EU Support: еmployees of the Office of the Ombudsman completed an internship at AEPD

The EU4DigitalUA project organised an internship for employees of the Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine at Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD). It took place in Madrid from June 5 to June 16 and aimed to equip Ukrainian specialists with the necessary skills to implement the highest standards of personal data protection in Ukraine. 

In addition to updated legislation, Ukraine also requires highly skilled professionals who possess advanced skills and knowledge in the field of personal data protection. The EU4DigitalUA project focuses on training Ukrainian experts and exchanging experiences with European institutions. As part of this initiative, a two-week internship was held for employees of the Secretariat of the Commissioner in the Spanish Data Protection Agency. 

Andrew Nikolaiev, the Key Expert in personal data protection of EU4DigitalUA, commented: “The EU4DigitalUA project works closely with the Spanish Agency for Data Protection, which has been responsible for ensuring European standards of compliance in Spain for many years and has invaluable experience in this field. We are pleased to provide Ukrainian specialists with the opportunity to undergo an internship at the Agency as international cooperation is an essential element in ensuring the highest standards of data protection in Ukraine.” 

Yuliia Derkachenko, the Representative of the Commissioner for Information Rights, stated: “The internship provided Ukrainian specialists with the opportunity to learn about the best practices in Spain in the implementation of GDPR, risk and personal data breach management, as well as in the processing of personal data by state authorities using new technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, video surveillance, drones, and biometrics. This is an important step towards utilizing the most advanced methods of personal data protection in Ukraine.” 

The internship had different blocks like risk management and security, data breach management, regulation privacy impact assessment, data spaces, biometrics, and others. It included various workshops delivered by AEPD experts as well as numerous case studies to put the knowledge into practise.

“The collaboration between Spanish and Ukrainian experts has been very fruitful: it has allowed an exchange of knowledge between both teams, facilitated an understanding of the reality of data protection principles in the economic and social spheres, and laid the foundation for future collaborative actions between both authorities, which will result in better guaranteeing fundamental rights and freedoms,” highlighted Luis de Salvador, Director of the Technological Innovation Division at the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD).

The EU4DigitalUA project continues to actively work on enhancing the qualifications of Ukrainian professionals and implementing the highest standards of personal data protection in our country.