Getting Started

Before we can provide service to anyone, a PPMS account is required:

How do I get a PPMS account?
  • Newcomers to ISTA get ICP and PPMS accounts during their on-boarding.
  • External visitors and interns will need to organize a PPMS account with the hosting group. An approval from the hosting PI for the use of the hosting group cost account is needs to be provided.
  • External cooperations will need to establish an agreement before we can provide our services

Required steps to start using IOF equipment & services:

  1. All new users of the Imaging and Optics facility & Laser safety need to complete the “intro to newcomers”, before any facility equipment can be used.  We will explain our usage & booking guidelines, training guidelines and required safety guidelines (biosafety, laser, mercury lamps) → you can only request an “intro to newcomers” via online booking system: here.
  2. Basic Microscopy Quiz: to ensure that you can focus on the instructions to operate the microscope, we want to make sure that the basic principles of microscopy are understood. This means that newcomers need to pass our ‘Basic Microscopy Quiz before the 1st system training (1 attempt; 6/8 question need to be answered correct). Not passing the test will require to participate in a seminar, and redoing the test → you can find the Basic Microscopy Quiz and Slides: here.
  3. Training: Imaging and Optics facility equipment can only be used after completion of equipment training → i) please take note of our training guidelines ii) equipment trainings are only provided by facility staff; iii) all trainings consists of at least two parts → all equipment trainings need to be requested via our online booking system PPMS*
  4. Booking & usage -rights:  Upon completion of such training, you will be granted booking rights to book the equipment in our online booking system → all bookings need to comply with our microscopy, cytometry & safety policies. Most importantly, it is strictly forbidden to use any of the setups without booking or training, or to use any system on the name of another user.

*you can see your training requests and booked sessions in your MyPPMS -page. If your training is listed at your MyPPMS -page, your training request was successfully submitted and a response from us to organize a training is pending. (No automatic receipt response is provided from PPMS.)

Facility Policies at a glance:

An overview of all our Facility-Policies, Booking- and Safety- Guidelines are listed on our Guidelines & Bookings page

Additional Information to get started:

Online Booking system: PPMS

For any issues with your cost-center / cost account → see our PPMS-FAQ section.