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RWTHgpt: Image generation is finally available!

August 24th, 2026 | by
Illustration of a laptop featuring the RWTHgpt logo, along with art supplies and splashes of color.

Source: Own illustration

Good news for everyone who uses RWTHgpt: RWTH’s generative AI service now also supports the creation of images. This means that students, faculty, and administrative staff can now not only generate text but also create and refine their own graphic content directly in RWTHgpt.

Whether it’s illustrations for courses, visualizations for presentations, learning materials, concept sketches, or creative graphics for projects: The new image generation models support a wide range of tasks in academic studies, research, and day-to-day work at RWTH.

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A Journey Through IT History II – From Floppy Disks to Cloud Storage

August 19th, 2026 | by
Picotograms of a floppy disk, CD, USB flash drive, and a cloud against an orange background

Source: Own Illustration

Welcome to the second part of our journey through IT history! This time, we’ll delve into the world of storage media and trace their evolution from 1.44 megabytes (MB) in a rectangular plastic case to the seemingly unlimited capacities of the cloud.

 

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Activity Spotlight: The Test

August 17th, 2026 | by
Laptop with a graduation cap, speech bubble: "Tests in RWTHmoodle"

Source: own illustration

Moodle offers a wide variety of activities to support students in their learning. The “Test” is one of the most frequently used activities in RWTHmoodle. It allows you to create online quizzes with various question types—from multiple-choice and matching questions to math problems. Tests are particularly useful for ongoing assessment of learning progress and self-assessment throughout the semester.

In this post, we’ll introduce you to the most important features of the Test activity and show you the options available for creating quiz questions.

 

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Less Scrolling – Use Social Media Wisely!

August 14th, 2026 | by
Illustration of a smartphone with a clock icon, alongside icons for chat, ideas, and documents on a blue background.

Source: Own Illustration

We all use them and can’t get enough of them. We’re talking about social media channels, of course. They accompany us through our everyday lives, offering inspiration and fun breaks. However, we are also familiar with situations where we open a channel out of habit and then frown as we look at our screen time. So here are a few tips on how to reestablish a more conscious approach to social media channels.

 

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git.nrw – Now Available to All DH.NRW Universities

August 11th, 2026 | by
“News at git.nrw” on a yellow background with confetti and the git.nrw logo

Source: own illustration

We have a reason to celebrate! git.nrw, the central GitLab instance for the universities in the Digital University of North Rhine-Westphalia (DH.NRW), has been available to all DH.NRW universities since August 1, 2026.

In this blog post, we’ll give you an overview of the development of git.nrw, from its inception to where it stands today.

 

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RWTHapp: Your Certificate of Enrollment Now Available Directly in the App

August 7th, 2026 | by
A smartphone whose screen prints out a certificate of enrollment

Source: Own illustration

Whether for BAföG, a part-time job, student housing, or other organizational matters: For many students, the certificate of enrollment is one of the documents they need on a regular basis. With the latest update to the RWTHapp, you can now access your certificate of enrollment directly in the app. This means a frequently requested feature is now conveniently available on your smartphone.

 

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From AI to IPv6: ACI User Group 2026

August 5th, 2026 | by
BMW Visitor Pavilion

Source: Own illustration

Once a year, the ACI User Group brings together experts from academia and industry to discuss the latest developments in modern data center networks. This year, the meeting took place June 23–24, 2026, at BMW in Dingolfing, Bavaria. A total of 40 participants from various sectors—including service providers, banks, automotive manufacturers, and the IT Center at RWTH Aachen University – exchanged views on current challenges and future developments in the operation of complex IT infrastructures.

The IT Center also plays an active role in shaping the User Group: Our colleague Benedikt Paffen, as a user representative in the Cisco environment, was involved early in the conceptual planning and further development of the event, contributing the users’ perspective.

Key topics included high-performance networks for AI applications, IPv6 integration, compliance management, monitoring, increasing security requirements, and the future of virtualization. The annual event provides a platform for exchanging experiences, evaluating new technologies, and jointly discussing solutions for the further development of modern data center environments.

 

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SysAdmin Day 2026: A Quick Peek Behind the Scenes

July 31st, 2026 | by
Illustration zum Thema SysAdmin Day mit einer Person vor einem Computer, umgeben von diversen Symbolen aus dem Bereich IT.

Source: Own illustration

Today, July 31, marks another SysAdmin Day, a day on which we’d like to thank system administrators for their important work. From workstations to servers, networks, and applications, sysadmins ensure that everything runs smoothly every day and often solve problems before anyone even notices them. Our colleague Peter took a lighthearted look at the daily work of an IT admin. Was it satire and what is reality? Much of what he describes is actually closer to everyday work life than we’d sometimes like to admit.

 

 

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IDM.nrw Office Officially Launched

July 29th, 2026 | by
Stefan Drees (MKW), Aylin Gündogan (RWTH), Matthias Müller (RWTH)

Stefan Drees (MKW), Aylin Gündogan (RWTH), Matthias Müller (RWTH)
Source: Own illustration

As research, teaching, and administration become increasingly digital, the importance of secure, cross-institutional identity management continues to grow. Researchers, students, and staff expect seamless and secure access to digital services—regardless of the university or research institution they belong to. Federated identity management provides the foundation for making this possible.

To sustainably support higher education institutions across North Rhine-Westphalia and to coordinate the further development of shared identity infrastructures, the IDM.nrw Office has been established.

The office was officially inaugurated during a launch event held at the IT Center of RWTH Aachen University on 20 May 2026. Representatives from universities across North Rhine-Westphalia, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the DFN Association, and numerous partners from the research and higher education community joined the event to mark this important milestone. Read the rest of this entry »

Coscine Login: Single Sign-On Will Be Discontinued

July 27th, 2026 | by
Laptop with a login screen, a warning icon, and the SSO logo crossed out; the Coscine logo is in the lower right corner.

Source: Own illustration

In the coming weeks, the Coscine login process will change: The current Single Sign-On (SSO) will be disabled. After that, the only login options available will be “Login (All Institutions)” and “ORCID.”

For many users, this will not change anything. However, if you have multiple Coscine accounts or have previously logged in exclusively via Single Sign-On, you should take action now.

 

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