Faculty and Staff Tech Talk |
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Dear faculty, instructors and staff,
Welcome to the 2026 fall semester. Technology Solutions, UIC’s central IT department, would like to share the valuable tech services, resources and support available to you, as well as important IT news and updates.
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Email consolidation
UIC has successfully completed the four-year transition of students, faculty and staff from Gmail to Microsoft Exchange, providing a more secure and streamlined email experience.
The migration to a unified email service across campus also enhances collaboration, strengthens account security and allows Technology Solutions to deliver more efficient support.
Campus network upgrades
Over the last six years, Technology Solutions has strategically invested Forward Initiative funding to modernize our data centers, expand our fiber infrastructure and enhance building connectivity, laying the foundation for the significant network improvements taking place this summer.
This summer marked the beginning of a major initiative focused on eliminating network bottlenecks, increasing throughput and resiliency, and modernizing our data center core networks.
Authentication changes coming soon
The University of Illinois System will soon transition from Duo to Microsoft Multi-Factor Authentication to help provide a secure and streamlined authentication experience across university services.
More detailed information will be shared soon, including the transition timeline and actions you will need to take.
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Browse the IT resources available to faculty, instructors and staff, including technology and desktop support, IT services and campus tech news on the IT@UIC Services page.
Service status updates
Visit status.uic.edu to view reported outages, service impacts, scheduled maintenance and real-time updates for UIC IT services. You can also subscribe to receive notifications for the services you use most.
College and unit IT contacts
Many colleges and units have their own IT support teams available to assist with tech needs. Find your IT support contact.
UI Health support
UI Health employees are supported by the Information Services team, which maintains systems like Epic and provides direct support to UI Health staff. Contact the Information Services team.
Digital accessibility resources
Get practical guidance on creating accessible digital content through year-round digital accessibility office hours, offered Tuesdays from 3–4 p.m. and Fridays from 10–11 a.m. on alternating weeks. Monthly training sessions also cover accessibility tools, best practices and important updates.
Digital accessibility training for graduate students, TAs and RAs will be offered in September, with details coming soon.
Visit the digital accessibility events page for office hours and training information, and to view recordings of past sessions.
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Explore the AI resources available at UIC. Whether you're enhancing your coursework, conducting research or building new skills, UIC provides tools and guidance to help you use AI thoughtfully, ethically and effectively.
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Advanced Cyberinfrastructure for Education and Research, part of Technology Solutions, offers workshops and tutorials on essential tools and methods for computational research and data science. Designed for the entire research community, our sessions range from foundational training in R and Python to advanced topics such as parallel computing and GPU programming.
Fall highlights
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- Generative AI (GenAI) webinars: Explore GenAI fundamentals, practical applications and tools available at UIC. Open to all skill levels; no coding experience required.
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Best practices in research software development: Learn techniques for creating sustainable and reproducible research code, including Git, project organization, computational environments and software sharing.
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Supercomputing from your browser: Learn how to use Open OnDemand to access Advanced Cyberinfrastructure for Education and Research’s Lakeshore high-performance computing resources through your browser. No command-line expertise required.
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Online safety and security |
As a UIC instructor, it is important to be aware of the common scams you may encounter in your inbox, on your phone and online.
Urgent favor from “UIC employee”
Be cautious of emails that appear to come from UIC colleagues requesting urgent favors, such as purchasing gift cards or wiring money. These are almost always scams.
Phishing emails with fake links
Look out for emails about employment opportunities, account deactivations, password resets, payroll or retirement updates. These often contain fraudulent links leading to fake login pages.
Suspicious text messages
Learn to spot Duo 2FA phishing attempts and other scams that may arrive via text message or on your phone.
To learn about the common scams, report an incident and learn best practices, visit the Security Education and Awareness page.
Build trust, then steal: Investment scams targeting instructors
By using publicly available information about your research, publications and professional interests, scammers can craft convincing messages that appear to come from legitimate academics or industry professionals.
These scams are built on trust, patience and relationship-building. Scammers carefully cultivate relationships with their targets over time, using highly personalized interactions to establish credibility and gradually gain a victim's trust before attempting to steal information or money. Learn how UIC instructors may be targeted and recognize the warning signs of relationship-based scams.
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IT Quick Guide
Download the IT Quick Guide, which highlights key tech resources and support.
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New York Times and Wall Street Journal Academic Pass
The UIC Library and the Office of the Provost are pleased to offer an Academic Pass subscription to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal to anyone with a valid UIC email address.
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| U of I WebStore
Download and purchase discounted software through the U of I WebStore.
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This email was sent to hvolke2@uic.edu.
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© Copyright 2026The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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