Use of the MediaLab
Who can use the MediaLab?
Free Use:
Only individuals who are currently enrolled in the Faculty of Philology and Cultural Studies or its affiliated institutes may use the MediaLab free of charge. These individuals may also apply for user authorization on behalf of their students who need to use the MediaLab as part of a course or for a master’s thesis or dissertation.
Use for a Fee:
Individuals who are not eligible for free use may rent MediaLab spaces or equipment.
MediaLab equipment and spaces are available exclusively for academic projects; commercial projects are not supported.
How do I apply for a permit?
All requests to use the MediaLab must be sent by email to medialab.philkult(at)univie.ac.at. If you have questions, you are also welcome to contact us by phone.
Students
For students, authorisation to use the MediaLab can only be requested by teaching staff at the Faculty of Philology and Cultural Studies and its institutes. The completed application must be sent to the MediaLab by email by the member of teaching staff.
General information
Especially when contacting us for the first time, please state the institute where you work or study, or the project you are working on, and describe as precisely as possible what you need.
Terms of use
By using the MediaLab, you accept the applicable terms of use.
F.A.Q.
People working in the MediaLab receive an electronic access card from the office, which they can use to unlock and lock the rooms. For larger projects, the card may be kept for several days. It can be returned in person or via the return box in the respective room.
The MediaLab is generally open Monday to Friday, approximately 10:00–16:00. However, as the team also has teaching commitments, training courses and other duties, someone is not always on site. Please always arrange collection and return appointments by email.
Yes. Once you have collected an access card, you can work outside opening hours, including at weekends. Please note the opening hours of UZA II; you may need to enter the building via the porter’s desk (site map). Please always let us know in advance if you wish to work outside opening hours or at weekends so that we can avoid double bookings.
MediaLab makes rooms and equipment available for use, but does not provide staff. The skills needed to operate the equipment must be acquired independently or in the regular workshops held at the Lab.
Teaching staff and supervisors are solely responsible for supervising students who need to work in the MediaLab as part of research-led teaching or while preparing a master’s thesis or dissertation.
The rooms may be booked for individual classes that require the technologies available there. It is not possible to hold entire courses in the MediaLab.
Users are responsible for their own data. Please always bring USB sticks or hard drives to take your data with you. You can also log in to your u:cloud directly from the MediaLab computers and upload data. For larger files (up to 250 GB), please use ACOnet FileSender. On request, we can create a backup of your data (up to 1 TB), which we keep for a maximum of one year. Otherwise, we assume that you have taken your data with you and delete it a few days or weeks after use.
If appropriate equipment insurance is taken out, the equipment may be taken off campus. The cost must be borne by the user. The insurance must cover transport to the place of use and use itself in the event of damage. Such insurance can be arranged through the University of Vienna.
Due to high demand, we need to keep the loan period as short as possible, ideally just a few days. In exceptional cases (e.g. field research or major projects), we lend equipment for a maximum of four weeks, depending on availability.
As a rule, only academic projects are supported, e.g. conducting studies or experiments, field research, or producing media for science communication. Exceptions for private use may be made for people eligible to use the MediaLab (e.g. theatre rehearsals or performances, audiobook recordings, private research or hobby research that is not financially supported by funders or universities, and similar activities). Commercial use of the MediaLab (any intention to make a profit) is not supported.