FAQs on Identity Management

FAQs = Frequently asked Questions

Q: I am a new employee at the institute, but I don't have an Identity Management account or email address yet.

A: In case of a regular employment, an automatic process is usually triggered 30 days before the first working day, which subsequently creates the person in Identity Management and opens the accounts. 29 days before the start of work your personal Identity Management account will be available.
It is possible that someone is already working at the University of Zurich but does not yet have a regular employment contract (at least: employment order). If an account has not yet been opened 29 days before the start of work, the personnel managers at the institute can check with the HR department why the person has not yet been entered in SAP-HR (Human Resources). If your data has been entered in Identity Management, your IT manager can assign you the institute role. Once you have accepted this role, he or she can enter an institute e-mail address for you.

Q: Which account do I need for which service?

A: An overview of the accounts/services and the login options can be found here .

Q: How long can an Identity Management password be?

A: The maximum length is 32, the minimum length is 8.

Q: What is the UZH full name?

A: The UZH Fullname is a unique name derived from your first name and last name. An example is "Maria Bernasconi". Since the UZH full name must be unique, it is, as the case may be, assigned a sequence number (e.g. "Maria Bernasconi2").

If you do not know your fullname, you will find it on your letter with the initial access data. You can also derive it from your @uzh.ch email address:

Alternatively, you can find your fullname in Outlook or Sharepoint in your account manager (top right under your profile image).

Q: What is the meaning of the role in Identity Management?

A: Identity Management is already basically based on a person-centered model. This means that everything starts with the individual person. Roles can be assigned to these persons. So there are also "institute roles" with which you can assign an institute affiliation to a person. For example, only persons "belonging" to an institute can have an e-mail address (example: @zi.uzh.ch) with the institute abbreviation.

An organizational/institute role can be assigned to a person by the IT manager in Identity Management. The IT responsible person finds the organizational role under "Business Information", the sender address in the collaboration/email account under E-Mail > Details.

Q: Does the same password apply in Outlook/Webmail, Teams, SharePoint/OneDrive?

A: Yes. From Identity Management there is only one account (Active Directory) for accessing many services such as Outlook, Webmail, OneDrive. This means that the same password or account must always be used for these different entry points. Password changes should only be made in Identity Management.

Q: What is the short name for?

A: The short name is a unique string of characters that identifies a person at UZH and is assigned to them when they are entered in Identity Management. It is also used as a login in many places. Due to its central importance, it cannot be changed once a person has been created.

Q: Can I freely choose my short name?

A: No, the short name is created clearly and as "human-readable" as possible when the person is entered into Identity Management based on various criteria. It cannot be changed afterwards. It is also not affected by a "name change" (change of first name or surname).

Q: How can I still get my password without my mobile phone being registered in Identity Management?

A: Please write us a ticket to http://support.uzh.ch

Q: What is my matriculation or employee number?

A: The matriculation number or the employee number is located on the legitimation card for students or the employee card for employees in the lower left corner.

For students it is a number according to the model 01-234-567 and for employees it is a number according to the model 01234567.