Application Privacy Notice.

1Who is responsible for your information?

The data controller is:

EXPLR PBC, Inc.
82 Nassau Street #60050
New York, NY 10038
United States

Email: nationalstemfestival@explr-media.com

EXPLR operates the National STEM Festival UK Edition and has ongoing Festival operations in the United Kingdom.

2Information we collect

Depending on your age and how far you progress in the Competition, we may collect:

Applicant information

• first and last name;
• preferred name;
• date of birth;
• email address;
• telephone number where applicable;
• home postcode;
• UK Competition region;
• school, college or education-setting information and postcode, as applicable;
• current education stage; and
• gender or other optional impact information included in the application.

Parent or guardian information

For applicants under 18:

• parent or guardian name;
• relationship to applicant;
• email address; and
• mobile telephone number.

Project information

• project title;
• Festival Theme;
• written project responses;
• acknowledgements and references;
• Project PDF;
• Project Video URL and access information;
• information about use of AI, mentors or other assistance; and
• judging scores and reviewer comments.

Opportunity Bonus information

We may ask whether an applicant currently qualifies for means-tested Free School Meals or substantially equivalent means-tested educational support.

This information is not shown to judges.

Finalist information

If you become a Finalist, we may additionally collect:

• photographs;
• short biography;
• approved quotes;
• media responses;
• updated contact information; and
• information required through the Finalist Information & Champion Media Agreement.

National STEM Champion information

If you become a National STEM Champion, we may additionally collect information reasonably required for:

• Festival participation;
• travel and accommodation;
• emergency contact and safeguarding;
• media and communications;
• accessibility requirements where voluntarily provided through the appropriate Champion process; and
• prize administration.

Health, accessibility or other special-category information needed for National STEM Champion participation is not collected through the initial Competition application.

Where such information is required later, it will be requested through the appropriate Champion participation process, with additional privacy information explaining the applicable purpose, lawful basis, special-category condition and safeguards.

Where information comes from

Most application information is provided directly by the applicant or, where applicable, their parent or legal guardian.

Judging scores, reviewer comments, administrative scoring information and Competition-status information may be created by authorised judges or Festival administrators as part of the Competition process.

Required and optional information

Fields marked as required in the application are necessary to administer and judge an entry. If required information is not provided, the applicant may be unable to submit or remain eligible for the Competition.

Optional demographic questions may be left unanswered without affecting judging.

An applicant who does not provide the information required to establish Opportunity Bonus eligibility cannot receive that Bonus. The Opportunity Bonus question is not optional in the same way as demographic questions. Applicants must answer:

• Yes
• No
• Unsure
• Prefer not to say

but may choose not to provide qualifying information by selecting Prefer not to say.

3Information you should not submit

Do not include identifiable medical records, diagnoses, genetic information, biometric information or other sensitive personal information about yourself or another person in your initial application, written project responses, Project PDF or Project Video.

Projects involving human participants must use anonymised or aggregated information in the Competition submission.

Do not submit personal information about research participants, patients or other individuals unless the Festival specifically requests it through an appropriate separate process.

4Why we use your information

We use applicant information for the following purposes.

Competition administration and eligibility

We use applicant, parent/guardian, school, age, region and contact information to operate the Competition, confirm eligibility and communicate with applicants.

Lawful basis Our legitimate interest in administering a fair, safe and effective national STEM competition.

Judging

We use project submissions, PDFs, videos and judging information to assess entries and select Finalists and National STEM Champions.

Lawful basis Our legitimate interest in operating and judging the Competition.

Parent and guardian communication

Where an applicant is under 18, we use parent or guardian contact information for essential Competition, safeguarding and participation communications.

Lawful basis Our legitimate interest in safely administering a youth programme.

Opportunity Bonus

We use means-tested Free School Meals or equivalent eligibility information to administer the Opportunity Bonus described in the Official Rules & Terms.

Lawful basis Our legitimate interest in operating the published Competition scoring framework and supporting equitable access to the Festival.

