Inspired by the recently founded "Think Tank KI" of the University of Bonn, colleagues at the HRZ—whose usual responsibilities are already related to AI—have connected in an internal focus group under the name HRZ AI-Lab for the first time. It is the objective of the HRZ AI-Lab to combine the existing knowledge of the HRZ staff about AI and respective expertise in core areas of AI, in order to support and actively enrich the work and development of the Think Tank AI.  The meetings and events within the context of the HRZ AI-Lab are meant to give every interested employee at the HRZ the opportunity to discuss the development and use of AI-machines and to gain first practical experiences.  First hackathon on 20 June 2024 On 20 June 2024, the first internal "hackathon" on the topic of AI took place as part of the HRZ AI Lab. Initial experiences with large language models (LLMs) were gained during the event. For this purpose, virtual machines were set up in advance and the challenges and hopes for a possible productive operation at the HRZ were recorded. During the hackathon, various tasks were tested, including the operation of own models, the possible management of models, the strengths and weaknesses of user interfaces and the use of own databases. In the second step, the connection of GPUs is planned, which not only accelerate computing power, but also make some AI applications such as computer vision possible in the first place. Scientific basis of AI In preparation for the hackathon in the context of the HRZ AI-Lab the scientific background of an AI was explored. Three key areas were identified: Machine Learning (ML): An aspect of AI that is concerned with the developments of algorithms and techniques to allow computers to learn from data and make predictions. Neuronal Networks: Models which are inspired by the structure and functionality of the human brain and can be used for the processing of complex data patterns. Data science: The use of statistical methods and algorithms to analyse and interpret large amounts of data and their processing and use for the methods of AI. 

On 4 July 2024 it was time: The University of Bonn's annual Bergfest attracted students in the second half of their studies into the University's Botanical Garden for a day under the premise of "Celebrating the Achieved and Empowering for the Oncoming". The University IT and Data Center (HRZ) was also present with its own booth and presented a special highlight: A digital HRZ quiz for students to test their knowledge about the University's central IT-services.  Directly at the entrance of the advice fair inside the mediterannean house was the HRZ booth: the 3D printer in production, informative posters and the friendly faces of the HRZ-employees invited the visitors of the Bergfest to learn more about the various IT-services of the University. Here students could not only ask questions but were also informed and advised by experts about central services, tools and storage solutions for research data, and possibilities for CPU-intensive research projects. The big HRZ-quiz: Test your knowledge and win useful gadgets  This day's highlight at the HRZ stand was the big HRZ-quiz: under the slogan "How well do you know your IT-services?" students could participate in the quiz in small groups or as individuals on the HRZ-tablets. A broad spectrum was covered by the questions and participants were challenged to demonstrate their knowledge about the different offers and services of the HRZ. Of course all quiz participants could get prizes: from useful gadgets such as the HRZ-Bergfest-bookmark from the 3D-printer to the exclusive HRZ carrier bag - the students went home not only with new knowledge but also with useful souvenirs. 

With Recogito Studio, the University IT and Data Center (HRZ) provides all lecturers with a system for the collaborative editing and annotation of media. The annotation tool can be used to annotate and analyze texts as well as graphics, images, photos and PDFs. Recogito Studio can be integrated into all courses and can also be used for small group work. Recogito Studio can be accessed in BONNET/via VPN at the URL http://recogito.uni-bonn.de and is therefore an important part of the digital infrastructure for studying and teaching at the University of Bonn. Are you interested in working with Recogito Studio? In the introduction video (see below) you will get a first insight into the use of Recogito Studio:

The department "IT-concepts and recommendations" at the University IT and Data Center was informed that the sale of indefinite Adobe-Acrobat-BUY licences for Acrobat Pro 2020 and Acrobat Standard 2020 was discontinued within the frame of the CLP-programme from July, 15th 2024.  We advise the administrators of the University of Bonn to create a small "stock" of Adobe Acrobat purchase licences now, in case of foreseeable need (cf. https://uni-bonn.asknet.de/cgi-bin/product/P10016608). Please take notice that the support end for Acrobat 2020 will be reached in June 2025.  Note: Nowadays most applications can either create PDF files on their own or via the help of a "PDF-printer". For any further features (deleting pages from PDF-files, comments, text fields or text markings) there are many other free programmes (e.g. Foxit Reader or PDF24 Creator). PDF-forms can usually be easily created via LibreOffice. Many of the programmes are available for several operation systems, in other cases there are fitting products. Features going even further, such as (real) digital signatures or text recognition from scanned documents (OCR) a commercial product is usually needed (e.g. PDF Studio from Quoppa or FlexiPDF from Softmaker). Most of these products are cheaper than the Adobe Acrobat. We prefer products without connection to Cloud-services. The products mentioned above are to be seen as examples and are not to be seen as recommendations. Support via the HRZ cannot be ensured for these products.

