Terms of use: Microsoft 365 for students

 

Microsoft 365All UCT students have access to Microsoft 365 as part of Microsoft’s Student Advantage Program. You have access to Microsoft 365 at no cost and will be able to download and install the software on up to five devices including Windows and Mac computers and Windows, Android and Apple mobile devices. The software has the same features and functions as other versions of Office 2016.

Once you leave UCT, all documents that you created using the Microsoft Office suite need to be moved to another location. You will need to purchase a copy of the Microsoft Office suite to continue editing your Microsoft 365 files.

Register and download the software

In order to download the software onto your laptop:

  1. Go to https://outlook.com/myuct.ac.za
  2. Log on using your student email address (studentnumber@myuct.ac.za) and password.
  3. Click the App launcher icon in the top left corner > Microsoft 365.
  4. On the Microsoft 365 page click Install Office > Microsoft 365 apps.

Activate an installation

To activate an installation of Office, please follow these instructions.

Deactivate an installation

If you’ve already installed Microsoft 365 on five devices and you want to install the software on a sixth computer, you will need to first deactivate an installation on one of your current computers.

  1. Go to https://outlook.com/myuct.ac.za
  2. Log on using your student email address (studentnumber@myuct.ac.za) and password.
  3. Click the App launcher icon in the top left corner > Microsoft 365.
  4. On the Office 365 page click Install Office > Other install options.
  5. Under the Office apps & devices section click View apps & devices.
  6. Under Office click the arrow v next to Devices.
    • A list of the devices you have installed the software on will appear.
  7. Click Deactivate next to the computer you want to deactivate.

 

Microsoft AI offerings

Microsoft CoPilot Chat

Microsoft Copilot Chat has been selected as the recommended artificial intelligence (AI) platform to use at the University of Cape Town. Using AI technology, compatible with most paid-for AI options (e.g., ChatGPT Pro), it is secure and can help you manage tasks and get your through your to-do list with ease. 

Why use Microsoft Copilot Chat? 

Unlike other AI tools, Microsoft Copilot Chat creates a secure environment for you to ask for assistance. You can ask it to find information and provide the relevant sources, solve complex problems, summarise long documents, get started on presentations, prepare for meetings, edit photographs, create forms, and so much more.  

The clearer the prompt, the more refined the result will be. However, it also provides suggestions to help you get started and will continue to ask follow-up questions to help you find exactly what you need. It’s your personal companion to help you get through those easy and complex tasks.  

Find out more


Microsoft CoPilot Pro

While the UCT Microsoft Campus agreement doesn’t currently offer any additional paid plans, personal Microsoft ID accounts can subscribe to Microsoft CoPilot Pro at $20.00 USD per month. This product gives access to 

  • faster response times, especially during peak times
  • more messages per conversation per day
  • additional image tools and generating capabilities

Microsoft CoPilot Pro also has some basic Microsoft Office AI capabilities. This does, however, require a subscription to a personal or family Microsoft 365 product as well as CoPilot Pro.

IMPORTANT: Microsoft CoPilot Pro cannot be used or subscribed to using a UCT account. It is only available to personal accounts.

 

Microsoft 365 CoPilot

Microsoft 365 CoPilot is vastly different to CoPilot Pro. While it provides the same LLM and Dall-E product capabilities, it also includes strong integration with the Microsoft 365 product suite, which Microsoft calls the Microsoft 365 Graph.

Microsoft 365 CoPilot’s AI accesses your Office files, email and other Microsoft Graph data and learns about your work to provide a more personal experience. It can

  • create documents
  • analyse reports and documents
  • assist with spreadsheet creation and formulas
  • produce PowerPoint presentations from other document types

It’s a fully integrated and complete AI product for Microsoft Office.

Associated costs

This is available at an additional cost per user per year of enterprise and business customers. This offering is now available to Microsoft Education customers, however, it is not yet available at UCT.