As Skype for Business Phases Out at UK, Learn More About Microsoft Teams in ITS Open Lab Events
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 1, 2020) — On Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 1 p.m., University of Kentucky Information Technology Services (ITS) will be hosting a Microsoft Teams Open Lab event via Teams. This event will be the first in a monthly series where students, faculty and staff can join to learn more about Teams and ask questions. All those interested in attending can RSVP on the ITS website event calendar.
These events are meant to inform about features in Teams and allow a space where customers can learn from experts as well as each other. Due to increased online learning and remote work, Microsoft Teams comes highly recommended for calls, meetings, chat, file sharing and more. For UK students, faculty and staff who commonly use Skype for Business, adoption of Teams is especially important. On July 9, 2021, Skype for Business will be decommissioned at UK as a result of Microsoft announcing the retirement of the platform, transitioning to supporting only Teams.
The retirement of Skype for Business at UK means that all customers who use Skype as their default work phone line or meeting tool will need to formally migrate to Teams before July 9, 2021. To do that, please email ITSaboutYou@uky.edu with your name and linkblue. If you would like to migrate your entire team or department, please attach a comma separated file (.csv) including first name, last name, and linkblue. By migrating to Microsoft Teams, customers can perform all their previous functions in Skype for Business (e.g. join video and audio meetings, make calls and chat) via Teams. More information on this transition is available at Skype For Business To Microsoft Teams Migration FAQ in the Tech Help Center.
All UK students, faculty and staff are free to use Microsoft Teams by visiting office365.uky.edu and clicking Teams. Customers have the option of both a web version and to download the Teams app. Teams offers a rich online collaboration environment complete with persistent chat, the ability to create Teams with multiple channels, share and collaborate on files, make calls, hold video meetings and seminars and many more. Additionally, more resources are available at Microsoft’s Teams training site and at techhelpcenter.uky.edu by searching “Teams.”
Follow ITS on social media to find out more about Teams tips, trainings and events or visit www.uky.edu/its/jointheteam.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.