Privacy notice
Thesis applications
Published 30 October 2026. This notice explains how application data is handled. It is written for people applying to a GeoVoltaic thesis track, and for their advisors.
Controller
The controller is Sigurd Erik Demos Oesterud, operating as GeoVoltaic (geo-voltaic.com).
What this notice covers
It covers personal data you send when you apply for a thesis position or send a licensing enquiry. The technical pages of this site can be read without an account. This site does not run advertising or third-party analytics.
Data we process
If you apply, we process what you submit:
- Full name
- University
- Program
- Level (MSc or PhD)
- Thesis track
- Expected start
- Advisor name, if you choose to give it
- A link to your CV or pitch
- A short motivation
- The fact that you agreed to this notice
The form does not accept file uploads. You share a link that you control. A hidden honeypot field is used only to reject automated spam, and it is not used to identify you.
If you send a licensing enquiry, we process your name, company, email, and message, and the fact that you agreed to this notice.
Why we process it
The purpose is evaluating thesis applications: reading your pitch, deciding whether a track is a fit, and replying to you. If we move ahead, the same details are used to arrange a call and to scope the project with you and your advisor. A licensing enquiry is read so we can reply about the commercial use of the technology.
The legal basis is your consent, given by the checkbox on the application form. You can withdraw that consent at any time. We also rely on steps taken at your request before a thesis agreement exists, because we cannot assess an application you asked us to consider without reading it.
How long we keep it
We keep thesis-application data for 12 months after the last decision on that application, then delete it. Licensing enquiries are kept for the same period after the last reply. If a legal claim about that application or enquiry is already open, we keep the relevant records until the claim is closed. A thesis agreement, if one is signed later, is a separate record and is kept for as long as contract and intellectual-property law requires.
Who receives it
The controller reads the application. If you name an advisor, we do not contact that person unless you ask us to, or unless a later three-way scoping meeting is agreed.
Applications are sent by email to the controller. This site does not pass them through a form host.
We do not sell application data, and we do not use it to advertise to you.
Cookies
This site does not set tracking cookies and does not use a third-party analytics service. Essential technical logs on the host that serves the site may record an IP address for security. Those logs are not used to build a profile of you.
Your rights
You can ask for access, correction, erasure, or restriction, and you can object to processing that is not required to answer your application. You can ask for a copy of the application data you gave us. You can withdraw consent. Withdrawing consent does not affect handling that was already lawful.
You can also complain to a supervisory authority. If you are in the EEA or the United Kingdom, that is the authority where you live, where you work, or where you believe the issue happened.
To exercise these rights, contact Sigurd Erik Demos Oesterud. A public contact email is not listed on this page yet.
What this site does not do
It does not make an automated decision about your application. A person reads it. It is not aimed at children. Thesis applicants are university students.