We process personal data collected when you visit the Plastic Smart Ports website in compliance with the applicable data protection regulations, in particular the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the German Act on Data Protection in Telecommunications and Digital Services (TDDDG) and the State Data Protection Act Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (DSG M-V).
The use of this website is generally possible without providing any personal information. Where personal data (such as names or e-mail addresses) can be provided, this is always done on a voluntary basis. Your data will not be passed on to third parties without your express consent, unless we are legally obliged to do so.
Controller
The controller within the meaning of the GDPR is:
Universität Rostock (University of Rostock)
Universitätsplatz 1
D-18055 Rostock
Tel.: +49 381 498-0
Responsible for the Plastic Smart Ports website:
Presse- und Kommunikationsstelle (Press and Communications)
Tel.: +49 381 498-1012
pressestelle@uni-rostock.de
Data Protection Officer
If you have questions about privacy, you can contact the official Data Protection Officer of the University:
Katja Fröhlich
Office for Information Security and Data Protection
Albert-Einstein-Str. 22 (Konrad-Zuse-Haus), room 104
18059 Rostock
Tel.: +49 381 498-8333
datenschutzbeauftragte@uni-rostock.de
Hosting and server log files
This website is technically operated and hosted on our behalf by:
psn media
Steinstraße 6
18055 Rostock, Germany
https://www.psnmedia.de
psn media acts as a processor within the meaning of Art. 28 GDPR on the basis of a data processing agreement and processes personal data exclusively in accordance with our instructions.
Each time the website is accessed, the web server automatically stores the following data in log files for the purposes of data security, error analysis and ensuring the stable operation of the website:
- IP address,
- date and time of access,
- user agent (browser and operating system used),
- retrieved page or content elements and,
- if provided, referrer URL (the previously visited page).
The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6(1) lit. f GDPR in the secure and reliable provision of this website. The log files are deleted after seven days at the latest. The IP addresses are not merged with other data sets and are not used to identify individual visitors.
Web statistics (Matomo)
We use the open-source web analytics software Matomo to obtain anonymous statistics about the use of our website. Matomo is installed locally on our own server; no data is transmitted to third parties, and all statistical data remains under our control.
Matomo is configured to operate entirely without cookies. In addition, your IP address is anonymised (shortened) before it is stored, so that the collected usage data cannot be traced back to you. No cross-site tracking takes place and no user profiles are created.
The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6(1) lit. f GDPR in analysing the use of our website in anonymised form in order to improve our online offering. You may object to this processing at any time (see „Your rights“ below).
Cookies
This website does not use any cookies for tracking, analysis or marketing purposes. When you simply visit our pages, no cookies are stored on your device. For this reason, no cookie consent banner is required.
Accessibility tool
Our website provides an accessibility tool that allows you to adjust the display of the website to your needs (for example contrast and font size). The settings you choose are stored exclusively locally in your browser (local storage) so that they can be applied again on your next visit. This data is not transmitted to us or to any third party. The storage is strictly necessary to provide the function you have expressly requested (Sec. 25(2) TDDDG) and therefore does not require consent.
Website security and encryption
This website is transmitted exclusively in encrypted form via HTTPS (TLS) to protect your data during transmission.
In addition, we use technical security measures (including security headers and a security and maintenance toolkit provided by our service provider psn media) to protect the website against attacks, misuse and unauthorised access. In the event of suspicious or abusive access attempts, related connection data (such as the IP address) may be processed and logged in order to detect, ward off and document such attacks. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6(1) lit. f GDPR in the security of our website.
Embedded YouTube videos
We embed videos from the YouTube platform on some pages of the Plastic Smart Ports website. YouTube is operated by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland („Google“), as part of the Google group of companies (Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA).
The videos are embedded in YouTube’s extended data protection mode (youtube-nocookie.com). No connection to YouTube’s servers is established when you merely open the page. Only once you actively start a video does your browser connect to YouTube, and only then is your IP address, information about your browser and operating system and the page you are currently visiting transmitted to YouTube. If you are logged in to your Google account at that time, YouTube can assign your viewing behaviour to your personal account. You can prevent this by logging out of your Google account before starting the video.
When you start a video, YouTube may store cookies and comparable technologies on your device in order to collect information about user behaviour. Data may in this context be transferred to servers in the USA. The legal basis for this processing is your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1) lit. a GDPR, which you give by starting the video and which you may withdraw at any time with effect for the future.
For further information on the handling of user data, please refer to YouTube’s privacy policy at: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Contact form and contact by e-mail
Our website provides a contact form which you can use to get in touch with us electronically. If you use this option, the data you enter in the form (such as your name, your e-mail address and the content of your message) will be transmitted to us in encrypted form and processed solely for the purpose of handling your enquiry. To protect the form against automated misuse, we use an invisible spam-protection technique (honeypot field) that operates without involving any third-party service and without processing any additional personal data.
The same applies if you contact us using one of the e-mail addresses published on this website.
The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6(1) lit. f GDPR on the basis of our legitimate interest in responding to your enquiry or, where your enquiry is aimed at the conclusion of a contract, Art. 6(1) lit. b GDPR. Your data will not be passed on to third parties and will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for handling your enquiry and no statutory retention obligations apply.
Your rights
As a data subject within the meaning of the GDPR, you have the following rights with regard to the personal data concerning you:
- the right of access (Art. 15 GDPR),
- the right to rectification (Art. 16 GDPR),
- the right to erasure (Art. 17 GDPR),
- the right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR),
- the right to data portability (Art. 20 GDPR),
- the right to object to processing based on Art. 6(1) lit. e or f GDPR (Art. 21 GDPR) and
- the right to withdraw any consent you have given at any time with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR).
To exercise these rights, you can contact us at any time and without giving reasons, in writing to Universität Rostock (University of Rostock), Universitätsplatz 1, 18055 Rostock, or by e-mail to pressestelle@uni-rostock.de, or you can contact our Data Protection Officer directly (see above).
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR). The supervisory authority responsible for the University of Rostock is the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Der Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit Mecklenburg-Vorpommern): https://www.datenschutz-mv.de
Objection against advertising mails
The use of contact details published in the legal notice or similar (such as postal addresses, telephone and fax numbers as well as e-mail addresses) by third parties for the purpose of sending unsolicited information is not permitted. In the case of violations of this ban, we expressly reserve the right to take legal action against the senders of such spam e-mails.
Changes to this privacy policy
We reserve the right to adapt this privacy policy so that it always complies with the current legal requirements, or to reflect changes to our website (for example the introduction of new services) in it. The updated privacy policy will then apply to your next visit.
Last amended: 17.07.2026, Responsible for Smart Ports content: andrea.stolte@uni-rostock.de, Responsible for general content: pressestelle@uni-rostock.de
© 2026 Universität Rostock