About Account Creation

Users can access the BIH/Charite VRE by invitation or self-registration, regardless of whether or not they are Charite employees. The onboarding process is slightly different for employees and external users.

• Onboarding Different User Types
  • Onboarding Existing Charite members
  • Onboarding External users
• Detailed events following user self-registration
• Workflow for Onboarding VRE External Users (without self-registration)
  • Step 1: New User Invitation
  • Step 2: Access Request Submission
  • Step 3: AD Account Creation
• Adding Users to the Test Project

Onboarding Different User Types

Onboarding Existing Charite members

Existing Charite members are employees or associates who have an existing entry in the Charite Active Directory (AD). They can access the VRE in one of the following ways:

• Self-Registration: By visiting the “Getting Started” page of the VRE website https://vre.charite.de/vre/pages/getting_started and clicking “Try out the VRE”, a Charite employee can provide their Charite username and email address to receive an email with an account activation link. Clicking the link will direct the user to the login page where they can sign in, accept the Terms of Use, and start using the VRE Test Project. See “Detailed events following user self-registration” for more information.
• Upon Invitation by a Platform or Project Administrator: A Platform or Project Administrator can invite a Charite employee to a Project by using the user management tools available to them. Once invited, first time VRE users will receive an email activation link to direct them to log in, accept the Terms of Use, and gain entry to their project. Existing VRE users will receive an email notification that they have been added to the project, and they they can simply log in and access their new project.
  
  The Platform Administrator or Project Administrator can check the status of sent invitations in the Pending tab of the user management page. They will not receive an email notification when they invite Charite employees to the VRE.

Onboarding External users

External users are not employees of the Charite and don’t have an existing entry in the Charite Active Directory (AD). Onboarding for these users is slightly different because they first need to complete an AD application form and receive approval by a Charite project sponsor to be added to the Charite AD.

They can start the process of accessing the VRE in one of the following ways:

• Self-Registration: By visiting the “Getting Started” page of the VRE website https://vre.charite.de/vre/pages/getting_started and clicking “Try out the VRE”, the external user confirms they are not a Charite employee and submits their information to contact the VRE support team to initiate the process of onboarding.
• Upon Invitation by a Platform or Project Administrator: A Platform or Project Administrator can invite an external member to a Project by using the user management tools available to them.
  
  The Platform Administrator or Project Administrator can check the status of sent invitations in the Pending tab of the user management page. Platform Administrator(s) will receive an email notification when they invite external users to the VRE.

See “Workflow for Onboarding VRE External Users (without self-registration)” for the next steps on setting up external users.

Detailed events following user self-registration

Completing the “Try out the VRE” self-registration form on the VRE Portal triggers one of the following conditions and email events:

Workflow for Onboarding VRE External Users (without self-registration)

Step 1: New User Invitation

1. A Project or Platform Administrator invites an external user to the VRE within the Project Members page or the User Management tab respectively. 

2. The platform sends an automatic email invitation to the external user that includes:

   1. The name of the Project(s) the user has been invited to
   2. The role the user will be assigned within the Project
   3. The AD request form (as an attachment for them to fill out)

3. The platform also sends an automatic email to the Platform Administrator that includes:

   1. The name of the Project(s) the user has been invited to
   2. The role the user will be assigned within the Project
   3. The user details for the new account
   4. The name of the Administrator that submitted the request

Step 2: Access Request Submission

1. The new user follows the instructions in the email and completes the AD request form and sends it back to the Platform Administrator(s) by email.

2. After the Platform Administrator(s) receives the signed form, they: 

   1. Verify that the email address specified in the user’s form matches the email address that the invitation was originally sent to.  
   2. Verify that the user has an existing business or research contract with the Charite. This may require manual communication with the user.
   3. Submit the completed AD request form together with the user’s business contract to Charité's IT department for approval.  
   4. Notifies Charité IT with information of the VRE AD groups to which the user should be added (vre-vre-users, and vre-<projectcode>).

Step 3: AD Account Creation

1. After approving the AD request form, Charité IT creates the new AD account and adds the new user into their corresponding VRE Active Directory groups informed by Platform Administrator from the previous step.
2. Charité IT’s process for AD account activation triggers an email notification to the new external user and the Platform Administrator, notifying both that the new Active Directory account has been created.  
3. The new users can now use their AD credentials to log into the VRE.  

Adding Users to the Test Project

The Test Project is offered as a demo environment for any user who joins the VRE to try out the environment, features, and workspace tools.

A few notes about inviting users to the Test Project:

• Charite employees who successfully self-register are automatically added to the Test Project with the “Collaborator” role. A Platform Administrator or Test Project Administrator can change a user’s role in the Test Project.
• Charite employees can also join the Test Project by invitation from a Platform Administrator or Project Administrator of the Test Project. The Administrator does not receive an email notification when they invite a Charite employee.
• External users who apply for and are approved for a VRE account must be manually invited to the Test Project by a Platform Administrator or Project Administrator of the Test Project. The Platform Administrator receives an email notification when they invite external users to the VRE for the first time.