Universität Bonn

University IT and Data Center

Introducing multi-factor authentication1
As announced in the circular on 24.07.25, the University of Bonn works actively to heighten cybersecurity for our electronic services. As announced in the fall of 2024, the University will be introducing multi-factor authentication (MFA) when logging in via Uni-ID, among other measures. The MFA rollout is being coordinated within the framework of a DiCe project, and has been agreed with the central committees and bodies. All University employees will receive a Yubikey security key as second factor in a phased rollout process. Students are not affected by the change at this time. Why use MFA? The Uni-ID is used as access credential for a wide range of electronic services which in many cases involve the accessing of personal data or sensitive IT infrastructure processes. For certain services, password-only security is insufficient, as passwords are often reused and easily stolen and crackable. MFA is also an important criterion for fulfilling requirements under the BSI-Grundschutz basic security standard, which all universities in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia have agreed to uphold.  Instructions and support For help see the University IT documentation on Confluence or contact the University IT MFA support desk by email at mfa-support@uni-bonn.de for assistance on any issues concerning multi-factor authentication for Uni-ID login. The available instructions and support will ensure that you can get back to work as quickly as possible after encountering any problems, such as a lost or broken Yubikey occurring on a business trip. What do you have to do? The use of security keys (Yubikeys) is mandatory for all employees. A hardware security key was chosen because it offers greater security than software-based solutions, due to being physically separate from the user device. These keys protect against phishing attacks and allow secure storage of sensitive data.  Depending on your organizational unit, you will receive your personal Yubikey either from University IT directly or from a local distribution point. You will be informed by email to your University of Bonn email address of your distribution point and when your Yubikey is available for pickup.  The key can be used on any user device. We recommend carrying it on your work keychain so you have it with you at all times. Please make sure to not leave your Yubikey anywhere unattended. Upon ending employment at the University of Bonn, the Yubikey must be returned to the distribution point.
Changes to the e-mail system2
The University of Bonn's central e-mail system, operated by the University IT and Data Centre, has been undergoing a complete overhaul for several months. A new email system was set up at the same time. All users of the central email system are now being gradually migrated to the new email system. New Uni-ID users (students and employees) will be created directly in the new email system from noon on 28.05.2025. Update (17.06.25): Employees' e-mail accounts are not expected to be migrated to the new system until 23.06.25 (instead of 16.06. as planned). The new email system has the following new features: (Updated on 07.07.25) The previous size of your old mailbox will initially be retained. Once the migration phase is complete, the default mailbox size will be adjusted. (Updated on 02.07.25) If your mailbox is 85% full, a warning will appear A new webmail interface (https://email.uni-bonn.de/SOGo/so/login?language=English) Uni-ID mailboxes and subdomain mailboxes will be merged. This means that all emails are available in a standardised way via one mailbox Focus on IMAP and discontinuation of MAPI support Improvements in the area of IT security. Who is affected? All members of the university are automatically provided with an e-mail inbox on the central e-mail server, which will be migrated to the new system. The pilot phase with test users began in May, and HRZ colleagues have already tested the new system. Following the successful completion of this test phase, it is now the next group's turn: the students' email accounts will be migrated to the new email system from 2 June 2025. If there are no technical delays, the migration of employees' email accounts is then planned from 23 June 2025, which is expected to take four weeks. From September, it will be the alumni's turn.In addition, there may have been separate subdomain email accounts at individual institutes, which are also located on the central email system. Their migration will take place in consultation with the IT administrator of the institute after all Uni-ID mailboxes have been moved.As soon as your email account is scheduled for a specific migration date, you will be informed of the specific date by email at least three days in advance. The next steps will be explained to you in this e-mail. Your e-mail account will be blocked during the migration. Depending on the size and complexity of your mailbox, the migration can take from a few seconds to (in individual cases) 2 hours. Incoming emails are stored temporarily and are not lost. What should email users do in advance? We recommend that email users back up their out-of-office notifications, any email rules, signatures and calendars from the web interface of the old email system before the day of the move so that they can be restored in the new system. Detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of this website.You can save your personal link to the migration status in your browser bookmarks, as you will not have access to your mailbox on the email server during the migration. As soon as the migration is complete, you can log in to the new e-mail system at https://email.uni-bonn.de.You may then need to customise your email client (see instructions below).
