Dynamic Working

IT essentials

Dynamic Working describes working arrangements in which the working location and to some degree the working pattern that staff operate under are flexible from week to week. The Information below is a guide to help set up and access the tools you will need.

Full guidance on Dynamic Working arrangements and IT equipment, please see the link below. 

Provision of IT equipment

Home set up

  1. Make sure your are registered for Multi-Factor Authentication (DUO).
  2. Set up the VPN. This service allows secure access to University online services from off campus.
  3. Make sure you have Microsoft Teams set up and installed for communication and file storage.
VPN instructions Managed Staff Devices Microsoft Teams DUO

University managed device

Applying updates

When remote working it is important that we keep our devices up-to-date and secure. This process requires regular restarts and and connecting to the University network via the VPN service (Virtual Private Network).

Applying updates guidance

Communication tools

In these exceptional circumstances, lots of different communication tools are now available to staff depending on your preference.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is the recommended tool for calls (internal), video conference calls and online meetings.

Cisco Jabber - (Soon to be replaced by MS Teams Phone)

Cisco Jabber supports everything you need for standard telephone and video conference calls.

Please note: IT Services does not support the use of Zoom, Google Meets, or any other video conferencing system not featured in the list above. Use of these tools is not recommended for conducting University business, for support, data protection, and security reasons.

Microsoft Teams

Staying safe online

Given the extremely high level of criminal activity and the risks inherent to remote working, it is more important than ever that we all exercise caution in order to protect our own personal information and prevent University systems from being compromised.

This means remembering a few key points:

Secure yourself

  • Always be alert for phishing or scam emails that ask for passwords or other personal information
  • Never open email attachments unless you know and trust the source
  • Don't use your personal email for University business, as we cannot guarantee its security and confidentiality

Secure your data

  • Create strong passwords for your University and personal accounts to keep them secure
  • If you have downloaded University data onto a personal device or your own cloud storage, please delete that data when you no longer need it
  • Share files securely with your O365 account. This should be used as the default solution for any of your file storage and collaboration needs

Secure your devices

If you are using...

  • A University owned device on the staff desktop managed service, it is important to run regular updates. Please refer to guidance below for applying updates off campus
  • a personal devices to work remotely or access University systems, always ensure that the software you are using is up to date - this applies to phones and tablets, as well as PCs and Macs. Please refer to guidance below for applying updates
  • Your own computer, ensure you have anti-virus software installed on it; advice on how you can do this for free is available here

Lock it away where possible. To avoid loss or theft of personal data, put print outs and devices away at the end of the working day if possible.

Digital Security