Terms & Conditions

About SIWES Connect

SIWES Connect is a digital platform designed to facilitate connections between:

• Students seeking SIWES, industrial training, internships, and related placement opportunities; and
• Companies and organisations offering such opportunities.

SIWES Connect provides the technology and platform through which students and companies can discover opportunities, create profiles, submit applications, communicate relevant information, and manage placement applications.

SIWES Connect is not itself the employer, internship provider, university, or educational institution responsible for any placement listed on the platform.

Company Information

Eligibility

To use SIWES Connect, you must provide accurate information and meet any eligibility requirements applicable to the service you are using.

Students should be enrolled in, or otherwise legitimately associated with, a tertiary educational institution where required for the relevant SIWES or internship opportunity.

Companies and organisations must have legitimate authority to advertise the placements they publish.

You must not create an account using another person's identity or credentials.

If we reasonably believe that an account has been created fraudulently, unlawfully, or in violation of these Terms, we may suspend or terminate the account.

Account Registration

Certain SIWES Connect features require registration. When creating an account, you agree to:

• Provide truthful, accurate, current, and complete information.
• Keep your information reasonably up to date.
• Protect your password and account credentials.
• Not share your account with unauthorised persons.
• Immediately notify us if you suspect unauthorised access.
• Not create accounts for fraudulent or deceptive purposes.

You are responsible for activity conducted through your account unless the activity resulted from circumstances outside your reasonable control and you notified us promptly.

Student Accounts

Students may use SIWES Connect to:

• Create a student profile.
• Search available placements.
• Filter placements by location and other criteria.
• Review placement information.
• Submit applications.
• Track application status.
• Receive application notifications.
• Manage their profile information.

Students are responsible for ensuring that the information contained in their profile and applications is accurate.

Company Accounts

Companies may use SIWES Connect to:

• Create a company profile.
• Publish SIWES and internship placements.
• Specify placement requirements.
• Review applications.
• Review relevant applicant information.
• Manage applications.
• Accept or reject applications.
• Receive notifications concerning applications and placements.

A company must only publish placements that it is authorised and genuinely able to provide.

A company must not create a placement solely to collect student information or for any fraudulent, exploitative, or unrelated purpose.

Placement Listings

Companies are responsible for the accuracy and legality of the placement opportunities they publish. Placement listings should accurately describe, where applicable:

• Position or placement title
• Company
• Location
• Department or field
• Requirements
• Duration
• Number of available positions
• Relevant responsibilities
• Application requirements
• Any other material conditions

Companies must not knowingly publish false, misleading, discriminatory, fraudulent, or deceptive placement information.

SIWES Connect reserves the right to remove or modify listings that violate these Terms or applicable law.

Student Applications

A student may apply for a placement through the platform where applications are available. Submitting an application does not guarantee:

• An interview;
• Acceptance;
• Employment;
• Internship placement;
• SIWES placement;
• Payment or compensation; or
• Any other relationship with the company.

The decision to review, interview, accept, or reject an application is generally made by the relevant company.

Students should carefully review placement information before applying.

Company Acceptance and Rejection

Companies may accept or reject applications according to their legitimate placement requirements and applicable law.

An acceptance through SIWES Connect does not necessarily constitute an employment contract or guarantee of placement completion.

Where additional documentation, university approval, interviews, onboarding, medical requirements, background checks, or other conditions are required, those matters may need to be completed separately between the student, company, and relevant institution.

SIWES Connect is not responsible for a company's decision to accept, reject, withdraw, modify, or cancel a placement.

Student Information and Applicant Privacy

Student information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

A student's complete profile is not intended to be publicly available simply because the student has registered.

Where a student applies for a placement, the company offering that placement may receive information reasonably necessary to evaluate the application.

Companies must:

• Use applicant information only for legitimate purposes.
• Keep applicant information confidential.
• Protect applicant information from unauthorised access.
• Not sell applicant information.
• Not publish applicant information without an appropriate lawful basis or permission.
• Not use applicant information for unrelated purposes.
• Not share applicant information with unauthorised third parties.

Unauthorised misuse of student information may result in suspension or termination of the company's account and may be reported to appropriate authorities where appropriate.

