How to book a microscope in the NIC?
If you are already a registered user
you may directly book the system(s) you've been trained on via PPMS. This is only possible within the university network. If you want to log in to PPMS from outside the university, please connect to the university network via VPN.
Booked slots can be deleted free of charge up to 48 hours in advance. After that, the normal usage fees apply, unless someone else books the deleted slot. It is therefore always worth deleting a slot if you cannot use it.
If you book with the “Temperature control and CO2” option, one hour before and after the booked slot will be added. These two hours will not be charged. However, they may only be used to heat up the system and to cool it down again after the booking. For example, if you book from 20h to 7h, the time from 19-20h and from 7-8h will be added and displayed in a slightly lighter color in the scheduler. It must be clear that in this case, the user must come at 7h to remove the experiment and turn off the heating. The next user (who could also book at short notice) must be guaranteed to find a microscope that is at room temperature.
If you are not yet user of the Nikon Imaging Center
then ask your PI if your group has a group account with the NIC. If not, your PI first needs to create this group account (see below). If the group account exists you may create a personal account with the NIC and send a training request in which you specify what you want to to.
The reason for the group account is that we have been required to charge usage fees since July 1, 2011. By requiring the principal investigator (PI) to set up a group account with the NIC themselves, it is clear that they are aware of the costs of using the NIC and are willing to bear them. Therefore, please contact your PI first and ask them if your group is already registered with the NIC.
The NIC works according to the general user policy of Heidelberg University (available in German only) and users will have to sign a more specific set of rules called "NIC user policy" (Einzelnutzungsvereinbarung) before being able to book microscope time.
- If your group is already registered go to https://ppms.eu/uni-heidelberg/login/?pf=2, click "Account creation request" and fill out the form.
On the bottom of that page is a list named "Group". Look for your group (the groups are NOT listed alphabetically!) and click "Submit form".
Now continue and make a training request at "While your request is awaiting validation". Fill out the training request form as completely as possible and click on "submit request" on the bottom. - If your group is not yet registered, ask your PI whether she or he is willing to bear the costs (see Pricelist.pdf). Now your PI has to fill out the file Groups parameters.pdf and send it from her or his personal email account to us (this is the proof for us that the PI is willing to bear the costs).
Now go to https://ppms.eu/uni-heidelberg/login/?pf=2 and click "Account creation request". Fill out the form and click on the bottom of the page in the list named "Group" on "My group is NOT in the list" (first option). Next click "Submit form".
Your account is now set up but will only be activated by us once we have created your group after we received the "Groups parameters.pdf" from your PI. And only then will you be able to get a training on a microscope.
Nevertheless, you can continue and make a training request at "While your request is awaiting validation". Fill out the training request form as completely as possible and click on "submit request" on the bottom.
In both cases we will receive a message that there is a pending account- and training request and this allows us to contact you and schedule a training appointment.
Important information about training requests: The training request is not intended to describe what you would like to do with us in the future. We are only interested in what you plan to do first, as we need to find the right microscope for that specific task. You can describe what you would like to do as a second or third step in future training requests. Of course, you can also let us know your future plans in your initial training request so that we can tell you whether we have the right equipment for this, as long as you describe the original project clearly and separately.
Important information about the user policy: During the registration process, you will be asked to print out and sign our User Policy. This should be done no later than 28 days after your account is activated, otherwise your account will be suspended until we receive the document, so it is not very urgent.
You can email the signed document to Nicolas Dross, or bring a printed copy with you to the training. Please wait to print the User Policy until you have received an email from us confirming the activation of your account. Otherwise, the document will not contain all the necessary information and you will have to print and send it again.
If you have questions regarding PPMS please contact Nicolas Dross.
