Kategorie: ‘Insight IT Center’
The RWTH IT Center at the 12th Aachen Company Run
Source: Own illustration
The IT Center of RWTH Aachen University was once again represented at this year’s event. On Friday 19 September 2025, a total of 7,523 runners from 518 companies took part in the race. As usual, the sporting event took place around Pascalstraße in Aachen-Oberforstbach.
Careers at the IT Center: Your Opportunities and Prospects
Source: Own illustration
The IT Center is the central IT facility at RWTH Aachen University and plays a key role within the university. It offers a wide range of career opportunities. In addition to positions in information technology, there are opportunities in administration. This article provides insight into what makes the IT Center stand out as an employer, the qualifications we seek in entry-level candidates, and the advantages of working for us.
RWTH Adminrunde: Secure exchange – Mailing list
Source: Own Illustration
Central IT provision only works with good communication and by exchanging information with local IT managers at the institutions – and this is exactly what the RWTH Admin Round Table is for. For over 14 years, it has provided a platform for administrators and IT enthusiasts to exchange information on current university-related IT topics throughout RWTH. The round table is organised by a dedicated team of five from various institutions and the IT Center.
Technical Background to the X-Win Conversion
Source: Own Illustration
On June 10, 2025, we successfully converted RWTH’s network connection to the German science network (X-WiN) to a new generation of routers. You can also read more information in the blog post. These important components of the network infrastructure were replaced with more powerful and energy-efficient devices. In this article, we take a look behind the scenes of the technical changeover: Why was it necessary? What was replaced? How did the complex conversion actually work?
Team UX at the IT Center
Source: Own Illustration
In this series, the IT Center’s UX team reports on its work. When developing interactive systems such as websites and apps, not only HTML, CSS and JavaScript play a decisive role, but also usability and user experience. Put simply, this refers to the question of whether a system supports its users in achieving their goals effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily and what perceptions and reactions result from using a system.
At the IT Center, we also focus on the usability and user experience of our systems. User tests such as the annual satisfaction survey on the RWTHapp are a key tool that we use for this. You can find this year’s results here.
New Root Certificate for eduroam & RWTH-Institutes
Source: Own Illustration
On September 9, 2025, the root certificate for the RADIUS server of eduroam and RWTH-institutes will be changed to the new DFN Community Root CA 2022 as part of a regular security measure. From this point on, only the new certificate will work – it will no longer be possible to use the old one. To ensure that you remain connected securely and without problems after September 9, you should update your WLAN configuration in good time.
Ask Better, Answer Better: Prompt Engineering with RWTHgpt
Source: Own Illustration
Since the introduction of RWTHgpt at RWTH Aachen University, many people have been asking themselves: How can I use RWTHgpt – and how do I ask the right questions? Because if you want good answers, you have to ask good questions. This is exactly where prompt engineering comes in: the targeted formulation of inputs (prompts) in order to obtain the most helpful, relevant and high-quality results possible from the AI model.
AI Explained Simply: Overview of the Most Important Terms
Source: Own illustration
Artificial intelligence (AI) has long been part of our everyday lives. It assists with translating, helps with online searches or answers questions in the form of chatbots.
You can find more information about AI in this blog under the tag KI.
But what exactly is AI and how does it work? To better understand this, we asked RWTHgpt, our AI-supported chatbot. Who, if not him, could better explain how AI works? In the following graphic, RWTHgpt describes itself:
Change Management in IT: Planning and Implementation Using the Example of the X-WiN Routing Switch
Source: Own Illustration
IT systems are never really “finished”: no sooner has a change been successfully implemented than the software has to be updated or hardware replaced elsewhere. These changes keep us on our toes in the IT Center, but they also pose a challenge in terms of organisation. In this blog post, we take you behind the scenes of change management and use the example of the X-WiN routing switch to show you how we plan such a change in advance.
Cheers to Summer – And to the IT Center!
Source: Own Illustration
Sunshine, barbecue aromas, and lots of good cheer – on July 11, 2025, the IT Center held its annual summer party. And this time, the weather gods were smiling on us: instead of continuous rain like last year, employees were able to enjoy a dry summer party and were even rewarded with a few rays of sunshine.
