Denmark is one of the most digitized societies in the world. This gives Danish researchers a unique opportunity to gain insights across large datasets. Broad access to coherent data makes it possible to investigate complex questions about health, the environment, and societal conditions. It also enables the development of new knowledge that can improve lives and strengthen collective solutions.
In many research projects, the focus is not on the individual. Instead, it is on the patterns and correlations that emerge when data from many people are analyzed collectively. For example, research may aim to identify trends in the development of diseases, lifestyle, or societal conditions across groups. It does not aim to track individual persons. In this way, research can generate knowledge that benefits the entire population.
When we process personal data in research, it is always done under secure conditions and with respect for individual privacy and rights. Find more information about Aarhus University as data controller for personal data in research
Here, you can find an overview of research projects at Aarhus University where it has been assessed that it would be very difficult to inform each individual whose data is included in the project that their personal data is being used for research. This may be the case because the dataset includes information about a large number of individuals. In such cases, the projects apply the exemption in Article 14(5)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation. Informing each individual would require a disproportionate effort.
Instead, Aarhus University publishes this overview to provide transparency about the projects where the exemption has been applied.
See the list of projects on this link (in Danish only).
The research projects listed in the overview use your data exclusively for scientific purposes. The legal basis for this processing is as follows:
At present, it is not possible to say for how long Aarhus University will process your personal data, as this depends on the purpose of the research project and the rules on storage according to responsible research practice. When your personal data is no longer required for processing, it will be anonymized, transferred to the Danish National Archives or deleted.
When assessing how long it is necessary to process your personal data, we take into account, among other things:
