The LIW Knowledge Exchange

If you do not have broadband connection then you may be issued with a Vodafone dongle which plugs into a usb port on your computer and will allow you to access the internet where ever you are.

Your phone should be preconfigured for you but in case you need to know what the settings should be here is a link to an ITS page explaining the configuration of Smart phones.

You can make free calls to the University by using Skype, all you need is an Internet connection, a microphone, some speakers and a Skype account.  The Skype account is free and will allow you to make free calls between you and another Skype user.  The University has set up a Skype user that will accept calls and then route them onto the internal phone system, because the first part of the call is between Skype users there is no charge for the call.  You can call land lines and mobile telephones and even send text messages using Skype but you will be charged for these.

To call an internal extension using Skype the University will have to be one of your contacts so on the contacts tab click “add” and search for covuni.  You can click the covuni user and call the University.  When you call the University a voice will ask you to enter the extension you require, type in the extension number and you will be connected.  Because the call is between Skype users over the Internet there is no charge for the call, this could be useful when abroad.

See the links in the right hand menu bar to call the University using Skype or to add covuni to your Skype contacts.

Skype will allow conference calls for upto 4 people, if you want more than just voices then there are also Web Conference Services available, the same equipment used for Skype can be used with the web conference and is free of charge.

see the Skype page for more details

ITS provide a way to access the files stored on their network via https://myfiles.coventry.ac.uk/ you will need to enter your username in the format username@coventry.ac.uk.

Most of the systems you access should recognise your username in the short form of ccx011 or aa9999. However, there are a few systems, the portal for example, that will require a domain when signing in.  In these cases you should enter your username in either coventry\username or username@coventry.ac.uk.  It is worth trying both formats if you find your log in failing.

A common reason for passwords failing is that they have expired, you should get a warning appearing in web mail before yours is due to expire.  If it has expired you can change your password by using the link below.

Change your password

Your password is set to expire after a fixed length of time as a security measure by ITS.  You will be warned if that your password will expire soon when you log into the remote desktop or webmail.  To reset your password either log into the remote desktop or you can do it at https://webmail.coventry.ac.uk/ChangePasswords/Webform1.aspx 

CUOnline can be accessed directly externally at http://vle.coventry.ac.uk however the preferred route is via the University’s portal https://cuportal.coventry.ac.uk.   This is because the portal is the main place for announcements that may affect your access to various systems while working away from the University; the portal also offers Single Sign On (SSO) for the other e-Learning software such as pebblePAD.

For problems accessing CUOnline you should contact the Flying Squad on 7673 or on email cuonline.elu@coventry.ac.uk

If you need to find an internal extension number and do not have Directory Search on your Smart phone there are several different ways to achieve this.  It is worth having a go at the various different ways to see which one suits the situation you are in at the time.

You can use the webmail to start to compose an email and then click the “To” button, this will pop up a search box.  In the search box make sure the “find names in” is set to “Global Address List” and the search for the person you want.  The phone number should be displayed in the results.

If you are using the remote desktop you can go directly to the Coventry University Directory.  This is not available externally unless you are using the VPN or the University’s web cache.