.

  1. It does not constitute defamation or slander of any person, company and/or association. It does not contain prohibited elements such as viruses or spam, or links thereto.

Consequently, the Institution or User is solely responsible for their Information and shall hold Universia harmless from any claim (judicial or extrajudicial) arising or that may arise from its use.

The Institution or User shall remain the full owner of any intellectual or industrial property rights they may hold in the Information. Universia and the other Users or Institutions are simply granted, to the extent necessary for delivery of the Service, a free, worldwide, non-exclusive license to view and use the Information, limited to the exploitation rights necessary for the Service, throughout the term of the General Terms.

Finally, we note that not all documents and information are eligible for protection under the various intellectual property regimes. Universia therefore recommends that Users and Institutions assess the need to upload to the Portal documents, information or assets that are unprotected or capable of being protected. Universia shall not be liable for the use that Institutions or Users make of Information uploaded by other Institutions or Users, or for any loss or damage that such use may cause as a result of possible breaches of the license to use that Information granted under this clause.

8. Universia's Liability

Universia shall be liable, in accordance with applicable law, for any loss or damage caused to Users or Institutions through willful misconduct or gross negligence, as well as for any damage caused by negligence resulting in injury to the life or health of persons.

Universia provides Users with the possibility of enrolling in and participating in Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses, but accepts no responsibility for matters relating to them. By way of example and without limitation, Universia shall not be liable: (i) for matters relating to the management of Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses, which is the responsibility of the Institution; (ii) for misuse by the Institution of Users' Information; or (iii) for any action by any User contrary to these General Terms and to the purpose and objectives of the Portal.

In this regard, Programs, Events and Limited-Place Courses shall be governed by their corresponding legal rules or specific terms, which must be read and accepted in advance by Users applying for the relevant Program, Event or Limited-Place Course.

In accordance with Law 34/2002 of 11 July on Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce ("LSSI") and Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (the "Digital Services Regulation"), Universia shall not be liable for User or Institution Information unless it has actual knowledge of its unlawfulness, provided that it promptly removes or blocks access to it. If any person considers that inappropriate Information has been shared by Users, or that it constitutes defamation or slander of any person, company and/or association and/or contains prohibited elements such as viruses or spam, or links thereto, that person shall be responsible for immediately notifying Banco Santander and Universia through the Contact Form; under no circumstances shall such notification entail an obligation to remove the relevant Information.

9. User / Institution Liability

Users and Institutions shall be liable, in accordance with applicable law, for any loss or damage caused to Universia through willful misconduct or gross negligence, as well as for any damage caused by negligence resulting in injury to the life or health of persons.

The User/Institution undertakes to use the Service in accordance with applicable law, these Terms, the principles of good faith and generally accepted practices, and not to contravene public policy through their actions on the Portal. Accordingly, any use for unlawful purposes or that harms or prevents, may damage and/or overload, in any way, the use and normal operation of the Portal, or that directly or indirectly harms any User or third party, is prohibited.

Any breach of these General Terms may give rise to the corresponding extrajudicial or judicial civil or criminal proceedings against the User/Institution, who shall hold Universia harmless from any claims, actions, losses and damages it may suffer as a result of the breach described above.

10. Digital Services Regulation: Unlawful Publications, Publications Harmful to Minors and Misuse

10.1 Unlawful Publications

Users and Institutions are strictly prohibited from carrying out any unlawful activity or sharing unlawful Information on the Portal, and Institutions are likewise prohibited from publishing unlawful Programs, Events or Limited-Place Courses on the Portal. In this regard, any activity, Information, Program, Event, Limited-Place Course or content shared on the Portal that is contrary to applicable law, including European Union law or the local law of any Member State thereof, is unlawful (hereinafter, "Unlawful Publication(s)"). By way of example and without limitation, content falling within the following categories, among others, shall be unlawful: consumer-law infringements, privacy or data-protection infringements, hate speech or incitement to hatred, intellectual-property or trademark infringements, fraudulent or misleading content, animal-welfare infringements, content with negative effects on electoral or civic processes, criminal content, content against national security, disinformation, defamation, incitement or threats of violence, promotion of criminal activities that may cause harm to persons, animals or property, illegal goods or services, and activities related to sexual exploitation and gender-based violence.

