Working from home

Whether you are a student or member of University staff, many of our systems, software and services are available to access from offsite.

Useful links: #

When working off-campus for the first time, here are some useful links to University systems: University Links

Support for using our systems off-campus #

Staying Safe and Cyber Security #

Please be aware that laptops, tablets and mobiles are targetted by thieves, consequently you should firstly stay safe – no device is worth risking a confrontation.

When working at home, it is important to ensure that the area you work in is secure, with suitable lighting and furniture, (please see the cyber security, and workstation guidelines).

Be aware of your surroundings, fully power off, and lock away devices when they are not in use.

Please note, it is important that you should not allow anyone else access to the device.

If anything goes wrong, or you have any doubts that your device or home WiFI etc has been compromised, please contact SIZ immediately for help in containing any risks.

Accessing University systems from a personal device or a university Mac #

All of the below can be accessed on a personal device or a university issued Apple Mac by using remote access:

H Drive documents
S Drive documents
Open Access PC (virtual desktop)
University software (Microsoft Project, Visio, Maya 2019, Supportworks client, etc)

Please note that The University applies security controls to protect your, and other peoples information. Personal devices which do not meet the University’s security standards will not be allowed to connect to University services and information.

Using a University device off-campus #

Before you take a University laptop home, please make sure you have read this online guide: Using a University Windows Laptop off campus

It is essential that you protect the device, and work in such a way as that your access cannot be seen (over the shoulder), or otherwise compromised.

You should ensure that the environment that you are working in is physically safe and secure.

You should set a lock-on-leave function if possible. See Bluetooth and Camera based facilities that can enable this

Additional support #

If you need to access any other University systems or software, please contact us via Supportme.

Learning and Teaching Online

Which Software do I use? #

Here is a quick guide to the software you can use for different tasks if you are not using your usual university computer:

I want to use my email and Calendar

If you are not using your normal university computer then you can still use your email online, this can be accessed from the Staff Intranet, Moodle or by going to mail.chi.ac.uk

I want to access My S:Drive or H:Drive

This can be done through the RemoteApp, instructions on setting this up on a non university computer can be found here: Microsoft Remote App

I want to use Microsoft Office (Word, excel PowerPoint etc) and it isn’t installed on my personal machine

You can install Microsoft Office on 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets (Windows, iPad, and Android), and 5 phones. This is full Microsoft Office on the PC, Mac, iPhone / iPod Touch, and Android platform and all are available for offline use. You will be able to use this software on your personal devices as long as you are an employee or a student of the University.

Installation instructions can be found here: Microsoft Office for students and staff

I want to hold a Meeting

You can hold a meeting through MS Teams. To set up the meeting first create it through your calendar, this sends all attendees a link to access your meeting.

More information: Setting up a Teams Meeting

It is a good idea to send your participants instructions prior to the meeting, this page could be shared in the calendar invite: Joining a Teams Meeting