Source: Alexander Müller
As the central IT institution of RWTH Aachen University, the IT Center makes a significant contribution to the effective, efficient, and secure operation of the university’s IT infrastructure. As an integral part of a technical university with a focus on teaching, research and infrastructure, our primary goal is to develop IT service management processes that are adapted to the specific requirements and needs of RWTH Aachen University. In this context, the university development plan also plays an important role for the IT Center, as it not only forms the basis for RWTH’s strategic development planning, but also significantly influences the direction and further development of the IT Center.
Personnel Development and Talent Management
Personnel development and the individual advancement of employees is a core task at RWTH. Like RWTH, we also pursue the goal of supporting all employees proactively, holistically, and systematically in their professional development, considering their individual life situation and potential.
The IT Center is an attractive workplace that promotes open and respectful interaction with one another. We attach particular importance to ensuring that many opinions are heard and that the different perspectives and experiences of our employees are valued. It is particularly important to us to give our employees the opportunity to develop their own ideas and potential. We promote an inclusive and open working and management culture that offers scope for personal development. To ensure this, we offer our employees extensive further training opportunities both within and outside RWTH, work continuously to improve internal networking and foster a constructive feedback culture in which everyone has their say.
Cooperation and Projects
As part of its development concept, RWTH points out that complex challenges can only be mastered sustainably in close cooperation between university and non-university research institutions. As a leading information technology institution in the university landscape, we are actively promoting these efforts. Our cooperation and memberships include, for example, participation in various RWTH committees as well as in committees at state (DH.NRW) and national level (DFN, TU9, ZKI, Gauß-Allianz e.V., NHR e.V., NFDI). The IT Center is also involved in several third-party funded projects. The continuous increase in efficiency is always the focus of our efforts.
We also offer a wide range of high-quality cooperative services throughout the country. Through our consortium leadership, we take on a role of responsibility and contribute our expertise at a national level.
Digitalization
The topic of digitalization also occupies a very special place in the university development plan, as it plays a decisive role in many areas.
As RWTH’s central IT facility, the IT Center plays a key role in securing and guaranteeing digital sovereignty. To ensure this, the IT Center offers a wide range of services that are specifically tailored to the needs of the university. These range from various services for studying and teaching to supporting research projects, providing a stable basic IT infrastructure, and ensuring IT security. In addition, the IT Center provides services such as Gigamove and Sciebo, which make collaboration much easier, provides servers and hosting solutions, handles procurement processes, and also offers high-quality, customer-oriented IT support for all these services. With this holistic service orientation, the IT Center supports the university in efficiently designing its digital processes and meeting the requirements of studies, research, and administration.
Equality and Diversity
Equal rights, equal opportunities and the appreciation of diversity are fundamental principles of the university culture at RWTH. In line with the university development plan, the IT Center has long been actively committed to recognition, equal rights, equal opportunities, and the appreciation of individuality.
The IT Center stands for diversity, equal treatment and actively promotes the compatibility of family and career. This commitment to family friendliness was even recognized this year by the university with the “Famos for Family” award. It is equally important to create a working environment that includes and supports people with disabilities or chronic illnesses. Our former trainee Tim Böttcher reported on his experiences as a trainee with a disability at the IT Center in a blog post.
The digitalization and the integration of digital technologies are opening opportunities to further reduce barriers for people with different backgrounds and needs.
Sustainability
RWTH has set itself the goal of promoting development that meets the needs of today’s generation. At the same time, however, the opportunities for future generations to satisfy their own needs should also be safeguarded. Together with RWTH, the IT Center is striving to reduce the consumption of resources and energy by developing sustainable alternatives that are as fair as possible. In doing so, we focus on the targeted, sustainable, and transparent use of resources in the IT Center’s technology, structure, and internal organization. Regular reviews of our structures and internal organization ensure that they meet requirements and are updated as necessary.
Claix2018 is a concrete example of this. When it was commissioned, it was ranked 92nd in the TOP500, which lists the world’s fastest high-performance computers. In addition, the supercomputer even achieved 51st place in the Green500 ranking, a ranking of the world’s most energy-efficient supercomputers.
Mainframes consume a lot of energy, most of which must be converted into heat and dissipated. For this high-performance computer, the IT Center uses a combination of hot water cooling and free recooling to improve the efficiency of the mainframe and reduce energy consumption. The CLAIX2018 thus set a pioneering standard for the national university landscape when it was commissioned.
In summary, it can be said that the university development plan of RWTH plays a central role in the orientation and continuous further development of the IT Center. As a central university institution, we strive to meet the expectations and needs of the university and at the same time provide innovative solutions. The role of the IT Center goes far beyond the provision of services or the simple implementation of a plan. Rather, it involves actively shaping the plan, contributing pioneering ideas and successfully implementing them to make a significant contribution to shaping the future of the university.
Responsible for the content of this article is Stéphanie Bauens.
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