Meritxell Borràs asks universities for more cross-curricular training on data protection in curricula

The director of the Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT), Meritxell Borràs i Solé, today asked Catalan universities to incorporate more data protection training into their curricula across the board. Especially considering the current context, in which technologies allow for the massive and in-depth processing of personal data, with the risks that this entails.

During the celebration of the 5th Conference of Data Protection Officers of Spanish Universities, Borràs argued that more training and awareness are needed, so that data protection is not perceived as a bureaucratic obligation for future developers, but as a fundamental right that guarantees other rights.

The director highlighted the figure of DPOs, especially in the university sector, an area of ​​international relevance from both an academic and research point of view. Borràs recalled that the DPO needs sufficient resources to guarantee its independence, and continuous self-demand to train and update itself in a regulatory context that is constantly expanding.

In this context, he highlighted channels such as ‘DPD en xarxa’, the first DPO's learning and collaboration community in Catalonia, promoted by the APDCAT and which already has more than 350 members who can exchange knowledge, generate synergies and constantly update themselves with online sessions and thematic working groups.

Experts from all over the country

The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya is hosting a meeting from 20 to 22 May, organised in collaboration with the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE). It will feature the participation of several experts who will debate the main challenges in privacy: artificial intelligence, transparency in data protection and the requirements and obligations of the European Health Data Space.

In this regard, the head of the Legal Department, Xavier Urios Aparisi, and the DPO and Agency's strategic projects manager, Joana Marí Cardona, participated in the first panel, which addressed data protection and artificial intelligence. Representatives from the Spanish Data Protection Agency, the Andalusian Transparency and Data Protection Council, the Basque Data Protection Authority, Barcelona City Council and the University of Barcelona, ​​among other organizations, also participated.