INFORMATION FOR:

Information for new staff

Welcome to the University of Bristol. At the University you'll have access to a range of IT facilities to help you in your work. 

Computer registration

Once a new staff member is registered in the staff database (PIMS) it then takes two working days for computer registration to be active. You should then visit the IT Service Desk at the Computer Centre to collect your username and password.

To access most online services you will need to use your University username and password. Please note that your username is *not* your email address.

New staff should also receive a copy of the IT Services: staff guide (available as a PDF)

Username

The University username format is ab12345, made up of:

  • Two initials
  • Two digits for the year in which the account is created
  • Three numerical digits

Password

You will have a University password which you will use to access the majority of services. You can change your password at any time. If you forget your password, visit the IT Service Desk.

Single Sign On service

You will use your University username and password to access most services, many of which use our Single Sign On service.

About IT Services

IT Services provides support to staff and students via the IT Service Desk, 6 zonal IT support teams and Telephone Services.  In addition IT Services supports the activity of the University through the management of a robust infrastructure and systems development. We also support teaching and research  through the Advanced Computing Research Centre  and the Institute for Learning and Research Technology.

 

Note: some of the documents on this webpage are in PDF format. In order to view a PDF you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader Get Acrobat Reader

Keeping data secure requires common sense: you must take steps to protect your computer and protect yourself, but you also need to consider the data that you and your colleagues use and how you use it. The following links provide information on UoB (University of Bristol) data security and good practice:

Further information on protecting yourself online can be found on our Information Security site.

Regulations for the use of IT facilities

In addition, the University of Bristol's interactive information security tutorial is mandatory for all staff:

 

Email

University of Bristol staff and students use the Gmail service. We recommend that staff access Google services online via the Google Chrome web browser, which is available on all UoB computers. This provides the best and most integrated experience of using the full range of Google services.

You can get started with Google by logging into Gmail via the link at bristol.ac.uk/email. Once in Gmail the other Google applications can then be accessed via the toolbar shown at the top of the page.

You may find the University guide to getting started with Gmail (PDF) useful. Gmail support and FAQs can be found at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/it-services/applications/email/email-faq/

In addition to Gmail other email tools used include Sympa, our mailing list tool.

Calendar

The University uses Google Calendar which is accessible from the top menu bar when you are logged in to Gmail.

You can also login to Calendar and find support information on how to get started and FAQs at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/it-services/applications/calendar/

Before you begin using Calendar you should familiarise yourself with how to get started using the University guide to getting started with Calendar (PDF).

We want to ensure that Google calendar works for everyone and so have created five guiding principles, which should underpin usage by all staff at the University.

 

There are a range of tools and services available for use at the University. Below is an example of a few types:

MyBristol, the University portal

MyBristol  is a single point of access for information, services and resources and is an accessible way to sign in to a variety of services at the same time.  By signing in the portal identifies you and presents relevant content containing information specific to you.

An introductory video about MyBristol is available on YouTube.

Transferring large files

The Fluff (Facility for the Upload of Large Files) service is intended to allow members of the University to distribute large files to others (both within and outside the University) without transmitting the files by email.

Wireless access and eduroam

There are hundreds of wireless hotspots throughout the university. If you have a wireless laptop or other device, you will be able to use the eduroam service to connect to the network. Refer to the wireless web pages for details of how to configure your computer.

Mobile support and device clinic

IT Services provides support for mobile devices via a dedicated website and mobile device clinics.There is documentation on our website to help you set up phones and other devices to use our wireless service and receive email and Calendar.  In addition we have a community support site, AskIT, for issues related to personally owned IT equipment and software for University related activity.

Offsite access to facilities

For general advice please see the Offsite access pages and the home computer users web area. The simplest way to access your University resources is to use the Staff Remote Desktop via MyBristol.

Filestore

The University provides filestore services for research data, departmental and individual staff use. All users with UoB accounts are provided with their own MyFiles "home folder" for individual use when they join the University. MyFiles complements, not replaces some existing central and departmental storage arrangements. An example of the selection of data that you might be stored within the MyFiles system would include:   Internet downloads, personal word documents, drafts of business documents, excel files etc.  

  • Support Staff receive a minimum of 10GB of space and Academic users receive at least 20GB of space.
  • Access to this folder is available automatically from almost all computers around the University as well as remotely via the Staff & Student Remote Desktops, VPN and Portal services.

All user's personal space is accessible as drive "o:" (\\ads.bris.ac.uk\filestore\myfiles) and is treated as a home folder for Windows computer systems. You should normally expect the "o:" drive to be connected automatically at logon on most Windows computers within the University.  You can also access your personal storage folder MyFiles on a personal device or home computer. 

Research Data

If you have significant storage requirements for your research data, the University has a dedicated, central Research Data Storage Facility, Blue Peta. Details and costs are available on the Advanced Computing Research Centre website.

Business tools

There are a range of business tools available at the University. 

Proactis is the University's eProcurement software and is also used to claim staff expenses. Support and training is available in the use of Proactis as with a number of other role specific tools.  Your manager should be able to tell you if you need to use the system to requisition (request the ordering of) goods, enter your expenses or authorise expenditure from your budget. To learn the system, it is best to attend a course. Please see IT learning website for training courses. If you are exploring Proactis yourself, the best starting point is to download the leaflet Getting Started in Proactis available from our Learning resources database . To find it, select 'Proactis' under the 'Topic' heading. A 'Subtopic' heading should then appear and you should select 'All small leaflets'.

IT Service Desk

The first point of contact for any question, problem or requests related to IT services. Our dedicated team of staff (around seven people) have a broad knowledge and in many cases can deal directly with requests.

Information and contact details for the IT Service Desk can be found at www.bristol.ac.uk/it-services/contacts

IT Training

Staff can access a range of hands-on IT training and documentation covering everything from web editing to Microsoft Office and key business applications e.g. Proactis (purchasing).

Please see IT learning website for details of training courses and to search for learning resources suitable for self-study.

If you need to know more about Mulberry , Calendar, Word, Excel or PowerPoint but can't wait for a scheduled course, or if you prefer learning at your own pace but with help at hand, you might want to come to one of our regular self-paced learning courses.

Local IT support

There are 6 IT Zones covering geographical areas of the University precinct. A team of IT support staff will be based locally in each zone, ready to respond to requests from staff and students via the IT Service Desk. Details of local contacts and a map of zone coverage can be found at: http://www.bris.ac.uk/it-services/locations/zones/