Effective: July 2025

These Terms and Conditions apply to all services provided by Profectus Training and Development, located in the Netherlands, including but not limited to workshops, human expert proposal development, and online services. By using our services, you agree to these Terms and Conditions.

Section 1: General

1.1 Governing Law
These Terms and Conditions, and any disputes arising from them or our services, are governed by the laws of The Netherlands, without regard to conflict of law provisions.

1.2 Limitation of Liability
Profectus Training and Development strives to provide high-quality services but cannot guarantee the success of any grant, proposal, or funding application. We are not liable for any decisions made by funding bodies or other third parties, nor for any losses, missed opportunities, or indirect damages resulting from the use of our services.

1.3 Intellectual Property
All training materials and service content provided by Profectus (except materials that are public documents and content uploaded by users) remain the intellectual property of Profectus unless explicitly stated otherwise. Materials may not be copied, redistributed, or used for purposes outside the original scope without written permission.

1.4 Confidentiality
We treat all customer proposal content, draft material, and user documents as strictly confidential. We will not share, publish, or distribute any materials uploaded to or shared with our services without the customer’s explicit consent, unless required by law. We do not use proposals uploaded by customers to train our A.I. services.

1.5 Changes to Terms
Profectus reserves the right to update or modify these Terms and Conditions at any time. Updated versions will be published on the Profectus website and apply from the date of posting. Continued use of the service after any such updates constitutes the user’s acceptance of the revised Terms.

Section 2: Workshops

2.1 Booking and Payment
Reservations for workshops are considered final upon confirmation. Payment must be made according to the invoice terms.

2.2 Cancellation Policy
* Cancellations made at least 4 weeks before the scheduled start date will be fully refunded.
* Cancellations made less than 4 weeks but more than 2 weeks before the start date will incur a 25% cancellation fee.
* Cancellations made less than 2 weeks before the start date will incur a 50% cancellation fee.
* If a participant cannot attend, a colleague may attend in their place, provided that Profectus is notified at least 24 hours in advance.

2.3 Profectus Cancellation
If a workshop is canceled by Profectus (e.g., due to illness), participants will be offered an alternative date or a full refund. Profectus is not liable for related expenses such as travel or accommodation.

Section 3: Human Expert Proposal Development

3.1 Scope
This service provides personalized feedback and guidance by a human expert on a user-submitted research proposal.

3.2 Scheduling and Rescheduling
We aim to accommodate preferred time slots for review meetings and feedback delivery. If rescheduling is required (by either party), we will make reasonable efforts to propose a suitable alternative.
However, if a session must be rescheduled on short notice (e.g., within 48 hours), Profectus cannot guarantee availability, and a delay in delivery may occur.

3.3 Confidentiality
Submitted proposals remain the intellectual property of the participant. Profectus claims no rights over user documents and maintains confidentiality as described in Section 1.4.

Section 4: AI-Based Proposal Development

4.1 Scope of Service
Our AI-based proposal development service provides automated feedback on research proposals through an online platform. This includes Trial, Basic, Premium, and Research Manager licenses, each with different access rights (see below).

4.2 Service Availability
This service is provided “as is” and may be updated, revised, or interrupted without prior notice. While we strive to ensure consistent access, temporary downtime or errors may occur due to maintenance, updates, or third-party system issues. No refunds are provided for short periods of unavailability (e.g., outages lasting under 48 hours). For extended disruptions or discontinuation, see 4.6.

 4.3 License Types, Usage, and Restrictions
Access to the AI-based proposal development service is governed by the license type purchased. A trial license holder may upload one proposal for analysis. A single individual may only hold only one trial license, and may not register multiple accounts using different email addresses to circumvent this restriction. Basic and premium license holders may upload multiple proposals, but only proposals for which the license holder is the main applicant. Trial, Basic, and Premium license login credentials are strictly personal and may not be shared.
Research Manager Licenses may be used to upload proposals on behalf of researchers employed at the same institution as the license holder. Research Manager login credentials may be shared only among research support staff at the same institution, and not with researchers themselves.

The service may only be used:
* By individual researchers seeking feedback on their own proposals;
* By research managers or support staff using a Research Manager License to assist colleagues employed at their institution;
* By trial users, for the sole purpose of evaluating the service for these same intended uses.

Users may not:
* Use automated systems, scripts, bots, or other non-human methods to interact with the service;
* Upload proposals repeatedly or in bulk using automated or scripted methods;
* Attempt to reverse-engineer the service, extract prompts, logic, model behavior, or access the underlying knowledge base;
* Share login credentials, except as explicitly allowed for Research Manager Licenses.

Proposals uploaded under any license must be:
* Genuine, academic research proposals, directly tied to legitimate academic or funding activities;
* Free from third-party confidential or copyrighted material, unless the user has obtained explicit permission.

4.4 Misuse and Monitoring
Profectus reserves the right to monitor usage for signs of misuse (e.g., uploading large numbers of unrelated proposals, sharing access credentials, or using a personal license for institutional purposes). If misuse is suspected:
* We will first contact the user for clarification.
* If misuse is confirmed, Profectus may suspend or terminate access without refund.
* Users may appeal such decisions by contacting us with supporting information.
* If a user violates the terms of use or engages in unauthorized access, automated usage, or misuse of the service as outlined in these Terms, Profectus reserves the right to seek compensation for any resulting costs, damages, or business losses. This includes, but is not limited to, legal fees, resource costs, lost revenue, or reputational harm. Users agree to indemnify and hold harmless Profectus for any third-party claims arising from such misuse.

4.5 Confidentiality
Proposal files uploaded through the AI system are treated with the same level of confidentiality as human-reviewed proposals (see Section 1.4). They are not used to train the A.I. and are not stored.

4.6 Discontinuation and Refunds
Profectus reserves the right to discontinue the AI-based service permanently. In such cases, active paid license holders will receive a pro-rated refund for the unused portion of their subscription, calculated based on the original payment date and remaining duration.

Section 5 Personal Data and GDPR Compliance

5.1 Data Collection and Purpose
Profectus Training and Development collects and processes personal data (names, email addresses, billing details) solely for the purpose of delivering services, managing user accounts, issuing invoices, and providing customer support. We do not sell or share personal data unless with authorities under legal obligation.

5.2 Legal Basis
Data is processed based on:
* Contractual necessity (e.g., to deliver the service you paid for)
* Legal obligations (e.g., for VAT records)
* Legitimate interest (e.g., user support or fraud prevention)

5.3 Data Retention
User accounts and billing data are retained as long as required for administrative and legal purposes, unless deletion is requested.
Uploaded research proposals are not stored.

5.4 Data Access and Rights
Under the GDPR, you have the right to:
* Access the personal data we hold about you
* Correct inaccurate data
* Request deletion (“right to be forgotten”)
* Request a copy of your data in portable form
* To exercise your rights, contact us at info@profectus.academy.

5.5 Data Security
We take technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, loss, or alteration.

5.6 Use of Processors (e.g., OpenAI)
For AI-based services, documents you upload (e.g. research proposals) are securely transmitted to OpenAI via their API. According to OpenAI’s API Terms, such data is not stored or used for model training. No other third-party processors are involved. We do not store documents you upload on our server.

Contact and Support

If you have questions about these Terms or need to report a problem, contact us at  info@profectus.academy