Videoconferencing Service

Video conferencing is a cost effective and environmentally friendly method of providing users with the ability to communicate and collaborate interactively from across many different geographical locations.

The range of purposes includes meetings, research, teaching, staff development and recruitment panels.

At Ulster University, we provide hardware based video conferencing rooms, of varying sizes, that are enabled for SIP connection to external guests, but also work in conjunction with Skype for Business and provide the additional connection methods of using a Skype web app and Telephone dial in.

This affords both Ulster staff, student and external guests the flexibility to choose the most suitable connection method for each scheduled video conferencing meeting.

Ulster University has a number of video conferencing room types to cater for different meeting types.

1. Immersive Telepresence Suites

These suites allow for a true immersive experience across the campuses, where connected participants are displayed on screen in true life size format to simulate live discussion across a table. Users can also share content with internal and external participants by connecting their device to one of the cables provided (HDMI/VGA+audio) in the room or using the wireless connection facility.

2. Standard videoconferencing Suites

These spaces have a standard V-shape or straight table layout, with boundary microphones, speakers and dual large format display screens. They give users the ability to video conference across the 4 campuses or with external partners and share content by connecting their device to the cable provided (VGA+audio) or using the room pc. 08H09 has an additional HDMI cable for content sharing. 08H09 and H215 have face tracking to facilitate a better experience.

3. Video conferencing enabled meeting rooms

These spaces are are meeting rooms enabled for video conferencing. Rooms are of varying capacities and desk layouts, and are furnished with a large format display screen, microphone and speakers. Users may also share content by connecting their device to the cables provided (VGA+audio).

When users schedule their video conference meeting through their outlook calendar, participants are automatically provided with the connection details to connect to the scheduled meeting by:

• Skype for Business (or Skype web app) – requires webcam and microphone
• Telephone (audio only)
• Unique Conference ID - This forms part of a SIP address in the format ConferenceID@ulster.ac.uk which external organisations can use to dial in to the conference.

These additional connection methods make it easy for staff or guests to connect from anywhere in the world.

A full list of video conferencing facilities can be found in the Supporting Materials Section.

Video conferencing meetings are scheduled by the user/organiser, from within their outlook calendar.

As the video conferencing facility is heavily used, University staff are encouraged to schedule their video conferences as far ahead as possible to avoid disappointment.

We would also advise a minimum of 5 days notice where external guests are being invited, to allow them time to liaise with their technical staff and test their connection method. This will increase the chance of having a high quality, successful video conference meeting.

Support for a presentation or a request for the meeting to be recorded may be booked through the Self-Service Portal in advance of any meeting. Please allow a minimum of 24 hours notice.

Please see Supporting Materials for information on how to schedule a video conference from your outlook calendar.

Supporting Materials include:

• Centrally managed video conference room list
• Information on How to join a video conference details how you connect to conferences from the different room types and how to use the remote to mute/unmute etc.
• Best Practice tips for Virtual Meetings
• How to schedule a Video Conference meeting through my outlook calendar (or see PDF version)

Additional support, such as Frequently Asked Questions, may be found within the Knowledge Articles accessed through the Self-Service Portal or available on our Service Catalog FAQ pages.