Data Privacy and Technology helps you think critically about the trade-offs and threats of today's digital landscape: the legal and ethical implications of personal data, the risks and rewards of data collection and surveillance, and the need for policy, advocacy and privacy monitoring. Technology is never value-neutral, and as a decision-maker you are constantly weighing the benefits of gathering information against the privacy of the people it describes.
This is an official Harvard Online course, featuring faculty from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Harvard Kennedy School, and delivered on Harvard Online's learning platform. IPMC International handles your registration, payment and local support, then enrols you on the course. The format is self-guided within a scheduled cohort, and the Certificate of Completion is issued by Harvard Online.
The course builds three connected sets of skills:
The programme is taught through real case studies across five modules. No mathematics or programming experience is required. To earn the Certificate of Completion from Harvard Online, participants complete all five modules and the associated assignments by the stated deadlines.
Using the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition case, expand your definition of privacy to reflect its many meanings shaped by history, culture and personal experience, and trace the long conflict between privacy norms and technological advancement.
Study the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the story of Henrietta Lacks and HeLa cells. Identify differences among privacy laws, the harms tied to data collection and use, and how data can be used in unpredictable ways.
Work through data re-identification, the EdX education-research data and U.S. Census cases. Understand the challenge of anonymising a dataset, and technical measures such as k-anonymity and differential privacy, and the difference between anonymised and de-identified data.
Examine algorithmic bias in Facebook ads, the privacy-first business of Proton, and extremism online. See how algorithms can discriminate on protected attributes, compare the economic value of privacy, and consider how personalisation creates information silos.
Study deepfakes and "birth and death" cases to characterise the unique risks deepfakes present, and predict future privacy issues along with the harms and benefits they might bring.
Michael D. Smith — The John H. Finley, Jr. Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences and a Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard, and a former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences who helped launch edX. Jim Waldo — The Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Computer Science and Chief Technology Officer of Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, who also teaches technology and policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Learners also hear from industry experts including Andy Yen (CEO of Proton), Latanya Sweeney (Director of the Data Privacy Lab in IQSS at Harvard) and Rebecca Skloot (author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks). Affiliations are listed for identification purposes only.
The course is designed for a general audience and frames privacy as an ethical, business, technological and societal concern, with no coding exercises. It is well suited to professionals across technology, financial services, health care and government, and to graduates and organisations who want a globally recognised Harvard Online credential to advance their careers or capabilities.
On successful completion you receive a digital Certificate of Completion from Harvard Online. No letter grades are assigned; participation is evaluated on a complete/incomplete basis. Once earned, you can add it to your CV and LinkedIn — for example, under LinkedIn "Licenses & Certifications" list Harvard Online as the issuing organisation and the certificate for Data Privacy and Technology as the credential.
The course fee is confirmed on enquiry and put in writing before payment.
Pay IPMC securely by debit/credit card in UAE Dirhams (UAE) or by UPI, card or net banking in Indian Rupees (India).
Yes. The course is delivered by Harvard Online and the Certificate of Completion is issued by Harvard Online.
No. There are no coding exercises and no mathematics or programming experience is required. The emphasis is on theories of privacy and thinking critically about the issue from policy, cultural and societal angles.
You complete all modules and assignments thoughtfully by the stated deadlines and contribute to discussions on the platform. You set your own pace within the cohort. No letter grades are given — your work is assessed on a complete or incomplete basis.
After the final deadline, coursework is reviewed and, once eligibility is confirmed, your certificate is delivered by email. You keep access to the materials for 60 days after the final deadline.
This course runs as a scheduled Harvard Online cohort. The next cohort starts 9 Sep 2026. Contact us to reserve your place.
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