Introducing CRIS at FAU: Project Presentation

We look at the process of introducing a research information system at a large German university with more than 40.000 students, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Background information about FAU is provided as well as a short overview of the historical development of the CRIS project and some technical details relevant to the system. The paper details the challenges that had (and have) to be overcome, taking into account general obstacles which could be encountered by any large research body implementing a CRIS, some challenges specific to the German university landscape and lastly those unique to FAU. We also focus on strategies to win the researchers for CRIS, some of which can be classified as general best practice, others are tailored to specific FAU demands.