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Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 is the name of Microsoft's integrated suite of applications and cloud services, including the Office applications, storage and collaboration tools.


Microsoft 365 is available to all students and staff of Ghent University and offers the following possibilities:

  • Access to OneDrive for work or school: personal cloud storage with 1 TB (terabyte) of storage space.
  • You can download and install the Microsoft 365 apps on your own devices.
  • You also have access to the online version of the Microsoft 365 applications: Word, Excel, OneNote, ...
  • Access to UGent's Viva Engage pages (blogs and social networks).

Getting started

  • Surf to office.ugent.be and click 'Sign in'.
  • Enter your Ghent University email address and click 'Next'.
  • Enter your Ghent University password and click 'Sign in'.
  • Confirm the login request via your set MFA method.
  • After you log in, an overview of your documents and all available Microsoft 365 apps will appear.

OneDrive for work or school

OneDrive for work or school can be seen as the cloud version of 'My Documents' folder.

If you want to access the OneDrive storage via Explorer or if you want to synchronize your files with your local computer, you need the OneDrive client.

More info about OneDrive for work or school.


Installing Microsoft 365

Through Microsoft 365, you can install the Office package on up to 5 personal devices, e.g. your PC, Mac, laptop, tablet, ...

  • Surf to office.ugent.be and click 'Sign in'.
  • Enter your Ghent University email address and click 'Next'.
  • Enter your Ghent University password and click 'Sign in'.
  • Confirm the login request via your set MFA method.
  • Click "Install and more" at the top right and then "Install Microsoft 365 apps".
  • Follow the installation instructions.
  • After installation, start one of the Office applications, for example Word, and click on 'Sign in'.
  • Log back in with your UGent credentials and confirm with your set MFA method.

Office Online

With the online versions of the Office applications you can easily collaborate on a document. A browser is all you need. So it is not necessary to install Office

Go to office.ugent.be click on the Word, Excel, PowerPoint or OneNote tile to start the application.


School or work account versus personal Microsoft account

  • Ghent University offers Microsoft 365 for students and staff. You need a Ghent University account for it.
  • Outside the school or work context you can also have a personal Microsoft account.

What is the difference?

Your Ghent University school account (for students) or work account (for employees) is created for you by DICT. The username of this account is your UGent email address ending in '@ugent.be'.

  • You created your personal Microsoft account yourself.
  • The e-mail address of this account ends in @hotmail.com, @live.be, @live.com or @outlook.com.
  • A personal Microsoft account also gives you access to Microsoft services such as Office Online, OneDrive and Skype.
  • If you don't already have a personal Microsoft account, you can create one. Please note: do not use your Ghent University e-mail address here.
  • Tip: make a visual distinction. Choose a different profile picture and theme for your personal Microsoft account and your Ghent University school/work account.