Skip to ContentSkip to Navigation
University of Groningenfounded in 1614  -  top 100 university
Society/business Center for Information Technology IT & Research Services

Research Workspace

A safe space to collaborate

Good IT research facilities are indispensable while conducting scientific research. In general, a standard workstation, the University Workplace (UWP), provides sufficient facilities. But sometimes, as a researcher, you need more.

Virtual Research Workplace (VRW)

Perhaps you have specific requirements or questions, or need to comply with laws and regulations. Then the Virtual Research Workspace (VRW) is the solution. This is an extra secure digital workplace where you can collaborate with other researchers and access your applications and research data.

Virtual Research Environment (VRE)

There are also situations where just an extra secure workspace is not enough. For those situations, there is the virtual research environment (VRE), where we tailor the infrastructure to your wishes and needs.

Already equipped for working with sensitive data

Because of our experience with researchers from the Social Sciences and the Humanities (SSH) we offer many applications directed for working with sensitive data. The complete overview is in our wiki.

Secure workspace for researchers

Do you use sensitive data in your research?
The VRW is a virtualized desktop environment in which researchers collaborate and perform secure data analyses. Within the VRW, collaborations are possible with researchers from your own organization, but also from other institutions. The VRW's services, including your applications and data, are available 24/7. As a researcher, you have complete control over your data and results, while the risk of data breaches is minimized. When you work in this environment, your data is guaranteed to remain secure, even if your laptop is lost or stolen.

Two variants

VRW

This basic variant meets the necessary functionalities and presentations for most researchers. It is a highly available configuration with a virtual workspace including 1 GB of personal disk space, 100 GB of shared disk space, 4 virtual processors (vCPUs), and 12 GB of memory.

VRE, based on your input

If the VRW does not meet your requirements, we can offer a customized solution tailored to your desired functionalities and performance.

Secure working environment researchers

Do you have specific requirements when conducting your research, and is an extra secure workspace alone not sufficient? Then you can also opt for a Virtual Research Environment (VRE). A VRE is a fully customized digital work environment with your own (existing and new) applications, data, and services. It makes use of readily available standard components (building blocks). This service is always tailored to the research team.

Safety regulations for storing data

By default, VRW and VRE offers the option of storing data both on your personal disk and on a shared disk space. Data storage meets the requirements for secure data storage, complying with the following standards:

  • UG Security Baseline 2021
  • AVG / GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
Last modified:29 October 2025 3.11 p.m.
View this page in: Nederlands