Onboarding day for new IT administrators3
The IT structures of the University of Bonn are characterised by a decentralised IT. In addition to the central IT service providers HRZ (academic institutions) and Department 2 (administration), which provide many IT services (network, VMs, user ID, etc.), the work in the institutes and faculties is the responsibility of the decentralised administrators. With the IT Admin Welcome Day, we offer new administrators the opportunity to create sufficient clarity about roles, mutual requirements and perspectives in this network. We invite you to an information event at the HRZ for the first time on 11 September from 10:00 - 16:00. You can register here. HRZ-Café The HRZ Café is one of several exchange rounds organised by the HRZ. It was founded by Martin Ragg, Deputy Director of the HRZ, back in 2014. In its current form, it recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. It provides an opportunity for university-wide open dialogue between the IT administrators of the institutes and the HRZ on all current IT matters, innovations and challenges that the field of work entails. ‘In this way, we create synergies and ensure that all admins who organise IT in their institutes on a decentralised basis are also informed about all important matters, can discuss them with other admins and clarify questions,’ emphasises Martin Ragg. ‘Networking with each other is also a key element, as it is often helpful to know who to contact about certain HRZ services.’ Collegial cooperation, the spirit of the HRZ, is also at the forefront here.
Online-training courses on the new webmail system4
The University of Bonn's central e-mail system operated by the University Computer and Data Centre is currently being migrated to a new e-mail system. To help you find your way around the new webmail environment, we are offering online training courses. Here we will go into more detail on questions such as the difference between user name and e-mail address, how to set up an alias address, how to set up absence notifications and how to mark e-mails. The training sessions last approx. 1.5 hours and offer space for your questions. The next two dates will take place on Wednesday, 16 July 2025 from 13:00 - 14:30 and Monday, 21 July 2025 09:30 - 11:00. Further dates will be added. Registration takes place via eCampus.
HRZ company trip 20255
On Tuesday, 01 July 2025, our annual company trip will take place, so the availability of several HRZ employees will be limited. Hence, there might be some delays in ticket processing or telephone availability. On this day, the IT-Helpdesk will only be open until 4:00 p.m.: IT Helpdesk - the central contact point for members of the UniversityPlaza on the ground floor (room 0.008a) Regular opening hours: Monday to Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.Tel.: 0228 / 73-2751E-mail: info-hrz@uni-bonn.de
Apprentice exchange at the HRZ6
Since Monday, our trainee Paloma has been hosting two trainee IT specialists from other University IT and Data Centres. Lukas from Heidelberg and Julian from Düsseldorf are spending a week getting to know the training and tasks of the HRZ. In return, Paloma will visit the computer centres of Heidelberg University and Düsseldorf University for a week each.Alexander, our second apprentice in his 2nd year, is also taking part in the exchange with a group. This group will start in June with the Suderburg and Mannheim computer centres. The trainees themselves are largely responsible for organising and setting the agenda, including an evening programme. The aim of the exchange is to promote independence and to reflect on one's own working methods. The exchange also promotes social skills. The trainees learn to apply their knowledge in an environment that is foreign to them and at the same time receive new learning impulses. The trainees see this opportunity as a great chance and are highly motivated and committed to the exchange. The project promotes innovation and networking and enables all participants to ‘think outside the box’. The exchange is organised by the ZKI e.V. Training Working Group. The pilot project was launched in 2017 with the Regensburg, Würzburg and Heidelberg IT and Data Centres and has been running successfully ever since.
Migration from Sciebo to Nextcloud7
The cloud service Sciebo will be unavailable from 03 - 04 June 25 due to an urgently required software change of the operator of the University of Münster from Owncloud to Nextcloud.  You will not be able to access your Sciebo data during this upgrade. If you need files from your Sciebo Cloud during this time, we recommend downloading and saving them locally on your PC. You do not need to do anything else. All links will still work after the changeover. New tools and setting options will also be available following the successful changeover. We will keep you informed about this on this website.
Participation of the HRZ at the Bergfest 20258
Under the motto "Celebrate what you've achieved and power up for what's left" the Bergfest takes place in the botanical garden in Poppelsdorf for the third time. On Thursday, June 5 starting at 2 p.m., students can visit the different service and advice stations of the uni, reflext on their study situation and gain new skills at the empowerment stations. Once again the University IT and Data Center is represented with a booth and advises students regarding all IT-services that might be relevant during their studies: students can inform themselves about particularly recent subjects such as AI and HPC but also about data security using the cloud service Sciebo. Of course there is also an interactive element: During a quiz students will have the chance to learn fun facts about the HRZ and win a newly designed HRZ bag or a sustainable ball point pen for the next exam. 
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