Other IT tools for research

Politecnico offers two institutional wireless networks:

• Polito – available only within Politecnico campuses.
• Eduroam – accessible at thousands of universities and research centers worldwide.

Authentication:

• Username: nome.cognome@polito.it or s123456@studenti.polito.it
• Password: institutional password

Important note: Do not use credentials like d123456@polito.it or nome.cognome@studenti.polito.it, as they provide limited network access. Correct credentials are essential to access all network services and internal resources.

The University email service is based on Microsoft Exchange Online (EOL).

Includes:

• Email
• Calendar
• Contacts
• Tasks (To Do)
• Full integration with Outlook and Microsoft Teams

Access is via federated authentication with MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication).

Recommendations:

• Check the Junk Email folder regularly to help the spam filter adapt.
• Automatic forwarding to external services (e.g., Gmail) is technically possible but strongly discouraged, as it may increase spam risk and violate security policies.
• Email clients on PC, smartphone, and tablet can be configured following the official University guides.

Politecnico provides access to Microsoft 365, initially activated through the Education Portal.

Includes:

• Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Microsoft Teams
• SharePoint
• OneDrive

Access always uses institutional @polito.it credentials.

Microsoft Teams is the main digital collaboration platform.

Key features:

• Create teams for workgroups or projects
• Organize in channels: general (always present), public, private for subgroups
• Chat, audio/video calls
• Collaborative file sharing and editing

Operational notes:

• All chat members can access shared files.
• Only the file owner can remove it via SharePoint.
• Prefer sharing files in channels rather than chats for clarity.
• Meetings can be scheduled only in public channels, not private ones.
• Notification management may vary and is not always fully customizable.

Exchange Online calendar integrates with:

• Outlook
• Teams
• External calendar apps (if configured)

Allows:

• Sending invitations easily
• Scheduling meetings
• Automatically generating online meetings on Teams

OneDrive is the cloud storage service included in Microsoft 365.

Main features:

• 300 GB personal space for each PhD student
• Access from any device
• Automatic file synchronization
• Version history
• Controlled document sharing

Operational notes:

• Files shared in chat are read-only by default
• Explicit edit permissions must be assigned
• “Anyone in the organization” access is not recommended
• Shareable links can be created for external collaborators

Dropbox Business provides:

• 15 GB cloud space per PhD student
• Extension up to 3 TB linked to staff account (upon request)
• Shared folders from faculty do not count toward personal quota
• Activation via the Educational Portal

Politecnico provides Zoom accounts with institutional licenses.

Features:

• Meetings without time limits
• Advanced scheduling
• Unlimited recording space
• Personal meeting room

⚠️ To use all features:

• Log in with nome.cognome@polito.it
• Select “Teaching Assistant” profile if required

Overleaf is an online platform for collaborative LaTeX writing.

Features:

• Automatic compilation
• Multiple authors working simultaneously
• Change tracking
• Comments and sharing
• Extensive template library (theses, articles, posters, CVs)

Ideal for:

• Scientific articles
• PhD theses
• Conference and journal contributions

Politecnico provides access to numerous editorial resources, including:

• IEEE Xplore
• ACM Digital Library
• SpringerLink
• ScienceDirect
• OSA Optics, and many more

Access:

• Free from the University network
• Remote access via DigProxy (registration required)

The VPN service allows:

• Access to internal Politecnico servers
• Use of reserved resources remotely
• Operate as if connected to the campus network

Access must be requested via dedicated pages and includes installation guides for different operating systems.