Terms of Use – MINTvernetzt Community Platform

Notice: The German version serves as the legal basis. MINTvernetzt is the service and contact point for the community of MINT stakeholders in Germany. They are supported through networking spaces, transfer offerings, and innovation impulses to create innovative and sustainable MINT educational offerings that reach even broader and more diverse target groups. These include in particular girls and young women. MINTvernetzt is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is jointly implemented by employees of the Körber-Stiftung, matrix gGmbH, the Nationales MINT Forum e.V., the Universität Regensburg, and the Stifterverband.

The platform is designed as a special-interest platform and is therefore aimed at better connecting the respective MINT stakeholders as a target and interest group with one another, and at optimizing their overall visibility. For this purpose, it is essential that certain basic information about the respective stakeholders is publicly visible and available.

In order to achieve the aforementioned goals effectively and sustainably, and to be able to reach a wider public, MINT stakeholders should be able to register, exchange ideas, network, and sign up for events on the MINTvernetzt platform (hereinafter also referred to as the "platform"). The platform is available in German.

Use of the platform is free of charge. There is no obligation to register on the platform; however, only registered users can use the platform to its full extent.

MINTvernetzt is a joint project of:

• Körber-Stiftung
• matrix gGmbH
• Stifterverband für die deutsche Wissenschaft e.V.
• Nationales MINT Forum e.V.
• Universität Regensburg

The contact point, operator, and contractual partner under these provisions is matrix gGmbH zur Förderung von Demokratie, Teilhabe und nachhaltiger gesellschaftlicher Entwicklung, Düsseldorfer Straße 16, Rittergut Haus Morp, 40699 Erkrath bei Düsseldorf (hereinafter referred to as "we" or "us").

These Terms of Use govern the use of the MINTvernetzt platform. They apply to all users (with or without registration) of the platform and to all actions that users may perform on the platform.

3.1. The following information is required to register a profile on the platform:

• First name
• Last name
• Email address
• Password

3.2. Registration creates a user profile, which can be further edited afterwards.

3.3. After registration, the email address and password stored during registration are required as login credentials.

3.4. The MINT-ID is available as an additional registration and login option. In this case, the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy for the MINT-ID apply.

4.1. In their respective user profile, users may voluntarily provide various information about themselves as MINT stakeholders. This information includes in particular contact details, areas of activity, competencies, and interests. Users also have the option to indicate their membership in certain organizations and to create organizations themselves.

4.2. All information provided by users must be truthful. In particular, it is prohibited to register on the platform under another person's name or to use personal details of third parties. We reserve the right to exclude individual users from the platform where it has been demonstrably established that incorrect personal details have been provided.

4.3. Users may edit their own user profile themselves, meaning they can change individual details at any time as they wish. Users may also configure which details should only be visible to other registered users, and which details non-registered users can see when visiting their user profile. However, it is not possible to restrict the visibility of one's own name, profile picture, or area of activity.

5.1. Users may delete their profile on the platform at any time via the profile settings if they no longer wish to use the platform.

5.2. As a result, the respective user profile can no longer be accessed or viewed. At the database level, all information directly relating to the respective person will be deleted. However, we reserve the right to continue using, at the technical level, the connections built up by users, since otherwise the deletion of a profile would cause the connections established between the remaining users within a network to be lost.

6.1. The platform offers users the opportunity to find out about events and to register for participation in them.

6.2. Registration is completed by clicking the "Participate" button and can be withdrawn at any time by clicking the "Withdraw participation" button.

6.3. Registration and participation are free of charge and do not create any legal obligations for users. However, since individual events can only take place with a limited number of participants, users are requested to register for participation only if they genuinely intend to attend the event, and to deregister if attendance is no longer desired or possible.

6.4. Where we are the organizer of the event, we reserve the right to postpone the event at any time, to modify the program of the event, or to cancel the event entirely. If a corresponding change or cancellation of the event occurs, we will notify registered users accordingly where possible.

7.1. If users take advantage of the opportunity to promote and organize events through the platform, the special rules of this section 7 apply. Such users are hereinafter referred to as event organizers.

7.2. In the context of promoting, organizing, and conducting events, event organizers act as data controllers within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 7 GDPR. To the extent that we transmit personal data of other users, who are participants in the events of the respective event organizers, to the event organizers in this context, the event organizers are responsible for the subsequent data processing themselves. There is no joint responsibility with MINTvernetzt in this regard.

7.3. Event organizers are solely responsible for ensuring the legality of further processing (e.g., storage on their own systems, email distribution). The use of transmitted data for advertising purposes and the transfer of data to third parties are prohibited unless the respective users have given their consent. Event organizers also undertake to comply with the GDPR in all other respects, in particular to apply appropriate technical and organizational measures and to delete the data if there is no legal basis for further processing.

