Microsoft Teams: live events and student launch
14 Sep 2020
Since the launch of Microsoft Teams in August for staff and postgraduate research (PGR) students, the uptake has been positive with more than 5,000 active users and rising.
To support the adoption of Teams, IT Services delivered a series of online orientation sessions during August and early September. These events proved popular, with more than 300 colleagues taking part across twelve sessions. Don’t worry if you missed out, there are still further opportunities to get involved and discover more about Teams.
Teams live events
IT Services have organised two large scale events for staff and PGRs. These will be delivered online from 11am to 12noon on Thursday 17 September, and 10.30am to 11.30am on Thursday 8 October. Designed to be an introduction to Teams and how to make the most of it, the focus will be on showing you how to make calls, organise meetings, and use the chat and collaboration features. You'll also be able to ask questions by typing them in a chat box.
To join either of these events simply click the relevant event link listed below at the appropriate time. Up to 10,000 people can join a Teams live event, and you don’t need to book a place in advance. You do however need to be signed into Teams – whether you’re using the desktop version, via the app on a mobile device or through a web browser.
- Teams Live Event – Thursday 17 September, 11am – 12noon
- Teams Live Event – Thursday 8 October, 10.30am – 11.30am
There’s more information about Teams events, including a recording of one of the earlier orientation sessions, on our Teams microsite:
Teams for students
We are pleased to announce that Teams will be made available to students (undergraduate and postgraduate taught) on Wednesday 16 September, with student communications planned to start from Monday 21 September. A new page on the IT Services website has been created where students can get help and support information, including guides and resources and instructions to install Teams.
As part of the launch, students will have the opportunity to participate in a Teams live event from 11am to 12noon on Tuesday 29 September. This is being promoted as part of the University’s Welcome activities.
Please note that for now students will not able to create their own Teams, or share files with people outside The University of Manchester.
Discover more about Teams
Staff and PGR students seeking more information about Teams - including guidance, support and FAQs - should visit our Teams microsite:
External access to Teams (for people outside our University to join meetings or chats - if they also have Teams and their organisation allows it too) is now enabled but guest access (for collaboration) is not at present. This means that you cannot add people outside our organisation to a Team, and you cannot share files with them. In addition, colleagues are not able to create their own Teams, but there is a request process in place.
If you have any questions about Teams or Microsoft 365, ask one of the Technology Champions via the Microsoft 365 Yammer group:
If you need further help and support, contact the IT Support Centre: