A range of IT equipment can be purchased from the University Suppliers, for example:
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Personal Computers |
Digital and Information Services works closely with the Procurement Office, to ensure that the University Supplier Agreements provide the best deals, both technically and financially.
From time to time, Digital and Information Services also offers PCs from Student Computing areas for redeployment. This is usually advertised via Staff Roundup.
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How do I Purchase IT Equipment
- Consult with the IT Service Desk, your School Computer Officer if you require any advice
- The schedule of recommended equipment specifications and pricing is available for QUB staff by logging in to Finance with your staff details, to the Procurement, Contract, and Digital and Information Systems, Technology and Comms section of the website to choose the equipment you require.
- Your School or Directorate will process your purchase order
- A few things staff should know about when buying a Windows computer for use on the University wired network:
https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/InformationServices/Student/getting-started/ The University's default recommended Windows operating system is Windows 11 Enterprise Edition.
Due to Windows 11 enhanced hardware requirements, it is recognised that Windows 10 Enterprise Edition is also supported too for the time being as a recommended operating system.
This however will only be the case until Spring 2025 as Windows 10 goes End Of Life (EOL) 14 October 2025, meaning that Windows 10 will no longer receive Microsoft cyber security updates and patches.
To avoid this cyber security risk the University is proactively upgrading existing computers to Windows 11 in advance of this date.
In essence - If your computer can run Windows 11 natively, it will do so.
Note - Should your existing computer be unable to run Windows 11 a replacement will need purchased.
There is a short learning curve to becoming familiar with W11 with Microsoft offering support at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/meetwindows11
M365 Log-in | Microsoft 365 (office.com)will be installed, laptops & Finance computers will be encrypted (Finding your BitLocker recovery key in Windows - Microsoft Support), the computer will be AD joined, OneDrive For Business (Microsoft OneDrive Cloud Storage and File Sharing | Microsoft 365) is recommended for file storage, antivirus software installed and the computer managed by Intune (What is Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn).
We recommend you bookmark IT Service Desk | Digital and Information Services | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk) for IT support.
- Recommendations for student IT equipment:
Advice on what specification of computer to use with DIS supported software for online learning including Canvas, Panopto and Microsoft Teams.
It also includes equipment recommendations, best-practice on using the software, and advice on configuration and setup.
For more general help with IT services at Queen’s University Belfast we strongly recommend you bookmark:
IT Service Desk | Information Services | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk) for general IT support
and
Student Computing | Information Services | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk) for student IT support
Recommended equipment
Hardware - Computer Specification
Either a Microsoft Windows 11 or Apple macOS laptop is generally recommended.
Tablet computers and smartphones do offer web browsers and Microsoft Teams applications, using a small screen and keyboard are generally limiting when working online and with documents for long periods.
It is generally a good idea to consider a mid-range model with adequate memory (RAM) and plenty of USB sockets.
Cheaper models tend to have poor battery life and should be avoided.
The independent review site Which (Best laptops for students 2023: Laptops for school and university - Which?) has advice on buying a student laptop.
Software
The University has two related centrally supported teaching systems that don’t require you to download any additional software and are accessed through a standard web browser using your University username and password:
- Canvas – a virtual learning environment (VLE), sometimes known as a learning management system (LMS), which is used for online course activities.
- Panopto – online lecture recordings which are accessed through Canvas.
For online teaching, conferencing calls and meetings the University centrally supports the Microsoft Teams application, again linked to your University username and password.
Although Microsoft Teams can run through a web browser the experience is much better and more reliable by downloading the standalone Teams application.
Microsoft Teams is a free download, and is available for both desktop, tablet, and phone (Mac/PC/Linux).
We recommend you bookmark IT Service Desk | Digital and Information Services | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk) for IT support
When your new computer arrives, you need to complete a QF22 form to register it and request setup by the IT Service Desk team. For details on computer setup consult the the Services tab on IT Service desk page.
Last updated: Mon 06 Nov 2023