History of the CIT

  • 1954: Establishment of a computing centre at the Institute for Applied Physics
  • 1959: Inauguration of the vacuum tube computer Z22 (PDF)
  • 1964: Foundation of the "Rechenzentrums der Universität Münster" (RUM) and establishment of a Chair for Numerical and Instrumental Mathematics
  • 1966: Entry into the mainframe computer world through the acquisition of an IBM 360/50 system with 128 KB
  • 1967: Move to new premises at Einsteinstraße 60 (then Roxeler Straße)
  • 1972: Transition to 3-shift operation with 24-hour availability
  • 1977: First edition of the "inforum" is published
  • 1978: End of the punch card system by procurement of an IBM 3032 computer with 15-fold performance
  • 1978: Renamed "Universitätsrechenzentrum" (URZ)
  • 1984: Construction of the first optical fibre line at Münster University and connection to the EARN (European Academic and Research Network), which connected universities and research institutions in Europe and the USA
  • 1985: Use of Unix
  • 1990: Launch of the DFN science network (WiN) with 64 kbit/s connection
  • 1992: Last mainframe procurement (four processor system IBM ES/9000-61)
  • 1996: End of the mainframe era
  • 1996: Renamed "Zentrum für Informationsverarbeitung" (ZIV) and establishment of the the decentralised IV structure at Münster University
  • 1998: Move to additional premises at Röntgenstraße 9-13
  • 1998: Pilot project with ADSL connections to connect the dormitories
  • 1998: Launch of the ZIVline as a central service point
  • 1998-2003: Reconstruction of the ZIV building at Einsteinstraße 60
  • 2000: Expansion of WLAN coverage at Münster University
  • 2001: Launch of perMail as the university's webmailer
  • 2002: Launch of IKM (information, communication, media), a cooperation between the university administration, the university library (ULB) and the ZIV
  • 2003: Commissioning of a parallel computer
  • 2006: Launch of the MeinZIV user portal (today: IT portal)
  • 2007: Integration of the subject area "Communication & Media Technology" (formerly Dep. 4.4.3) into the ZIV's department "Communication Systems"
  • 2007: Dr. Raimund Vogl becomes new director
  • 2009: Procurement of the high-performance cluster ZIVHPC with 1.3 TFlop
  • 2010: Introduction of free software courses for students
  • 2011: Replacement of ZIVHPC by PALMA with more than 30 TFlop
  • 2011: Full supply of all lecture halls and seminar rooms with WLAN
  • 2011: 20,000th telephone extension
  • 2012: Launch of the study assistance portal MyWWU
  • 2012: Last print issue of the "inforum"
  • 2013: First issue of the new online magazine "Z.I.V."
  • 2014: The 66,666 LAN connection is documented
  • 2014: 50th anniversary of the ZIV
  • 2015: Launch of sciebo - die Hochschulcloud under the auspices of the ZIV
  • 2017: Organsation of EUNIS 2017
  • 2018: Inauguration of the newly built server room and the HPC cluster PALMA II
  • 2020: Merger of the Stabsstelle IT und Prozessentwicklung (StabITuP) and the Zentrum für Informationsverarbeitung (ZIV) to form the newly named institution WWU IT
  • 2023: Renamed CIT – Center for Information Technology (in the course of the renaming of the WWU Münster to the Universität Münster (University of Münster)).