Introduction to FIM IT ressources

The computer introduction is offered by FIM System Support to familiarize you with the faculty's IT services.

Please obtain our course materials (download the script and exercise sheets from the StudIP event portal, event 5000) and bring them with you to the courses in digital or printed form. If you prefer to have the script in printed form, you can purchase it at the beginning of the course for a small fee. Please note: These documents are currently being revised and will only be available shortly before the course begins. Ideally, you should start reading the script on your own before the practical exercises.

In the practical exercises, you will then work through the exercise sheets with the help of the script and will be supported by our staff.

In this way, we want to ensure that all first-year students who take part in this course, regardless of their previous IT knowledge, reach a level where they can use all important IT services independently when they start their studies.

You can find the course dates in our schedule overview.

Step 1: Creating your FIM IT account

In the first practical section, you will create your FIM computer account. You will need this ID in addition to your general university ID in order to use FIM's own IT services and to participate in task area 2 of the computer introduction, for example. Once you have received your general university computer ID, you can complete this task area.

If you are starting the course in the winter semester: It is best to set up your FIM ID during the math bridge course week. You can either do this yourself (see online instructions for FIM ID) or, more conveniently, with our support (in the winter semester bridge course on October 2, 12-1 p.m. in room 028, building IM; be sure to bring your general university ID with you!). If you are only participating in the O-Weeks starting with the computer introduction, you can also set up your FIM ID on October 7 at 10 a.m. in room K08d IM.

At the start of the summer semester: If you have not yet set up your FIM ID on your own, we will assist you in setting up your FIM ID on the first day of the computer introduction (see page Dates, Course Times).

Alternatively, you can also create your FIM ID in advance from home or on the university campus. The necessary steps are described on the “FIM ID” website in our IT Services section. However, you will need to connect to the University of Passau intranet with your device. In any case, please have your general university ID ready, as this is required to set up your FIM ID.

If you encounter any problems setting up your FIM ID, you can also get help via our support address support@fim.uni-passau.de.

Step 2: Course program "Introduction to FIM IT ressources"

Once you have created your FIM IT account, you can now begin the actual course program for the introduction to FIM compute ressources. Please bring the computer introduction script and the corresponding exercises in digital or written form with you to the start of the course. You will then complete the exercises with the support of our course supervisors in the classroom exercises of the computer introduction course.

Contents of Step 2, Introduction to FIM IT ressources

• First, you will learn some basics about using the FIM computer labs. The course then moves on to LINUX, where you will learn the basics of using the FIM computer for graphics-oriented tasks. You will also learn how to perform basic tasks such as printing or using your university email addresses in the student computer pools.
• Part of the computer introduction course then deals with in-depth work with the LINUX shell. It is specifically aimed at all first-year students whose study plan includes the Programming I course. Here you will gain in-depth Linux knowledge that will make it easier for you to get started with the exercises for the Programming lecture.

Step 3: Accessing FIM computers and services online

Once you have acquired basic computer skills, you should learn how to use FIM student computers and FIM support online from home.

Install the necessary software on your home computer so that you can work on computers in the FIM student pools from home using both command-line and graphical interfaces. To do this, please follow the instructions “Remote login via SSH” and “Graphical remote login via X2Go.” The goal of this task is to enable you to connect to a FIM student computer via both ssh and x2go. Once the connection has been successfully established, terminate the connection as described in the instructions.

Step 4: Using general university IT services

The FIM computer introduction focuses primarily on the IT services offered by FIM. However, other important IT services of the university such as StudIP, OpenVPN or WLAN access via Eduroam are all linked to your general university ID. To get you started, we recommend the ZIM's collection of information for first-semester students.