The University IT and Data Center introduces a new annotation tool for digital media: Recogito Studio With immediate effect, Recogito Studio is available in the BONNET/via VPN under the URL http://recogito.uni-bonn.de and will become an important part of the digital infrastructure for studying and teaching at the University of Bonn. Recogito Studio is a software application for teachers to prepare working with media, critically analyse images and texts, promote close reading and implement digital small group work. Students can write comments, annotations and tags to make media accessible for themselves and others and to interpret and discuss digital works. Teachers can also provide annotations and define different tasks for parallel small groups. The annotation tool can be used to annotate and analyse texts as well as graphics, images, photos and PDFs. Recogito Studio therefore offers numerous pedagogical and didactic applications in teaching for all faculties and departments. Special features of the annotation tool Recogito Studio In-house development in the context of ViCo: Recogito Studio is part of the ViCo project, with which the University of Bonn promotes digital small group work in teaching. The completely new development of Recogito Studio took the specific needs and requirements of teachers and students at the University of Bonn into account, which were previously collected and reflected on in several workshops. The focus is on teaching and learning scenarios for which media can be linked to specific work assignments. Thanks to its ease of use, Recogito Studio generates positive user experiences and a high level of acceptance. Open source codes promote digital sustainability. This combination makes Recogito Studio a state-of-the-art solution in the field of collaborative media annotation that is unique in the world. Media annotation: Recogito Studio can use and edit a wide variety of media formats. Text files like TXT,  PDF, and TEI, and picture uploads with common file formats, such JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF, GIF are supported. In addition, digitalised inventories (pictures, graphics, facsimile prints and others) of the ULB and other archive and library institutions can be imported for annotation via an IIIF-interface. Small group concept: For every class context a Recogito Studio project can be created that helps to manage documents and students. Furthermore, teachers can create tasks in their projects that can be assigned to a freely definable group. When working on tasks, the interactions of all users are synchronised in real time. So students are able to retrace the activities of their peers and can receive a personalised teaching and learning experience. Moreover, teachers can unlock the results of one group for another one to see.  Registration and access control: Registration happens via Shibboleth and is restricted to accounts of the University of Bonn. Teachers have to import their students manually to assign them to their project. Support and training: To help teachers of the university to use the annotation tool effectively, introduction workshops are offered. Two introduction workshops are offered to all who are interested:  Workshop Recogito Studio - Date 111.07.2024 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pmhttps://uni-bonn.zoom-x.de/j/63989290227?pwd=YE814Z8aUP7EdINDkBtNzBgnrkw2Bn.1 Workshop Recogito Studio - Date 215.08.2024 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pmhttps://uni-bonn.zoom-x.de/j/68468395521?pwd=lHAJH5NMAlT3wPlCl1E2CPYLutEzdY.1 Further training dates can be arranged on a group basis, ideally for your own field. Please send your appointment enquiry to recogito@ticket.uni-bonn.de. 

On Thursday, 27 June 2024, our annual company trip will take place again, so that many HRZ employees will only be available to a limited extent on this day. Therefore, there may be occasional delays in ticket processing or telephone availability. However, the availability and opening hours of the IT-Helpdesk will not be affected: IT Helpdesk - the central contact point for members of the UniversityPlaza on the ground floor (room 0.008a)Monday to Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.Tel.: 0228 / 73-2751E-mail: info-hrz@uni-bonn.de

The previous functions of the RADAR service, in the form of data publication and long-term storage, are no longer available via the University of Bonn.

As part of the Dies academicus of the University of Bonn on May 15, 2024, interested participants had the rare opportunity to take a look behind the scenes and the usually closed doors of the ultra-modern high-performance computer "Marvin". The supercomputer, which was ranked among the top 500 fastest computers in the world with its impressive computing capacity at its official inauguration in autumn 2023, has been in operation since March 2024 and has been available for use by all members of the university ever since. The guided tour of the "Marvin" machine room offered participants at Dies academicus the opportunity to learn more about the technical details and the wide range of applications of the high-performance computer. Interested parties were able to get an idea of the impressive technology on site and ask questions directly to the experts in charge. Technical insights and infrastructure The high-performance computer "Marvin" has around 300 computing nodes, some of which are equipped with powerful NVIDIA GPUs and some with Intel CPUs. The University IT and Data Center (HRZ) of the University of Bonn is responsible for the installation and operation of the system, but due to its enormous size and the special requirements of the system, "Marvin" was housed in the premises of the Institute of Numeric Simulation (INS), as the HRZ itself did not have sufficient space. The HPC/A-Lab is the central point of contact for HPC-related research projects. The tour was conducted by Jan Steiner, HPC team member at the University IT and Data Center. A particular focus of the tour was on the power and cooling requirements of "Marvin". Operating such a powerful supercomputer not only requires an enormous power supply, but also an extensive cooling system to efficiently dissipate the heat generated and maximize system performance.