If any User, Institution or other person considers that an Unlawful Publication has been shared, they may immediately notify Universia through the Illegal Content Reporting Form (hereinafter, the "Illegal Content Reporting Form"). This Form is permanently available through the above link or on the specific page dedicated to DSA compliance, accessible at all times through the General Terms link at the bottom of the Portal and, within it, under the "Digital Services Act (DSA)" section.

The Illegal Content Reporting Form contains several fields that must be completed with the necessary information, primarily so that Universia can identify the Unlawful Publication and understand why it is considered unlawful. For better case management, Universia recommends completing all available fields in as much detail as possible.

10.2 Publications Harmful to Minors

In addition, all Users and Institutions undertake not to carry out any activity or share any content that may be harmful to minors. This includes, by way of example and without limitation, pornographic content, violence, content that could encourage the consumption of tobacco or alcohol, drugs or regulated substances, abuse, bullying, activities dangerous to minors, exposure to topics unsuitable for them, or dangerous challenges or activities.

Any User may inform Universia of harmful publications on the Portal referred to in the preceding paragraph through the Illegal Content Reporting Form (mentioned in clause 10.1), under the category "Content contrary to the rights of minors".

10.3 Management of Unlawful Publications and Other Harmful Publications

Where the person reporting the alleged unlawfulness or harmful nature of content has provided an electronic contact address, Universia will acknowledge receipt of the report and process it.

Once processed, Universia will inform both the User or Institution that submitted the report and the User or Institution that shared or published the reported content of the decision taken. Both may lodge a complaint against this decision through Universia's internal complaint-handling system. For more information about this system, see the "Digital Services Act (DSA)" page dedicated to DSA compliance, under "Appeal of decisions: Internal Complaint-Handling System" (see here).

Both reports submitted through the Illegal Content Reporting Form and any subsequent complaints submitted through the internal complaint-handling system will be reviewed manually. No automated decisions will be made and no algorithms will be used in the decision-making process.

10.4 Misuse

Where a User, Institution or any other person frequently makes Unlawful Publications, other harmful publications, or uses the Illegal Content Reporting Form without any legal basis (hereinafter, "Misuse"), Universia may suspend their account and, consequently, their use of the Service.

In all cases, the following shall be considered Misuse of the Service: (i) making at least two (2) Unlawful Publications or other harmful publications within a period of six (6) months; or (ii) reporting, without legal basis, at least two (2) items of content within a period of two (2) months. In such cases, Universia may suspend the account of the User or Institution concerned and/or restrict access to the Service for a period of between five (5) days and one (1) month, depending on the circumstances of the relevant Misuse. Following the first Unlawful Publication or other harmful publication, or the first unjustified report, Universia will warn the User, Institution or person concerned that a new Unlawful Publication or other harmful publication, or a new unjustified report, as applicable, could result in temporary suspension of the Service.

Repeated Misuse may also result in permanent suspension, i.e., termination of the Service.

11. Parameters for Ranking or Presenting Programs, Events, Courses and Content

If you are wondering how we order or rank the Scholarship Programs, Events, Limited-Place Courses, Unlimited-Place Courses and Content published on our Portal, you will find relevant information below about the recommendation systems we use.

11.1 Personalized Recommendations

The Portal may display the offering in a personalized manner when the User chooses to do so, based on their interests and other personal information generated and/or provided when registering on the Portal or subsequently configuring their private profile. For more information about personalized recommendations, please see the following link.

11.2 Top 10

This section consists of a selection including the leading Scholarship Programs, Events, Limited-Place Courses and Unlimited-Place Courses. The specific criteria for appearing in this section are, in descending order of importance: publication date (most recent first) and highest number of available places (from highest to lowest).

