Tech News - September 2022

Welcome to the September issue of Tech News.

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UoW eWaste Day is Next Month - 14 October!

The University of Waikato will be participating in the fifth annual International E-Waste Day event.  On the 14th of October collection points for sustainable eWaste disposal will be operating on both campuses.  We are inviting our staff to identify and collect unused or redundant technology in your workplace, and deliver it to our friendly PB Tech and University of Waikato teams for secure and responsible recycling and disposal.

Collection Points will be open between 10am and 3pm on both Hamilton and Tauranga campuses.

Watch out for the launch and all the details in the next week or so!

ICT Services - what’s new and what’s changed

Printing - changes are coming
The University’s contract for Printing Services is due for renewal in December 2022. This presented an opportunity to analyse usage data, review current charging and recharging models and associated business processes. It also allows us to ensure better alignment with the University’s sustainability goals.

Following the review process it was determined that printer usage by both staff and students has declined significantly, and that the charging/recharging process needs to be simplified. As a result the following changes to the University’s Printing Service are planned.

• The current printer (MFD) fleet will be reduced by 60+ printers across the University Campuses and Satellite sites,
• Where practical there will be one printer per floor,
• Co-located computer labs will share a printer provided in a communal and accessible space,
• Staff printing charges will be per device, at a Divisional level, rather than per page at a Departmental level (excessive printing will still be monitored),
• Students will no longer be charged for printing, receiving instead a capped allocation, and a business process will be implemented to top-up once allocation is used,
• Paper will continue to be a devolved cost,
• Toner and waste cartridge replacements are included in the device fee.

As part of the renewal, the remaining MFD Printers will be replaced with a new model. This will cause some disruption as old printers are removed and the new printers installed. Further details and confirmation of the timeline and process changes will be shared soon.

Any questions or concerns relating to this service change can be directed to the Project Manager, Felicia Goudie: felicia.goudie@waikato.ac.nz.

Qualtrics Improvement
Some changes have been made to the University's instance of Qualtrics to allow the sending of survey invites, and follow-up communications from username@survey.waikato.ac.nz. This should address the issue of email from Qualtrics being marked as spam.

The Qualtrics self help page has been updated with this information, and there is also a helpful guide on how to set the default from address in Qualtrics.

Zoom new feature - Whiteboard collaboration anytime!
Zoom has enabled their Whiteboard feature for use anywhere, anytime!  Even when you are not in a zoom meeting.  Virtual whiteboard features like touch support, extendable canvas, adding images, and templates make presenting and teaching a lot easier.  Note: Collaboration and Sharing require you to have the person in your Zoom Personal Contacts before you can share with them. See these instructions for adding names to your Zoom Personal Contacts.

The New Network is coming!
The Network Modernisation project successfully deployed and piloted the new Campus Network solution in ITS in June 2022. From September 2022 the project team will begin the rollout of the new network to the wider University, starting with G Block and the FG Tower. The build phase, both wired and wireless, for this area was completed in July, and trialed with a selected group of users over August.

Current status in G Block:
- All Access controllers and Printers migrated to Arist
- Approximately 55 users on New WiFi
- 12 Wired trial users
- AV equipment in G3.33, G1.15 and GB.04 have been migrated

Current status in FG:
- All Access controllers and Printers migrated to Arista
- WiFi on Arista

What’s next (from 1st September)
For G Block:
- Migrate everyone to Arista WiFi
- Work with staff and migrate more wired connections across in batches
- Start designing a solution for WAND requirements

For C, D, E, and F Blocks:
- Complete physical infrastructure upgrades
- Gather requirements from staff and students

Upcoming ICT Training

This list is subject to change, for the most up-to-date information please view the Professional Development page which has the calendar and registration form. If you have any questions or would like a specific course developed, please email its.training@waikato.ac.nz or contact the Service Desk.

Kuhukuhu Improvements

Access Control Request is now called Campus Access Control. The request form has been redesigned and can be used to request everything to do with building and space access, including asking for the installation of access control.

Planned Maintenance