BY ARSHIA RAMLUCKUN
It has been two years since the IT Hub has seen lines with waiting periods of up to four hours. This is because students have had to make appointments to receive help from the IT Hub due to COVID-19. This resulted in many students asking other students to assist them with their IT-related issues and has led to a number of them having forgotten, or not even heard of, the IT Hub.
The IT Hub is the first point of contact for all IT-related inquiries. Its staff provide support for Microsoft Office software, and network and hardware incidents to the staff and students of Stellenbosch University (SU).
Basically, if students are having any problems with their computer hardware or software, the IT Hub is the place to go first. It is also the first place recommended should you have any IT-related problems, since their services are free to all SU students. The IT Hub can be found on the right-hand side of the Admin A building where the entrance faces the back of the Admin B building.
To this day, the IT Hub is still not open for walk-ins. Students are required to make an appointment or log a request on the ICT Partner Portal (which can be found by typing the phrase “Stellenbosch Service Desk” into Google). Alternatively, students can email help@sun.ac.za or phone the IT Service desk on 021 808 9289 Monday–Friday from 08:00–12:45 and 13:45–16:30.
The ICT Partner Portal is a platform that students can use to get the required support. This can be extremely helpful because it provides a place where students can not only log a request for assistance but also find guides on how to help themselves with specific problems they may experience.
This can teach students how to help themselves rather than being dependent on others. Should a student not know into which portal category their request falls, they can simply search the key terms or phrases in the search bar.
Tips for newcomers and returning students:
1. Ensure that the computer software is updated.
2. Have a basic firewall that is also updated.
3. Search “RegisterMe” in the search bar of the ICT Partner Portal to get access to the instructions on how to register a device or connect to Eduroam, the campus WiFi.
4. Patience is key! Do not keep pressing the refresh button or any other button should the page be taking long to load; this may confuse your device and may result in an even more unpleasant experience.
5.Connect your devices to the printers around campus to print directly from these devices. Search “SafeCom Printer Setup” in the search bar of the ICT Partner Portal to find the instructions on how to do so.
