General Terms and Conditions of Participation for Railway Talent Hub events of the Swiss Association of Public Transport (APT)

1.         Scope

The General Terms and Conditions of Participation apply to attendance of the APT’s Railway Talent Hub events. They will apply unless other regulations exist for a particular event or unless different General Terms and Conditions apply. By registering for an event, participants agree to these Terms and Conditions of Participation and are obliged to comply with them.

2.         Registration

Registration must be completed in good time using the official registration form (paper or electronic version) and is mandatory for participants.

For events with a limited number of participants, registrations are either accepted in the order in which they are received or based on pre-defined criteria (such as the date/year of graduation). Registrations received after the deadline can only be accepted if there is still availability for the event. If demand exceeds availability, a waiting list may be used. This will be based on the same criteria.

3.         Entry into force of the contract

The contract between the participant and the APT enters into force upon written confirmation of participation by the APT.

4.         Costs

Attendance of APT events, which are aimed at young talent (e.g. students), is generally free of charge for participants. If, in exceptional cases, a participation fee is charged for an event, this will be indicated in the announcement (including refund conditions in the event of cancellation etc.).

5.         Holding and changing events

The APT reserves the right to cancel events if there is an insufficient number of participants or due to other circumstances which, in its view, make holding the event unviable.

The APT also reserves the right to make changes to the event (e.g. to the programme, lecturers, event content etc.). Such changes may take place at short notice.

The APT may cancel, suspend or postpone an event in exceptional circumstances (e.g. force majeure, official directives, pandemic etc.).

6.         Legal consequences of the cancellation of events by the APT

In the event of the advance cancellation of an event by the APT (e.g. due to an insufficient number of registered participants) or cancellation due to exceptional circumstances (e.g. force majeure, official directives, pandemic etc.), participants will not be entitled to compensation. Refunds of the personal expenses of participants for attendance of the event are excluded.

There is no entitlement to a repetition of the event and participants will accept the organisation of an event in an alternative format (e.g. online) to be determined by the APT without any entitlement to compensation.

7.         De-registration from events by participants

Participants must de-register from events in writing and in good time. De-registration less than 30 days before the start of the event is only permitted in justified cases (e.g. military service, civil protection or alternative civilian service, illness, accident, maternity, family bereavement or due to staff shortages at work due to illness/accident).

Participants bear personal responsibility for the cancellation of other services booked for attendance of the event (e.g. hotel accommodation). The APT will not bear any costs incurred unless differing individual regulations/agreements apply.

8.         Exclusion from events/courses

The APT reserves the right to exclude participants from an event due to conduct which is in breach of contract. In particular, failure to comply with the event organiser’s safety instructions (also see sections 9, 11 and 12 of these Terms and Conditions of Participation) may result in immediate expulsion.

Participants are responsible for cancelling any services booked which relate to the attendance of a course/event (e.g. hotel accommodation etc.). The APT will not bear any costs incurred unless different individual regulations/agreements apply.

9.         Liability

By registering, the participant acknowledges that the event – in addition to presentations, workshops and similar activities in protected interior spaces – may also involve visits to construction sites, production facilities and rail installations. Portions of the programme may be held outdoors in various weather conditions. It is the responsibility of participants to equip themselves appropriately for the activities included in event programme. See sections 11 and 12, in particular, on wearing the protective equipment provided and the importance of following the event organiser’s instructions and safety rules.

The APT excludes any liability for damages that participants suffer in relation to the attendance of an event. In particular, the APT excludes liability for the loss of items of property and valuables etc.

10.      Insurance

Event participants are responsible for ensuring they have sufficient personal insurance cover. They must take out insurance to cover accident and illness and must have sufficient personal liability insurance.

11.      Protective equipment

Participants must wear any personal protective equipment (e.g. helmet, vests) handed out during an event if instructed to do so (e.g. during excursions, visits to railway infrastructure etc.).

12.      Event organiser’s instructions

For safety reasons, the instructions of the event organiser or the staff employed by the event organiser must be followed at all times during the event (e.g. during train journeys, excursions, visits to railway infrastructure etc.).

13.      Copyright protection

Event participants acknowledge that the documents/information provided in paper or electronic format are copyright protected unless expressly indicated otherwise. Participants are expressly prohibited from reproducing, distributing or otherwise utilising the content beyond their own private use.

14.      Data protection

With regard to data processing, the standards of due diligence set out in the provisions of the valid versions of the Federal Act of 25 September 2020 on Data Protection (Data Protection Act, DPA; SR 235.1) and the Ordinance of 31 August 2022 on Data Protection (Data Protection Ordinance, DPO; SR 235.11) shall apply. The APT undertakes to comply with the relevant provisions.

By registering for an event, participants consent to the processing of their personal data by the APT in accordance with the provisions of the Swiss Data Protection Act for the purposes of organising the event and to follow-up information concerning their attendance of the event to be sent until this consent is revoked. Consent can be revoked in writing by contacting office where the registration for the event was submitted.

The APT undertakes to treat all data confidentially and not to pass it onto third parties. The following exemptions apply:

-        The APT is entitled to share data with other companies/third parties where this is required in order to provide the service or to organise the event.

-        By registering, participants consent to the APT sharing their contact details with partner companies involved in the event for the purpose of recruiting young talent/sending job offers.

The data sent contains the following information:

-       first name, surname, e-mail address, university, course of study

The companies cannot use the data for purposes other than communication on careers. Consent to processing may be revoked at any time by sending a written request to the APT with future effect.

-        The APT is entitled to use photos taken and videos made at events in newsletters, on the APT’s website, social media and for the promotion of follow-up events without the express consent of the participants.

-        The right to transfer data which the APT is legally obliged to share (e.g. statutory accountability to public authorities) remains reserved.

By signing the registration form, participants expressly agree to these provisions. If you do not consent to any of the provisions set out in section 14, please notify the APT in writing at the time of registration or no later than 14 days before the event takes place.

15.      Final provisions

The APT reserves the right to amend the Terms and Conditions of Participation. Amendments will be published in a suitable format online upon their entry into force and will apply to all participants.

Individual agreements differing from these General Terms and Conditions will only be deemed valid if they are made in writing.

If any of these terms and conditions becomes invalid or contains a loophole, this will not affect the legal validity of the remaining provisions. Any invalid provision will be replaced by a valid one which is as close as possible to the parties’ original intentions in financial terms. The same applies to any loopholes.

16.      Jurisdiction/applicable law

The contract concluded between the participant and the APT will be governed solely by Swiss law. The sole place of jurisdiction is Bern.

Valid as at 1 September 2023

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