Opportunity Bonus information is not visible to judges. Where applicable, the 5-point Opportunity Bonus is added administratively during Phase 1 only, does not change the score awarded by an individual judge, and does not carry forward into National STEM Champion scoring.

Impact measurement

We use information such as region, postcode, education setting, gender and Opportunity Bonus data to understand who the Festival is reaching and measure participation and impact.

Where a question is optional, applicants may choose not to answer it.

Lawful basis Our legitimate interest in evaluating and improving the Festival and demonstrating its reach and impact.

Identifiable demographic information is not provided to judges.

Finalist announcements

If you become a Finalist, we may publish your:

• name;
• UK Competition region; and
• project title.

Lawful basis Our legitimate interest in recognising Finalists, communicating Competition results and demonstrating that the Competition has been fairly administered.

National STEM Champion participation and publicity

Being a National STEM Champion is a public-facing role.

If you are selected as a Champion and accept Champion status, EXPLR may use the information and media described in the Official Rules & Terms and Finalist Information & Champion Media Agreement, including:

• your name;
• region;
• project title;
• approved biography;
• approved photographs;
• Project Video;
• approved quotes and media responses; and
• photographs, video and recordings created during Festival activities.

Lawful basis Our legitimate interest in operating, documenting, communicating and promoting the National STEM Festival and the achievements of its Champions.

This required Champion publicity is part of accepting National STEM Champion status and is not treated as optional marketing consent.

Optional activities, such as participation in a particular external media interview or unrelated marketing communication, may be offered separately.

Legal and regulatory responsibilities

We may process or retain information where necessary to comply with applicable law, respond to lawful requests, protect legal rights or address safeguarding concerns.

5How judging privacy works

Phase 1

Phase 1 is designed as a blind review.

Phase 1 judges should not receive:

• applicant name;
• applicant photograph;
• email address;
• telephone number;
• parent/guardian details;
• school, college or education-setting name;
• demographic information;
• Opportunity Bonus information; or
• Project Video.

Applicants must remove identifying information from their Project Title, written project responses and Project PDF.

Phase 2

Authorised Phase 2 judges may review the applicant's original submission and Project Video.

Phase 2 judges are not provided with demographic information or Opportunity Bonus eligibility information for scoring purposes.

Only information reasonably necessary for Phase 2 judging is made available.

Judges are required to follow confidentiality, conflict-of-interest and data-handling requirements.

6Automated decisions

EXPLR does not use solely automated decision-making to select National STEM Festival Finalists or National STEM Champions.

The Opportunity Bonus is a published administrative scoring adjustment. Human judging remains central to the selection process.

7Who we share information with

We only share information where reasonably necessary for Festival administration.

Recipients may include:

Authorised Festival staff and contractors

People working on the Festival may access information where their role requires it.

Judges

Judges receive only the information required for the phase of judging in which they participate.

Judges must comply with Festival confidentiality and conflict-of-interest requirements.

Formspree

Formspree processes the online application and file submission on EXPLR's behalf using infrastructure located in the United States.

Google Workspace

EXPLR uses Google Workspace for secure organisational email, document management, spreadsheets and Festival administration.

Travel, hotel and event providers

Information is only shared with these providers if you become a National STEM Champion and where necessary to arrange your participation.

Media organisations

Finalist information is limited as described above.

For Champions, media opportunities are coordinated in accordance with the Official Rules & Terms and Champion participation requirements.

EXPLR does not sell applicant information.

8International data transfers

EXPLR is a U.S.-incorporated organisation with UK Festival operations, and some Festival service providers operate internationally. Application information may therefore be processed in the United States.

Where UK personal information is transferred outside the United Kingdom, applicable UK data-protection requirements for international transfers apply.

Formspree processes application submissions using infrastructure in the United States and states that it relies on Standard Contractual Clauses as a data processor.

Google Workspace may also process information internationally as described in Google's applicable data-protection terms.

You may contact EXPLR for further information about safeguards applicable to international transfers.