In the Content and News section, the offering is ordered from most to least recent according to publication date.

11.3 Search Engine

By default, the search engine includes our entire offering of Scholarship Programs, Events, Limited-Place Courses, Unlimited-Place Courses and Content, ordered according to the following parameters, in descending order of importance: status (available, upcoming or closed), User's country (prioritizing country-specific offerings based on IP address), publication date (most recent first), and highest number of available places (from highest to lowest).

11.4 Filtering Options

If you prefer that we do not order search results by default, you may refine the search and filtering of Scholarship Programs, Events and Limited-Place Courses to match your interests. For this purpose, the search engine includes, among others, the following fields: keyword(s), categories, status, format or country of residence, among others.

12. Questions, Complaints and Claims

Any User/Institution with questions about these Terms or the Service offered through the Portal, or wishing to submit a complaint, claim or suggestion, may do so by sending the Contact Form.

13. Security

The Portal has security measures in line with market standards designed to protect the Service. Users and Institutions may request detailed information about these measures using the contact details indicated in these Terms.

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

The Service shall conform to these General Terms. If a User notifies Universia of any lack of conformity, Universia undertakes to make reasonable efforts to restore conformity of the Service unless the effort required is impossible or disproportionate. If it is not possible to restore conformity, Users may in any event unsubscribe from the Portal at any time. Universia will also update the Service from time to time to improve it and correct malfunctions.

The Service may be used exclusively for the functions described in these General Terms and shall be compatible with devices or software normally used for similar services. In particular, our aim is for it to be compatible with most web browsers on the market, provided they are properly updated, as well as with mobile operating systems iOS 11 or Android 4.4 and later. We also aim for the Portal to be available 95% of the time over annual periods. However, Universia does not guarantee any interoperability of the Service with devices or software other than those normally used to access similar services, which means that information cannot be exchanged with such other devices or software. If Users have questions about how the Service operates, they may raise them using this Contact Form.

In addition, initial access to Unlimited-Place Courses may be disabled at Universia's discretion at certain times, as described in section 2.3.2.

15. Amendment of the Terms

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

Amendments shall not have retroactive effect.

The reasons for which we may modify the Service and/or these Terms will primarily be legislative or case-law changes, changes in the organizational structure of Universia or the corporate group to which Universia belongs, or changes to the characteristics of the Service.

16. Subcontracting

Universia may engage third parties to assist it with any task related to the management, development and maintenance of the Service, as well as all its elements, links, tabs, sections, subsections and similar items.

17. Duration, Withdrawal and Termination

These General Terms shall apply from the moment Users or Institutions register on the Portal and shall end (i) when they unsubscribe from the Portal (which they may do at any time and without stating any reason through its web version); (ii) when we are required to terminate their registration, which may occur if they breach the obligations assumed under these Terms or any provision of applicable law and, following notice from us, persist in the breach for thirty (30) days from the date of notice; or (iii) when Users or Institutions repeatedly engage in Misuse.

Universia does not guarantee access to the Service for any minimum or specific period. Universia may also terminate the General Terms binding us to Users and Institutions, which in practice means canceling the "user" account, if we decide to stop providing the Service or materially modify it, although in such case we would provide reasonable advance notice.

18. Jurisdiction, Applicable Law and Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution

These General Terms shall be governed by Spanish law. Any dispute arising from access to or use of the Portal shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the city of Madrid (Spain).

The preceding provision shall apply only insofar as it is not contrary to mandatorily applicable law.

Users are also informed that the European Commission has promoted an online out-of-court dispute resolution platform, which they may access at the following URL: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. However, Universia is not obliged to resolve disputes that may arise through that channel.

Finally, Users and Institutions are informed that they also have the right to choose any duly certified out-of-court dispute settlement body to resolve disputes relating to decisions issued within the framework of the complaint-handling system described in clause 10. However, Universia shall not be bound by decisions adopted by such bodies.

Last modified: 07/10/2025