Prohibited Activities

You must not use SIWES Connect to:

• Commit fraud or facilitate fraudulent activity.
• Impersonate another person or organisation.
• Provide deliberately false information.
• Create fake student or company accounts.
• Publish fraudulent placement opportunities.
• Collect student information for unauthorised purposes.
• Sell, trade, or unlawfully distribute user information.
• Harass, threaten, intimidate, or discriminate against another user.
• Upload malicious software, viruses, or harmful code.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the platform or another user's account.
• Circumvent authentication, security, or access controls.
• Scrape or systematically collect platform information without our written permission.
• Interfere with the operation or security of SIWES Connect.
• Use automated systems to access the platform in a manner that places unreasonable load on our infrastructure.
• Use SIWES Connect for unlawful purposes.
• Use the platform to promote scams, pyramid schemes, illegal activities, or deceptive recruitment.
• Publish content that infringes another person's intellectual property or privacy rights.
• Attempt to manipulate application results, reviews, rankings, or platform functionality.

Fees and Payments

Unless expressly stated otherwise, basic access to SIWES Connect may be provided without a platform fee to students.

Where SIWES Connect introduces paid services, subscriptions, promotional services, verification services, premium placement listings, or other paid features, the applicable price and payment terms will be displayed before purchase.

Users are responsible for applicable taxes, charges, or third-party fees associated with their own transactions unless otherwise stated.

SIWES Connect does not guarantee that every placement listed on the platform will provide salary, allowance, transportation, accommodation, or other benefits.

Any compensation or benefits offered by a company are matters between the company and the student unless SIWES Connect expressly states otherwise.

Communications and Notifications

By using SIWES Connect, you may receive service-related communications including:

• Account verification messages
• Password and security notifications
• Application notifications
• Acceptance or rejection notifications
• Placement notifications
• Important platform announcements

You may be able to control certain optional notifications through your account settings.

Essential service communications may continue even if you disable optional notifications.

Content You Provide

You retain rights to content that you lawfully own and submit to SIWES Connect, subject to the rights necessary for us to operate the platform.

By submitting content such as profile information, company descriptions, placement descriptions, application messages, images, documents, or other materials, you grant SiwesConnect Nigeria Limited a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide licence to host, store, reproduce, display, transmit, and process that content as reasonably necessary to:

• Operate SIWES Connect;
• Provide requested services;
• Display profiles and placement listings;
• Process applications;
• Maintain backups;
• Improve the platform;
• Protect the platform; and
• Comply with applicable law.

We will handle personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

You represent that you have the necessary rights and permissions to submit content you provide to SIWES Connect.

Intellectual Property

The SIWES Connect platform, including its software, design, branding, logos, graphics, interfaces, text, databases, and other platform materials, is owned by or licensed to SiwesConnect Nigeria Limited unless otherwise stated.

You may use the platform only for its intended purpose. You must not:

• Copy the platform's software;
• Reproduce our branding without permission;
• Reverse engineer the platform;
• Modify or create derivative versions of the platform;
• Sell or redistribute platform materials;
• Use SIWES Connect branding in a manner that suggests unauthorised affiliation.

Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of SIWES Connect intellectual property to you.

Third-Party Services

SIWES Connect may rely on third-party infrastructure and services, including hosting, authentication, database, email, analytics, payment, or other technology providers.

We may also provide links to third-party websites.

Third-party services operate under their own terms and privacy policies. SIWES Connect is not responsible for the independent operation, content, availability, or privacy practices of third-party services.

No Guarantee of Placement

SIWES Connect provides a platform for discovering and applying for opportunities. We do not guarantee that:

• A student will receive a placement.
• A company will receive suitable applicants.
• A company will accept an applicant.
• A listed placement will remain available.
• A placement will proceed after acceptance.
• A company or student will fulfil commitments made to the other.
• A particular placement will meet a student's expectations.

Users are responsible for conducting appropriate due diligence before entering into any arrangement with another user.

Company Verification

Where SIWES Connect offers company verification or similar features, verification does not constitute a guarantee that:

• The company will provide a placement;
• The company is financially capable of fulfilling its obligations;
• The company is suitable for every student;
• Every statement made by the company is accurate; or
• The company will comply with all commitments made to a student.

Users should exercise appropriate caution and verify material information independently where necessary.

User Safety

Users should exercise reasonable caution when communicating with other users. Do not provide:

• Passwords;
• Banking PINs;
• One-time passwords;
• Authentication codes;
• Unnecessary financial information; or
• Other highly sensitive information

to another user merely because they claim to represent SIWES Connect or a company.

SIWES Connect will not intentionally ask you to provide your account password or authentication code through an unsolicited message.

If a user requests money, sensitive information, or suspicious documents in connection with a placement, you should report the matter to us.

Reporting Abuse or Fraud

If you believe that a placement, account, message, or user violates these Terms, you should report it to privacy@siwesconnect.com.