9How long we keep information

We do not keep identifiable information for longer than we reasonably need it.

Formspree

After applications close and submissions have been securely transferred to EXPLR's controlled Festival records, Formspree copies of application submissions and uploaded files will be deleted within 30 days after applications close, unless temporary retention is reasonably necessary to investigate a technical submission issue or meet a legal requirement.

Applicants who do not become Finalists

Application and judging records may be retained for up to 12 months after the conclusion of the 2027 Festival for Competition administration, audit and complaint purposes, after which identifiable information is deleted or anonymised unless a longer period is legally required.

Finalists who do not become Champions

Application and judging records follow the same Competition-record retention period.

Additional photographs, quotes and media responses collected through the Finalist process are deleted within 30 days after National STEM Champion selection is final, unless they must temporarily be retained for a specific legal or administrative reason.

The Finalist's name, region and project title may remain in the Festival's historical record.

Opportunity Bonus evidence

Any supporting evidence requested to verify Opportunity Bonus eligibility is deleted within 90 days after National STEM Champion selection is final.

EXPLR may retain the resulting scoring record for the normal Competition-record retention period.

National STEM Champions

Champion name, region, project title, award status and selected published Festival materials may remain as part of the Festival's historical archive.

Champion photographs, videos, quotes and other media may be actively used for Festival communications for up to five years following the Festival.

Previously published historical Festival content may remain publicly accessible after that period.

Impact information

Identifiable impact information is retained only for as long as needed for Festival evaluation.

Aggregated or anonymised statistics that no longer identify an individual may be retained indefinitely.

Travel and emergency information

Emergency and operational information is deleted when it is no longer needed after the Festival.

Records needed for financial, insurance, legal or regulatory reasons may be retained for the applicable required period.

10Security

EXPLR uses organisational and technical safeguards appropriate to the information involved.

These include:

• access controls;
• restricted staff access;
• two-factor authentication;
• secure organisational accounts;
• separation of judging information from contact and demographic information;
• confidentiality requirements for judges;
• encryption provided by our service providers; and
• retention and deletion procedures.

No online system can guarantee absolute security, but we take reasonable steps to protect applicant information against loss, misuse and unauthorised access.

11Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data-protection law may give you the right to:

• ask what personal information we hold about you;
• receive a copy of your information;
• correct inaccurate information;
• ask us to delete information;
• ask us to restrict how information is used;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests; and
• request portability of certain information where applicable.

Some rights are not absolute.

For example, we may need to retain limited information to preserve the integrity of Competition results, respond to a legal claim or meet a legal obligation.

Where we rely on your consent for a particular optional use of personal information, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing that was lawful before consent was withdrawn.

This does not apply to required National STEM Champion publicity, which is part of accepting Champion status and relies on the basis described elsewhere in this notice.

Correcting personal contact information does not give an applicant the right to change their substantive project submission after it has been submitted.

To exercise a privacy right, contact: nationalstemfestival@explr-media.com

We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request.

12Applicants under 18

Many National STEM Festival applicants are children.

We aim to explain our use of information clearly and use children's information only where there is an identified Festival purpose.

Applicants under 18 should discuss the application and these privacy arrangements with their parent or guardian.

Where appropriate, we communicate directly with both the student and their parent or guardian.

13Safeguarding or privacy concerns

An applicant, Finalist, Champion or parent or legal guardian may contact EXPLR if public identification creates a genuine safeguarding, security or exceptional privacy concern.

We will consider reasonable measures to reduce identifying information or modify a particular use while taking account of the essential public-facing nature of National STEM Champion participation.

14Complaints

You may contact us if you have a concern about how Festival information is being used: nationalstemfestival@explr-media.com

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). You do not have to contact EXPLR before contacting the ICO.

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: ico.org.uk

15Changes to this notice

We may update this Application Privacy Notice where Festival processes, service providers or legal requirements change.

The current version will always be published with its effective date on nationalstemfestival.com.