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It’s hard to believe how quickly time has passed – 2023 is history, and the IT Center is looking back on a year full of remarkable events. In this post, we take a detailed look at the highlights that made the year an unforgettable chapter in the history of the IT Center.
Events and Important Collaborations
In February, the Software Technology Fair 2023 took place on-site at the IT Center, where the aspiring mathematical-technical software developers (MATSE) from the dual study program “Applied Mathematics and Computer Science” at FH Aachen presented their projects.
Next up were two outstanding events in March: firstly, the IT Center had the pleasure of hosting PPCES2023 in Berlin. Secondly, the international congress trade fair for innovative customer dialog Call Center World took place in Berlin, which was attended by IT Center employees.
In June, the first DaSi Day took place as onsite meeting at the IT Center, as well as the ACI expert meeting in Ehingen by the Danube. The “Customer Advisory Council”, or CAC for short, of Dell in Dublin also took place. Our colleague Peter Watzlawik went there on behalf of the IT Center and the Group Service and Communication.
In September, it got autumnal with the ZKI Autumn Conference in Dresden. The IT Center was not only represented there by participants, but also by the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Dr. Thomas Eifert, who gave a presentation on the development of “datensicherung.nrw“.
The IT Center was also represented at the Be Future fair for young people to provide information about the dual study course MATSE.
At SC2023, the largest international conference in the field of high-performance computing research in Denver the IT Center was also represented by six participants from the HPC group.
On November 14, around 80 people active in and interested in RDM also came together for the highly successful Research Data Day 2023.
In the midst of these events, the IT Center was also actively involved in the WestAI project. This initiative aims to promote the spread of internationally competitive AI solutions in Germany and NRW.
Changes
The year 2023 was also characterized by significant changes that had a lasting impact on the working environment and services of the IT Center at RWTH Aachen University.
The year began with a major step for the Datensicherung.nrw project with the end of the TSM backup system. Since 17.01.2023, the old TSM backup system is only available in “read only” mode. Backups are now only performed via the new Commvault backup system.
Several important changes followed in March, such as the shutdown of the IT store. The corresponding services are still available, but the ordering process has changed fundamentally. RWTHmoodle received an update with the upgrade to Moodle 4.1 and the operating system of the CLAIX high-performance computer was updated to Rocky Linux 8.7 to ensure performance and security. The renaming of RWTH Services to RWTH-E-Mail and L2P to RWTH Collaboration also reflects the continuous adaptation to the needs of users, with a clear focus on effective communication and collaboration.
The platform for research data management, Coscine, successfully went live – an important step towards efficient data management and research support. The new print service portal significantly simplified the submission of print jobs and improved usability for users.
In summer 2023, the introduction of a new key visual marked an important milestone in the area of marketing.
We said goodbye to the CAS Campus web phonebook. This was replaced by the new RWTHcontacts directory for RWTH and UKAcontacts for the Uniklinik.
Two extensions to RWTHonline (RWTH Print and RWTH DivA) optimized the platforms over the course of the year in order to meet increasing requirements.
In September, extensive maintenance work was carried out on the ticket tool, during which two upgrades were installed to implement functional innovations. These improvements help to provide users with more efficient and powerful ticket management.
At the beginning of November, the Webex platform was activated across RWTH, enabling comprehensive integration of Webex as a communication tool.
The year was rounded off with the SharePoint migration, during which the SharePoint Shared Services service of the IT Center was updated to a new version. This update ensures that users can benefit from the latest features and improvements.
Festivities
The return of in-person events made it possible to celebrate festivities such as the IT Center Christmas party, the summer party, the company excursion, the carnival party on Fat Thursday and the traditional Oktoberfest. All of these events proved to be complete successes.
Reasons to Celebrate
The year 2023 also offered many opportunities to celebrate and be proud.
Four trainees completed their training in 2023 with the grading “very good”. All four were honored by the Aachen Chamber of Industry and Commerce for their excellent results as part of the best trainee award. At the same time, the IT Center welcomed 11 new trainees in 2023. Our DiMa apprentice, Yasin Kalem, went to Malta for five weeks for an internship abroad.
In February, our omnichannel system celebrated its two-year anniversary and in March, the 1000th post was published here on the IT Center’s blog. The proud record of three years of IT Center Help also underlines the continuity and relevance of this portal.
The high appreciation for the IT Center’s commitment to a family-friendly working environment was honored in 2023 with the RWTH “Famos für Familie” award.
Of course, the IT Center also took part in in the tenth anniversary of the Aachen company run with a team of eight (in new orange team shirts). These results were also impressive.
Significant steps were taken internally, including the introduction of a new quality management system and successful initial ISO 9001 certification in the Networks department.
In 2023, we also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the VR Group.
External recognition came in the form of the Best Paper Award for Dr. Tim Weißker and Dr. Daniel Zielasko at the 29th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology. With these significant events and achievements, the year 2023 leaves a shining chapter in the success story of the IT Center at RWTH Aachen University.
With these significant events and achievements, the year 2023 leaves a shining chapter in the success story of the IT Center at RWTH Aachen University. Looking back on this fulfilling year, we look forward with hope to 2024. May the coming year be just as rich in successes, inspiring moments and shared triumphs.
Responsible for the content of this article is Stéphanie Bauens.
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