DataPro and GDPR Projects in the 5th International Conference on Information Security & Digital Forensics

The 5th International Conference on Information Security & Digital Forensics (ISDF), a prestigious event in the field of Information Technology, took place in the premises of Metropolitan College in Thessaloniki between 29th of November and 1st of December 2019. The Conference hosted a number of distinguished researchers, international speakers and analysts of state-of-the-art technologies as well as market representatives and professionals from IT sector.

Within this context, AMC associate, Mr. Vasileios Akkogiounoglou, a graduate of the Polytechnic School of Athens, presented two European projects that are related to Data Protection policies and which AMC is a partner of: “DataPro: Upgrading the EU Data Protection Sector with New Skills” and “GDPR4H: Upgrading the Health Sector with highly-skilled Data Protection Officers. Both projects sparked the audience’s interest and generated a vivid discussion on the significance of the matter for citizens and businesses and the challenges that are emerging due to the gap between skills and market needs for ensuring compliance with the new legal requirements or the lack of knowledge around the width of applicability in multiple professional fields and human activities.

The final output of both projects will be a Joint Curriculum and relevant training materials which will help the interested parties, albeit learners, employers or other stakeholders, realize the importance of incorporating Data Protection practices into their daily working routines and train them how to do it. The courses will be later piloted to assess their responsiveness to real market needs and their usefulness as a training methodology that may be applied by VET systems in other EU countries.

DataPro, a project with a more generic scope, is an Erasmus+ project, co-funded by KA3 Action Joint Qualifications in Vocational Education and Training and it is implemented by a Consortium of 10 partners from 4 European countries (Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Greece), bringing together Chambers, VET Providers and Certification Bodies. It aims at instilling the new digital mentality that is being shaped after the entry of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 into force, to companies, employees and young learners who work or are interested in working in the sector while responding to the fragmented certification system in the field across the EU.

GDPR4H is a field-specific project aiming at adjusting and deepening the knowledge around DataProtection in the HealthCare Sector. More specifically, it focuses on the need for a renewed skillset of healthcare professionals involved in processing, monitoring or handling sensitive data in the light of the new General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 and its new requirements. It is a KA2 Strategic Partnerships for VET project funded by Erasmus+ and implemented by a transnational partnership of 8 partners from 4 EU countries (Greece, Germany, Romania, France), consisted of universities, VET Providers and Healthcare umbrella organizations.