Staff members of the University with a valid staff ID card issued by the Human Resources Office are eligible to apply for a staff computer account for accessing emails and other network services. Each member of staff can apply for ONE Staff Account, which is intended primarily for work related to the University.
The global storage reduction outlined in the Microsoft 365 Education Storage Policy, has led to a significant reduction in the amount of storage space available in the Microsoft 365 cloud services. To minimize the impact on productivity, the Email quota for staff members remains unchanged at 100 GB. OneDrive quota for staff members is adjusted to 100 GB supplemented by an archiving storage service, Nextcloud, which offers up to 500 GB of additional storage for staff.
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Account Application
All users are expected to observe acceptable standards of behavior in using their HKUST accounts. Please read the Acceptable Use Policy, Access to User Accounts Policy and Protect My Account carefully before activating your account.
- Application should be submitted by an existing Staff account of department/office concerned.
- Please also provide external email address of the new staff, for contact & account activation’s need. Applications will normally be processed within two working days of being received.
- Upon successful submission of application form, there will be:
- email to the new staff’s external email address – asking user to validate correctness of the external email address
- email to office's IDLP (and/or authorized colleagues) - for endorsement of the Staff account application (EXCEPT for application submitted by IDLP)
- email notifying new staff on the account activation link - user can directly activate his/her HKUST account created.
Activation Guidelines:
- The chosen account name must not conflict with any existing account name or special words reserved by ITSO. ITSO reserves the right to make the final decision on the account name allocated.
- Once your account is created, you will not be allowed to change your account name. Please choose carefully before submitting your application. The account name should be between 3-12 characters, without numerals or special characters.
- For security reasons, you are required to change the HKUST account password before using any network services.
When your staff account is ready, feel free to visit Exchange Online for Staff to set up your email, like changing your display name or adding an email alias.
Once you get your staff card from HRO, don’t forget to link your staff ID to your computer account by completing the staff account association. This will let you access all online HKUST services smoothly.
Important Updates for Staff Accounts
Please note the following storage entitlements for all HKUST Staff Accounts, which have been updated due to the Microsoft global storage reduction. Newly created staff accounts will be assigned these new storage quotas immediately. Most existing staff accounts with usage below the new quota have already been updated. Users currently exceeding the quota will be gradually transitioned to the new limits by 31 October 2025.
Email: Remains at 100 GB
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Once your mailbox reaches 90% capacity, the Archive Mailbox will be automatically activated in Outlook, and emails older than two years will be moved to this archive mailbox, freeing up space and not counting toward your storage quota.
As a good practice, please regularly delete unnecessary emails and save large attachments to other storage for retention.
OneDrive: 100 GB
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Existing users with over-quota usage will be gradually transitioned to the new quota by 31 October 2025. Afterwards, access will be restricted to read / download / delete only if usage still exceeds the quota.
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To facilitate this, an archiving storage service, Nextcloud, is available to staff with up to 500 GB of storage space.
Kindly remember that HKUST Staff Accounts are primarily for work-related purposes. Please review your OneDrive, clean up unnecessary files, and relocate less frequently used files to Nextcloud to ensure you stay within your allocated quota.
Nextcloud: 500 GB
Nextcloud is an on-premises storage service accessible via various devices such as desktop and notebook computers, mobile phones, and more. It is intended for HKUST staff to securely archive less frequently used files from OneDrive. This service will be made available in phases. Additional information and instructions will be sent via email.
Additional Resources
- Visit the Microsoft 365 Storage Global Reduction page for more information on managing your storage.
Account Termination
Staff Accounts will be terminated when the member of staff leaves the University. In general, a grace period of 2 weeks access to non-administration systems will be provided for backup purpose. An email notification will be sent to the staff member with the account expiry date. Staff members are urged to backup files they would like to retain or transfer them to other valid user accounts before termination of access. After the grace period, the account will be backed up and retained for up to 6 months. On the other hand, system logs pertaining to the account will be kept for up to 7 years depending on our available capacity. After the aforesaid period, the said data will be deleted.
If you need to use the account for University-related purposes after departure, please fill in the form ‘Application for Staff Account Extension’ BEFORE the account expires. The completed form will be directed to IDLP of your Department / Office for approval, and you will be notified by email on the application status.