News

The new BBB Version simplifies Digital Collaboration and Interaction in Video Conferences

With the new version of the BigBlueButton (BBB) video conferencing system, there are numerous new functions and existing ones have been significantly improved. The most important new features include:

Extended communication options: The chat now offers the option of editing or deleting messages afterwards, as well as replying directly and responding with emojis. The push-to-talk function has also been integrated. Simply press the “M” button to facilitate short verbal messages.
Upgraded whiteboard: New tools such as a highlighter, automatic grouping of objects and an expanded shapes palette provide more flexibility when presenting.
Easy use: Direct buttons for frequently used actions, an improved “Away” status and seamless switching between audio modes contribute to a more intuitive user experience.
Support and orientation: A new “tour” function helps newcomers with initial orientation, while flexible survey result displays and a “read” status for private messages make communication more efficient.

Technical Background

More flexibility: The new version 3.0 makes it possible to add new plugins without changing the basic structure of the platform. We have added the new functions "Select random participant", "Write subtitles" and "Tour".
Faster and still open source: The platform was accelerated and stabilized by replacing central components. Further changes to technical components were necessary to ensure that BigBlueButton remains freely accessible and customizable for everyone.

Prospects: Improved video conferencing functions (LiveKit): (planned end of SS25)

Better picture and sound quality: Even with a weak internet connection, the quality is now better and the transmission is smoother.
Modern technology: LiveKit supports technologies that automatically adapt the video quality to the Internet speed
Better compatibility: Firefox users can now also take part in conferences without any technical detours.

Schedule

Conversion of the standard version to BBB 3.0: 19.07-20.07.
Conversion of the “Preview” version to BBB 3.0+LK: 19.07. Planned conversion of the “Big” version for particularly large conferences to BBB 3.0: 02.08.

During the changeover phase, you can continue to use BBB without any problems.

All new functions can be found on the Digital Teaching website: https://digitale-lehre.uni-mainz.de/tools/bbb/

All new functions briefly explained in the video: https://www.vcrp.de/digitale-lehre/tools/bbb-neuerungen/

More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

New Certificate for login.uni-mainz.de

A new certificate for login.uni-mainz.de was activated during the morning of May 7, 2025.

What does this mean for you?

Not much will change for you. The new certificate will be accepted automatically.

For administrators:

If you administer a system with single sign-on login, please check whether the new certificates from the metadata have been entered in your system.
You can retrieve the certificate at https://login.uni-mainz.de/FederationMetadata/2007-06/FederationMetadata.xml.

What kind of certificates are these?

The certificates are used to authenticate the login information between the login server and the target system.

More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

New AI Service available for JGU

The Data Center (ZDV) has provided a new AI service for Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). This service, which is accessible at https://ki-chat.uni-mainz.de, includes several powerful language models, including Nemotron Ultra 253B, Gemma3 27B and Qwen2.5 Coder 32B.

The AI chat is initially only available to JGU employees who can log in with their JGU account. The Data Center controls and hosts the service itself, so the data (except for the web search) remains within JGU.

Future Developments

The new service will also be available to students in the future. In addition to regularly updating the language models, further improvements are in progress. The aim is to optimize the search and extraction of documents and to create a permanent knowledge repository. Connections to platforms such as Moodle or BBB and initial integrations (e.g. calculators) are also planned.

Learn More

Further information on the use of AI in higher education and support in using the service can be found on the website of the Digital Teaching Competence Team (https://digitale-lehre.uni-mainz.de/ki-in-der-hochschulbildung/ ).

Technical background information: https://www.en-zdv.uni-mainz.de/ai-at-jgu/

More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

Change at Overleaf: Centrally funded Licence ends in May

The University will no longer provide centrally funded licenses for Overleaf Server Pro in the future. The current licenses for Overleaf Server Pro expire on 19.05.2025. After this date, you will have two options for continuing to work with Overleaf:

You can continue to use the extended Community Edition on local University servers. In the week from 12.05. to 16.05. 2025, we will convert the existing installation at latex.zdv.uni-mainz.de to the Extended Community Edition. You can then continue working as usual.
You can use Overleaf Professional in the cloud. There are three different license models for this. In addition to a free version, there are also two paid licenses: https://jgu.to/yqbr

Please check which license is right for you. The ZDV will take care of the paid licenses and charge the costs directly to your cost center. You can take advantage of this offer immediately.

We will show you the differences and similarities below:

	Extended Community Edition https://latex.zdv.uni-mainz.de	In Cloud \| Standard https://www.overleaf.com/
Collaboration with others within JGU	by invitation via email address	by invitation via email address
Collaboration with others outside JGU	link sharing only possible anonymously	by invitation via email address
Data storage	on local university servers	Digital Science UK Ltd uses Google Cloud
Shows a history of all changes directly	√	√
Git and GitHub synchronization	-	√
Mendeley and Zotero integration	-	√
Costs	-	from standard paid licence

You will find more information under:
https://www.en-zdv.uni-mainz.de/overleaf-latex-zdv-uni-mainz-de/

More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

Windows 11 Update

Starting October 14, 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates for Windows 10. Therefore, all desktop computer/laptops at JGU must be updated to the new Windows version 11.

At JGU, there are currently about 4,500 desktop computer/laptops administered by the ZDV with Windows version 10. In many cases, a one-time update is sufficient. However, in some cases, the entire computer must be replaced, as the minimum system requirements are not sufficient for an update.

Since the end of January, JGU employees will be informed via a system notification whether an update to Windows 11 is required. This notification will appear every time after a login and will only disappear when the update has been carried out. If no notification appears, Windows 11 is already installed on your desktop computers/laptop or the computer is managed directly by ZDV.

What happens after October 14, 2025?

Desktop computers/laptops that are not updated to Windows 11 will be deactivated by November 1, 2025, as they pose a significant security risk to the university's IT infrastructure. After that, it will no longer be possible to log in to a computer with Windows 10.

More information: https://www.en-zdv.uni-mainz.de/windows-11-update/

More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

New Certificates for VPN-Servers & Wireless LANs

On November 15, between 6:00 and 7:00 pm, we will activate new digital certificates for the wireless LANs eduroam and Uni-Mainz as well as for the VPN servers.

What does that mean for you?

Not much changes for you. The new digital certificate will be either - depending on the operating system or device - accepted automatically, or you have to confirm that you accept the new certificate when asked. Some devices show the name of the digital certificate, others a so-called thumbprint.

The new certificate for the Wireless LANs

The correct certificate is issued for the server radius.zdv.uni-mainz.de and contains the following information for comparison, of which only just a part is displayed (again depending on the operatin system or device):

CN = radius.zdv.uni-mainz.de
O = Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
S = Rheinland-Pfalz
C = DE

Thumbprint: 27 03 02 7d dd ce 2f 23 d6 b9 99 80 90 88 64 dc bc d1 5b 3c

The new digital certificate for VPN

CN = vpn.uni-mainz.de
O = Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
S = Rheinland-Pfalz
C = DE

Thumbprint: 7f 4c 3e 30 21 21 a8 be b4 95 13 d0 5d 7e 0a 80 01 92 73 a5

What are digital certificates?

A digital certificate is an elctronic proof of authenticity that certifies the identity of a computer or an organization. You can compare it with a real-life identity card. Due to regulatory requirements and to prevent misuse, we are obliged to regularly renew the certificates for these services.

More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

New IT Security Measures At JGU: Passkeys Are Introduced

Universitys have been increasingly targeted by cyber-attacks in recent years. Phishing emails have been the main culprit. As a result: entire institutions have been completely compromised for months. The University of Mainz should also have protection against this in the future.

In order to significantly improve the protection of your data and your JGU account, the Data Center is gradually introducing passkeys for browser-based applications and services at the university. You will no longer have to remember complex characer strings - your devices will do this for you. Once created, passkeys can be used over and over again and do not need to be changed.

From around July/August 2024, more and more JGU members will gradually be able to log in to certain university applications using passkeys. As part of the changeover, the university's login interface will also be adapted. This is the only way we can enable the use of passkeys.

What are the advantages of passkeys?

Passkeys are more secure than traditional passwords.
They are user-friendly as they only need to be created once and are then stored on your devices.
In the event of security violations, passkeys can simply be deleted and replaced with new ones.

You can find more Information on the Passkeys website, which we update regularly: https://www.en-zdv.uni-mainz.de/passkeys/

More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

New Digital Certificates for Wireless LANs – 2023

New digital certificates for the wireless LANs eduroam and Uni-Mainz were activated on November 24.

What does that mean for you ?

For you, not much changes. The new digital certificate will be either - depending on the operating system or device - accepted automatically, or you must confirm upon request that you accept te certificate. Some devices display the name, others a so-called thumbprint of the digital certificate.

The new certificate for the Wireless LANs for reconciliation

The correct certificate is issued for the server radius.zdv.uni-mainz.de and contains the following information for adjustment, of which only just a part is displayed (againg dependent on the operating system or device):

CN= radius.zdv.uni-mainz.de

O= Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

S= Rhineland-Palatinate

C= DE

With thumbprint: 58 8c fd 20 66 4b d9 92 bb a6 23 53 06 1a 3c 94 d8 92 c5 18

What are digital certificates?

A digital certificate is proof of authenticity that certifies the identityof a computer or organization. You can compare it with a real-life identity card. Due to legal framework conditins and to prevent misuse, we are obligated to renew te certificates reguarly for these services.

More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

Data Center supports final exams for Ukrainian refugees with technical infrastructure

In the past weeks 456 Students from Ukraine participated in digital exams which are obligatory for studies at a Ukrainian university. Together with the Center of Scientific Education (ZWW) the Data Center prepared the framework for the exams, which are comparable to the German "Abitur".

For the E-exams the Data Center provided the E-exam-Rooms N33 in the faculty of natural sciences and the KISS on the Kisselberg. Both rooms offered enough computer seats to complete the exams on four consecutive days.

Already in advance established the Data Center participating accounts and created the possibility to download the necessary documents from the Ukrainian examsystem.

Dr. Stefan Röhle, the leader of the E-Learning area at the Data Center explains in retrospect: "Although some things naturally ran differently than usual, we were very well prepared for these exams. We offer electrical exams already for 20 years at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, so that the supply of our infrastructure, the planing and execution went smoothly. We were lucky, that the exams took place in June and with that before the main exam phase of the Summersemester, because of that we could provide enough free rooms."

More news from the Data Center → may be found here.

Open Uni Day: Data Center informs about Dual Studies

Ths week the Open Uni Day took place at the Johannes Gutenberg University. Within the Event the Data Center offered three Information Services on the Dual Study Program. Marcus Lunau, whose responsible for the Dual Students at the Data Center and Student Aylin Siebel explained to the interested the advanteges of Dual Studies and what Career opportunities arise as a result.

Around 30 Students were interessted in both Majors, which the development department of the Data Center currently offers. The Participants wanted to know especially the differences between a classical course of study and the course of a dual study, as well as learn about the study contents and the practical parts of Bachelor's Degree Programm.

Aylin Siebel, who is about to graduate with a Bachelor's Degree and is part of the first class at the Data Center, was able to share valuable experiences and emphasized how important and helpful the practical components at the Data Center are for her studies and later career entry.

The Data Center participated with the topic "Dual Studies" for the first time at the Event. Marcus Lunau was satisfied with the premiere: "We didn't have specific expactations but were positively suprised that the Students purposefully found their way into the Data Center. They had a lot of questions ans we hope that we could inspire some for our Dual Studies."

As of now the Data Center offers two Bachelor Degree Programs in Computer Science: "Buisness Informatics" and "Applied Informatics". The Dual Studies consist of a theoretical Part, which will take place at the Hochschule RheinMain and practical Parts which will take Place at the Data Center.

Learn More

Dual Studys Computer Science

More news from the Data Center → may be found here.