7.4. Event organizers shall indemnify us against all claims of third parties (including users and supervisory authorities) as well as the costs of legal defense arising from a culpable violation of data protection or contractual obligations by the event organizers in handling personal data.

8.1. All users are obliged to provide truthful information about themselves during registration. Fictitious names or pseudonyms are not permitted. Incorrect or untruthful information may result in exclusion from the platform.

8.2. Creating multiple profiles by one person is not permitted. If such multiple registrations are identified, we reserve the right to exclude the person concerned as a user from the platform and to delete all associated profiles.

8.3. The use of a profile is intended for personal use only. It is therefore prohibited to share personal login credentials with others. Login credentials must be stored in such a way that unauthorized use by others is not possible. If it is established that account data has been shared or used in an unauthorized manner contrary to these provisions, we reserve the right to exclude the users concerned from the platform.

8.4. Use of the platform is permitted exclusively for the purposes specified in these provisions. Such use may be private (e.g., where there is a personal interest in MINTvernetzt), professional, or commercial in nature (e.g., where users are employees of a MINT project). Any use beyond this for commercial purposes is prohibited. It is likewise prohibited to advertise products or companies on the platform. If it is established that advertising is being conducted or other unauthorized commercial activities are being carried out contrary to these provisions, we reserve the right to exclude the users concerned from the platform.

The following actions and statements are prohibited and will result in immediate exclusion from the platform:

• Insults directed at other users or persons outside the platform
• Bullying and harassment of other users or persons outside the platform
• Posts that contain depictions of violence
• Posts that display pornographic or dehumanizing content
• Posts that incite hatred or violence against people or against specific groups of people
• Posts that call for violence or other measures against people or a specific group of people, or that attack the dignity of others by insulting, maliciously disparaging, or defaming segments of the population or a designated group
• Posts that deny or downplay acts committed under National Socialist rule (also known as the "Third Reich"), or that glorify National Socialist rule
• Posts that display symbols of prohibited organizations or describe such symbols
• Posts that call for the consumption, purchase, or sale of legally prohibited substances (drugs, narcotics)
• The posting of copyright-protected content, images, and videos without the consent of the respective rights holders.

10.1. We do not carry out any preventive substantive or legal review of content on the platform. We therefore offer a clear and user-friendly mechanism for reporting illegal content. Users can report illegal content to us via the report button. Alternatively, users may submit a report by email at support@mint-vernetzt.de.

10.2. To ensure efficient processing, reports should contain the following information:

• a detailed description of the illegal content;
• the exact electronic location of the content (link);
• an explanation of why the content is considered illegal;
• contact details (name, email address) of the reporting person for any follow-up questions;
• a declaration that the reporting person is genuinely convinced that the information and statements contained in the report are correct and complete.

10.3. Upon receipt of the report, we will review it without delay. We reserve the right to remove or block the reported content if we determine that it violates applicable laws or these Terms of Use.

11.1. We grant users a non-exclusive right, limited in time and scope to the duration and extent of use, to use the platform free of charge.

11.2. The platform is made available to users in the currently retrievable version (in object code). Users are obliged not to carry out, cause, or enable reverse engineering, disassembly, decompilation, translation, or unauthorized disclosure of the platform provided, insofar as the relevant components are not publicly available, or insofar as such actions are not permitted pursuant to §§ 69d, 69e UrhG.

11.3. Users grant us a non-exclusive, temporally and geographically unrestricted right to use all content (such as photos, posts, videos) that users share, publish, and distribute on the platform. Users warrant to us that they hold the rights necessary to grant these usage rights.

12.1. We endeavor to keep the range of services and features available on the platform consistent and to continue expanding it. There is no obligation to further develop and/or expand services and features.

12.2. We reserve the right to modify, expand, restrict, or entirely discontinue individual features. If we discontinue a feature in the future, we will notify users accordingly via the platform.

12.3. We aim to continue developing the platform as continuously as possible. As a result of this ongoing development of the platform, both the scope of services, the user interface, and the operation of the platform may change. We are entitled to make such changes.

13.1. Liability is governed by § 599 BGB.

13.2. Warranty for defects is governed by § 600 BGB.

14.1. We reserve the right to amend these Terms of Use at any time and will inform users of any changes directly via the platform.

14.2. We reserve the right to temporarily or permanently shut down the platform. Shutdowns are generally temporary and carried out for technical reasons (technical errors, maintenance, and/or updates).

Users can find information on the protection of personal data in the associated Privacy Policy.

16.1. Should one or more provisions of these Terms of Use be or become invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.

16.2. The applicable law is that of the Federal Republic of Germany. Mandatory consumer protection provisions of the country in which users are habitually resident shall remain unaffected by the choice of law, insofar as the respective users qualify as consumers within the meaning of § 13 BGB.

16.3. If a user is a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law, our registered place of business shall be the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with contracts between us and that user.