What We Provide

User computing accounts, including email accounts, are set up and renewed automatically on the basis of status information provided by the Academic Service, Personnel Service, Departments, Schuman Centre or Max Weber Programme.

Initial account information (EUI credentials) is automatically distributed to users via email shortly before their arrival or distributed by HR Service or your Unit of affiliation upon your arrival.

See Computing Accounts menu for further information. 

It is possible to connect personally-owned devices such as laptops, tablet or smartphones to the internal network via cable or wireless connection, as well as access the EUI intranet remotely via VPN.

There are several shared network storage areas (referred to as home drive or home server) available. Your personal storage area on the file server is your G: drive. There is also a shared unit's area associated with the H: (for researchers) or S: drive to facilitate file sharing among users of the same working area.

Access to G:, H:, S: and other network areas is also possible from personally-owned laptops or PCs at home. Depending on which unit you belong to, your network area may be located on a different server.

See Network Connections for further information.

Hardware

Researchers can make use of the many desktop PCs available in public Computer Rooms throughout the Institute (see Computer & Internet Points for their location).

Administrative and academic staff are provided with a standard hardware configuration. This is renewed on average every 4 years.

New professors are supplied with the most recent desktop PC configuration in stock. Mac-based hardware of the same level can be made available upon request.

New professors should notify ther ICT of any specific software/hardware need before their arrival.

A standard mobile package including smartphone and voice/data contract is available to professors and selected administrative staff (see Mobile Services).

See Office PCs and Computer Rooms and Public Access PCs menus for further information.

Software

A standard software configuration consisting of a baseline software model is installed on all standard EUI hardware configurations. This is made available mainly to academic and administrative staff.

For researchers and fellows a configuration geared towards research-oriented applications is made available instead.

See Software Configurations and Software menu for further information.

The Institute encourages researchers and fellows to use their personally-owned devices and thus fully supports the so-called Brign Your Own Device (BYOD) philosophy.

Users are invited to seek assistance from the ICT Service in the configuration of EUI email, EUI WiFi, Network Printers, VPN and Personal or Shared Storage Area(s) (G: Drive, H: Drive, etc.) on their personally-owned devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones and can do so by referring to dedicated Portable Device Support desk. 

Portable Device Support takes care as well of distributing research software available for installation on personally-owned laptops (see Research Software Available for Personally-owned Devices section further below).

See Portable Device Support for further information.

Some of the software installed on EUI's computers is available to eligible EUI members for installation on one's personally-owned device.

The software is distributed either via Portable Device Support desk, Digital Delivery platform or directly via the software houseá webpage. Depending on the software and licensing conditions, a License Agreement Form may need to be signed first in order to obtain a valid installation key from the ICT Service.

Tutoring (assistance on the methodological use of the software) is made available through researchers hired by the ICT Service.

See Research Software for Personally-owned Devices and Research Software Tutoring for further information.

A small in-house high performance computing facility (HPC) is available to run tasks in parallel mode.

See Remote Computing menu for further information.

Full-time academic staff (professors, research project managers, etc.) can purchase one of two models of laptop (a Windows-based one and a Mac one). Purchase of non-standard laptops or other computing platforms is allowed if justified by research needs.

Laptops purchased with research funds are treated in the same way as personal laptops (see Personal Laptop Use Policy), but the initial software configuration is carried out by the ICT Service.

Purchase of peripherals (e.g. external hard disk, USB pendrive, webcam, etc.) and software products for research other than the standard equipment made available by the ICT Service are bought at the user's expense, i.e. from any non-ICT Service funding source (lumpsum, préstation hors contract, etc.).

For professors, software for research other than the standard one made available by the ICT Service, can be procured by billing the research funds in the same way as for hardware.

See ICT Procurement menu for further information.

Critical equipment is mirrored (i.e. the data which is processed is duplicated and stored) in order to avoid bottlenecks.

Remote checks are run 24 hours a day to detect faults automatically and inform the ICT Service. The ICT Service support companies extend the intervention late into the evening on workdays, during weekends and during official EUI closures.

The following systems are classified as critical:

• Email system (including Webmail access);
• Web (CMS - Content Management System);
• Institute network infrastructure;
• Internet connectivity and VPN service;
• Library Catalogue, CADMUS, e-resources (e.g. JSTOR, ECCO, EconLit);
• Users' home drives (personal storage area such as the G: drive, etc.)

Support to the ICT infrastructure (e.g. network, EUI desktop PCs and laptops, etc.) is provided by the ICT User Support. For assistance with personally-owned laptops see Personally-owned devices above.

Users must always initiate their requests for support, maintenance, software configuration/installation, etc. by addressing the EUI Helpdesk for a ticket to be assigned to the relevant ICT User Support office.

EUI Helpdesk's client call database handles user requests and guarantees that they are addressed in a timely fashion and followed up until they are resolved.

The priority level of the problem is evaluated by the ICT User Support.

On average, support requests are treated and solved within the day but may vary according to the priority of the support request (blocking problem/non-blocking problem, change request, etc.).

If the request cannot be fulfilled within the day, e.g. the call is processed by other groups outside the ICT User Support area, the user is notified of the estimated resolution time.  

The EUI Helpdesk can as well be addressed for questions, consulting and mentoring on computing-related matters.

See EUI Helpdesk and ICT User Support menu for further information.