FAQ

The git.nrw service is offered for the universities of DH.NRW and can be used by them. Currently, not all universities in North Rhine-Westphalia are connected to the service. At the moment, git.nrw will be available for members (students & staff) of the following universities at the time stated:

• RWTH Aachen University (May 20 2025)
• University of Duisburg-Essen (June 2nd 2025 for staff; students at a later date)
• TH Köln (to be announced)
• University of Cologne (May 20 2025)
• University of Münster (May 20 2025)

The git.nrw service is currently in the pilot phase, which is why not all universities in North Rhine-Westphalia are connected yet. The connection is being done gradually. We regularly provide updates on the git.nrw project on this website, including information about the connection of additional universities.

If your university is outside of North Rhine-Westphalia, it cannot be connected. The service can only be used by external users through a guest account. This guest account requires an invitation to a shared project and is only valid as long as the project is active.

The git.nrw service processes and stores personal data solely for the management of the user account. Information requests and deletion requests can be addressed to the following contacts:

Data Protection Office of RWTH Aachen University:
Templergraben 83
52062 Aachen
Phone: +49 241 80 94114
Email: dsb@rwth-aachen.de

Data Protection Office of the University of Münster:
Schlossplatz 2
48149 Münster
Phone: +49 251 83 22446
Email: Nina.Meyer-Pachur@uni-muenster.de

Further information about data processing and storage for the use of git.nrw can be found in the privacy policy.

The project team offers its own training materials on the GitLab software solution, which can be found here:
https://git.nrw/en/courses

Requests for specific training materials can be sent to info@git.nrw or submitted via the support form.

We gathered some tipps and tricks for your first steps in GitLab, which can be found here:
https://gitlab.git.nrw/git.nrw-public/documentation/-/wikis/home/First-Steps

We also created a GitLab public Project for our documentation, which can be found here:
https://gitlab.git.nrw/git.nrw-public/documentation

The official documentation from GitLab can be found here:
https://docs.gitlab.com/

If several users are collaborating on different projects, it is useful to assign users to groups. More complex structures such as groups within groups can also be created, for example to map a research institution.

Groups can be used to visualize and organize teams in GitLab. By differentiating between top-level and sub-level groups, organizational structures can be separated from each other. A top-level group is intended for the highest administrative unit.

In order to avoid name duplications of common abbreviations and institutions, there are two options for clear identification:

• A prefix of the university is placed in front of the corresponding group name
• The group is incorporated into a top-level group below the entire university

If necessary, please contact your institution to find out which method is used.

Further benefits of groups:

• The quota of 10 personal projects does not apply to groups
• Projects within the group are accessible to all members of this group, an invitation process is not necessary

A new top-level group can be requested via the git.nrw support form.

A new top-level group can be requested via the git.nrw support form.

Please provide the following information:

• A minimum of 2 named owners for the top-level group. The names and email addresses of these persons are required; they must already have an account in git.nrw.
• The desired name of the top-level group: Please use the name of your university as a prefix, e.g. RWTH-, UDE-, etc.
  Special cases for e.g. special research areas (SFB) or other interdisciplinary projects are possible on request.

During the pilot phase of the git.nrw project, the creation of top-level groups is restricted to git.nrw administrators. The further administration of groups or projects below top-level groups is the responsibility of the two registered owners of the top-level group.

If a top-level group already exists for your institution, check within your institution and contact the group owners to request a sub-level group.

There are three target groups based on their level of knowledge:

• Beginner: Individuals with no prior knowledge who are just starting to explore the topic.
• Intermediate: Users who have heard something about git.nrw and GitLab or have gained some initial experience.
• Expert: Users who use GitLab daily and are proficient in advanced functions.

Additionally, the offering is primarily aimed at professors, instructors (from at least 5 universities in NRW), and students.

The central learning objectives are:

• Safe handling of git.nrw and GitLab: Learning, applying, and integrating the basics into daily work processes.
• Practical work: Users should be able to efficiently use GitLab as a daily tool.
• Individual self-evaluation: The quiz allows users to track their personal learning progress and improve it purposefully.

The tags serve as keywords for content categorization. They:

• Categorize the content thematically (e.g., “git”, “gitlab”, “software engineering”).
• Indicate the difficulty level (Beginner, Intermediate, Expert).

• Goal: To convey in-depth topics beyond the basics.
• Format: The specific training formats are still being evaluated (online, in-person, or hybrid).
• Certification: The certification process is currently open. Since our project group initially takes responsibility for course delivery and quality assurance, it is still unclear whether and how a formal certificate will be issued.

In addition to the modular online courses provided on the website, there are additional training sessions as part of the train-the-trainer approach.

• Target groups: Professors, instructors, and multipliers who are to convey the content.
• Organization:
  • Frequency: Regularly, with a quarterly planning currently being pursued.
  • Course size: Group sizes are still being defined to ensure an optimal learning and exchange process.
• Instructors: The trainers are selected in collaboration with the consortium partners and possess solid expertise as well as didactic experience.

• Documentation:
  The training page is based on HUGO and is provided as an open-source project on GitLab. All content and changes are versioned and documented, and the central project group oversees this process.
• Evaluation:
  A governance board is planned to be established to take over the evaluation of the content. The use of external tools and the development of a checklist are currently still in the planning phase.

Feedback is primarily collected through GitLab issues.

• Options:
  • Users can create issues directly to report suggestions for improvement or problems.
  • Standardized online surveys are currently being evaluated but have not yet been finalized.
• Direct evaluation:
  The introduction of a thumbs up/down system or a free text field is currently being discussed, taking into account data protection aspects.