You may also contact 0701-853-4965.

Reports should contain enough information for us to investigate the issue.

We may investigate reports and take appropriate action, including removing content, restricting accounts, suspending accounts, or terminating accounts.

Account Suspension and Termination

We may suspend, restrict, or terminate an account where we reasonably believe that:

• These Terms have been violated.
• The account is fraudulent.
• The account presents a security risk.
• The user has engaged in unlawful activity.
• The user has misused another person's information.
• The account is being used to deceive or harm other users.
• The account presents a material risk to SIWES Connect or its users.

Where appropriate, we may provide notice before suspension or termination. However, we may act immediately where necessary to protect users, data, the platform, or comply with legal requirements.

Effect of Account Termination

Following termination:

• Your right to access restricted platform features may end.
• We may retain certain information where required or permitted by law.
• Applications and records may be retained where necessary for legitimate business or legal purposes.
• You remain responsible for obligations incurred before termination.

Termination does not automatically cancel obligations that by their nature should continue after termination.

Privacy

Your use of SIWES Connect is also governed by our Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy explains:

• What personal information we collect;
• Why we collect it;
• How we use it;
• How we protect it;
• When information may be shared;
• Data retention;
• Your data protection rights; and
• How to contact us.

The Privacy Policy forms part of these Terms.

Platform Availability

We aim to keep SIWES Connect available and functioning reliably, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted availability. The platform may occasionally be unavailable because of:

• Maintenance;
• Updates;
• Security incidents;
• Technical failures;
• Internet connectivity problems;
• Third-party service interruptions;
• Power or infrastructure failures;
• Events outside our reasonable control.

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue parts of the platform where reasonably necessary.

Disclaimer

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, SIWES Connect is provided on an "as available" and "as is" basis. We do not guarantee that:

• The platform will always be error-free;
• Information supplied by users will always be accurate;
• Every placement will be legitimate or suitable;
• Every company will fulfil its commitments;
• Every student will fulfil their commitments;
• The platform will always be available;
• Third-party services will always function;
• The platform will meet every user's individual expectations.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under applicable law.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable Nigerian law, SiwesConnect Nigeria Limited shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive losses arising from:

• A user's interaction with another user;
• A company's placement decision;
• A student's application;
• The cancellation or withdrawal of a placement;
• Loss caused by inaccurate information supplied by another user;
• Third-party websites or services;
• Unauthorised conduct of another user;
• Temporary platform interruption; or
• Circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for matters that cannot legally be limited or excluded.

Indemnity

To the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless SiwesConnect Nigeria Limited, its officers, employees, contractors, and authorised representatives from claims, losses, liabilities, damages, and reasonable expenses arising from:

• Your violation of these Terms;
• Your unlawful use of SIWES Connect;
• Your fraudulent or misleading conduct;
• Your infringement of another person's rights;
• Your misuse of another user's personal information; or
• Content you submit that violates applicable law or third-party rights.

This provision does not apply to the extent that the relevant loss was caused by our own unlawful conduct or negligence.

Disputes Between Students and Companies

SIWES Connect is primarily a platform that facilitates connections between students and companies. Where a dispute arises directly between a student and a company concerning:

• Placement conditions;
• Allowances;
• Employment;
• Working conditions;
• Accommodation;
• Transportation;
• Academic requirements;
• Termination of placement; or
• Other arrangements,

the parties should first attempt to resolve the matter directly.

SIWES Connect may assist with platform-related complaints where appropriate but does not automatically act as an arbitrator, employer, university, or legal representative for either party.

Nothing in this section prevents a user from exercising rights available under applicable law.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Subject to any mandatory applicable law or dispute-resolution mechanism, disputes relating to these Terms or the use of SIWES Connect shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the appropriate courts of Nigeria.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect:

• Changes to SIWES Connect;
• New features;
• Changes in business practices;
• Changes in applicable law;
• Security requirements; or
• Regulatory requirements.

Where changes are material, we will provide reasonable notice through the platform or other appropriate means.

Your continued use of SIWES Connect after the effective date of updated Terms may constitute acceptance of the revised Terms to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to operate to the extent permitted by law.

The invalid provision will be interpreted or modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable where legally possible.

No Waiver

Failure by SiwesConnect Nigeria Limited to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of our right to enforce that provision or any other provision later.

Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any additional terms expressly applicable to specific SIWES Connect services, constitute the agreement governing your use of the platform.

Where a specific service has additional terms, those terms will apply to that service in addition to these Terms.

Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact: