IT, Bioinformatics and Computing
Departmental IT services and support
Most departments within the school are supported by Departmental Computing Officers, who provide local infrastructure, services and support for all IT activities. If you experience any difficulties, or have any questions, concerns or suggestions relating to computing and IT within your department, please contact your local computing team in the first instance - if they cannot provide the assistance or advice you need, they will help you to escalate your issue to the relevant specialists elsewhere.
List of Departmental Computing Officers (internal)
University Information Services
UIS provides critical, campus-wide IT infrastructure, services and support for all staff and students in the university. Frequently accessed resources include: WiFi & Eduroam; Email; VPN; Passwords; LinkedIn Learning and Software (see below).
For all IT issues, you should contact your departmental Computing Officers first of all - even if your problem relates to a UIS service, it's important for the local COs to be aware. If they cannot solve the problem for you, they may contact UIS on your behalf, or refer you to servicedesk@uis.cam.ac.uk.
Bioinformatics and High Performance Computing services
Complementary to local bioinformatics expertise, resources and services within the departments, the school provides a comprehensive bioinformatics training service, supporting all levels of expertise and ability, and providing essential guidance for new users of the University's High Performance Computing Service (HPCS). Please refer to the links below for more information:
• Bioinformatics Training homepage
• Subscribe to the Bioinformatics Training mailing list
• Join the SBS Bioinformatics Slack group
• University High Performance Computing Service
Contact: bioinfotraining@bio.cam.ac.uk (Manager: Matt Castle)
Software
UIS (and its partner, Academia) provide software to all staff and students in the university:
• UIS pages for Microsoft 365, Anti-Virus software, Google G-Suite
• Academia for: Adobe, Dropbox, Endnote, Matlab, Labview, Atlas.ti, Nvivo, SPSS
The SBS IT Office also manages some group software licenses to achieve discounted prices - in most cases these licenses are available to any University of Cambridge department. For more information please see the license-specific information on the forms listed below.
• Request Graphpad Prism for $47/yr
• Request Biorender for $200/yr
• Request Affinity Graphics Suite for £72.50 (perpetual license)
• Request Grammarly for $60/yr
• Request Readcube Papers for $60/yr
SBS IT Committee
The School IT Committee meets once every 3-4 months, to discuss IT issues and strategy. It is comprised of representatives from each department (normally 1x Academic staff and 1x Computing Officer), plus representatives from the School Office, and individuals who provide specialist services for the school (e.g. Bioinformatics training).
Current membership list (internal)
If you would like to propose any items for discussion, please speak to your departmental representatives first; if they are not available please send an email to head-of-it@bio.cam.ac.uk.
Dates for next meetings:
2022: 15 June; 14 Sep; 14 Dec
2023: 15 Mar; 14 June; 13 Sep; 13 Dec
2024: 13 Mar
The role of the Head of IT and Digital Transformation
The principal functions of this role are:
• To improve the quality, consistency and resilience of IT platforms and services across the school;
• To identify opportunities for change and to manage collaborative school-wide IT projects;
• To support the departmental computing officers;
• To be the interface between the school and UIS and other IT partner organisations, and to represent the school's interests to them.
Current post holder: Alastair Downie (ad327)
Your feedback relating to IT within the school is welcome - please contact the office directly (head-of-it@bio.cam.ac.uk) or, if you prefer, you can leave feedback anonymously using this form: