Pilots

Nextcloud is an online, privacy-friendly collaboration platform that is being used in pilot groups within Utrecht University. SURF supports the SURFworks/Nextcloud platform within the participating organisations. With Nextcloud, participants can store and share files, and edit documents collaboratively. The platform also offers features for online collaboration, such as chat and video calls, project and task management, and the creation of forms and simple diagrams. SURFWorks/Nextcloud can be accessed via a web browser and mobile apps, meaning users are not tied to any specific device or operating system. 

All data is stored within the SURF infrastructure and is therefore subject to Dutch and European legislation and regulations. This ensures that control over data remains within Europe. This is in line with what the University of Utrecht (UU) aims to explore as part of its Digital Autonomy initiative.

Explore what it would mean to (once again) host an in-house mail server as an alternative to Microsoft Exchange Online. This could potentially serve as a digital contingency solution for scenarios in which the current environment is unavailable. The investigation will consider whether the necessary expertise is available in-house, whether backups from Exchange Online can be easily imported into an alternative email environment, and whether the solution is scalable. It will also address whether Exchange Online could be fully replaced. These and other questions are intended to be answered through this pilot.

Explore whether we can deploy Fairphones with /e/OS (an open-source, “de-Googled” Android operating system developed in France) as an alternative to the current Apple iPhone and Google Android smartphones. In addition, for Mobile Application Management, we will investigate whether European or open-source alternatives are available for the Microsoft Intune environment currently in use.

Conduct a quick scan to explore what it would mean for ITS to offer a Linux workstation as a service for an IT-savvy user group, both technically and organisationally. What environments, tools, and related components would need to be implemented? What implications would this have for management, both technical and functional? What further steps would be required, for example in terms of documentation and user guides? Experiences from other universities and faculties within Utrecht University will also be gathered. Deliverable: a quick scan report.

Explore how we can reduce our dependence on best-of-breed systems such as Osiris, as well as SAP or Pure, by adopting a modular architecture. This means that components (for example, student enrolment) may be developed in-house (potentially at sector level) or replaced with alternative solutions.