Obtaining software or other services under Europractice

Europractice offers several packages at concessionary rates for use in the University for teaching and research.  If you are interested in using one of these packages and need to set up a workstation in your own department, you will need to purchase one or more licenses from Europractice. 

Finding the package

• Browse the Europractice software support site at DRAL to find a suitable package for your needs.   Determine the software price (per-seat licence fee) and the recurrent annual maintenance price.

Application and End User Agreement

• Download the necessary forms for printing and completion from the Europractice support site.  These are available in Acrobat or Postscript format, and comprise:-
  1. Software order forms - details of the package required and the workstation(s)/PC(s) on which it is to be run.  You need to quote the Cambridge University Europractice Number A 35780. 
     If this form is incomplete your application is likely to be delayed. 
     Under Europractice rules the Order Form has to be signed by the University Europractice representative, David Holburn, who retains a copy.
  2. End User Agreement - this is a legal document between the software supplier and the user.  It should be signed by a senior University Officer in your Department (e.g. Head of Department, Secretary of Department, Director of Research, etc) and should if possible be stamped with the official Department stamp.  In Engineering, please refer to the following URL.  In other Departments you are advised to contact the Head of Department for guidance.
     Please note that the Europractice representative does not sign the EUA document.
     Basically, the agreement restricts use of the software to educational or research uses.  If you are contemplating use of the software for consultancy or commercial development, you/your Department must enter a different agreement.  If in any doubt about this you should discuss your plans with staff at Europractice.
     For several of the most important packages, EUAs have already been entered into by the University.  Where this is the case you will not be required to sign a new EUA; however, as a member of the University you will be bound by the terms of any pre-existing Agreement and should enaure you are aware of its provisions .  Europractice Software Services can advise whether this is necessary.

Financial

• You will need to budget for the once-off licence fee costs plus the recurrent annual maintenance price.  The once-off licence fee (and in certain cases the first year's maintenance) must be paid by means of a departmental purchase order.  Current practice at DRAL calls for payment to be received before the goods will be despatched, although it seems that they will normally commence supply procedures on receipt of an official order.
• The set of documents - completed Order Form, signed EUA and departmental PO - should be sent or brought to the Europractice representative for signature.   If the documents are ready for despatch and appropriately packaged, they can be forwarded on request by post or by email to DRAL, and an electronic copy will be retained.  Otherwise they will be returned to the sender.
• Note that DRAL actions orders for software on a monthly basis.  Your application needs to be received at DRAL by the 25th of the month to be included in that month's order.  Sometimes, if your need is urgent, it is possible to speed things up by FAXing a request to DRAL to place an order for software.  However, unless the documents referred to are completed, signed and sent in reasonably promptly, there is a risk your application may still be delayed.
• If the selected package is already in use in the University, you may be able to take advantage of reduced licence fees (for example, if you wish to obtain a licence for PC XACT Foundation Express, you may apply for an additional licence, since several licences are held by users in other departments.  If you are not sure whether the selected package is in use already, check the section: Existing Users.

Media

• If the selected package is already in use in the University, no further copies of the source media (CD-ROMs) will be sent. In fact, for workstation-based packages there may be no 'goods' as such, since a new licence 'key' file will be issued by email.  For PC-based packages a security device (dongle) may be supplied.  It is expected by Europractice that a single set of media will serve the needs of the whole University.   Increasingly, ,media are in the form of downloadable archives.
• Where appropriate, it should be possible for the media to be loaned to new users, and when upgrades are received, participating departments are emailed to inform them of the existence of upgraded software. 
• Where possible, physical media are retained in CU Engineering Department, but in certain cases they are held by major users elsewhere in the University.

Maintenance

• Maintenance charges incurred by the University are invoiced centrally and contributions are requested from Departments by IDN, usually in September/October for the new academic year.  If the selected package will be in use by more than one University department, you may be able to share maintenance costs with one or more other Departments.  Such arrangements cannot be guaranteed since Departments may cease their use of a package without advance notice.  For more information about the status of a specific package, please contact the Europractice representative.

Support

One of the conditions of supply of packages under Europractice is that users are not permitted to make a direct approach to the software suppliers (for example, Cadence, Mentor Graphics).  Apart from problems relating to passwords, accounts, etc, support is not generally available locally.  When a problem is encountered with a Europractice-supported software package, the correct way to obtain support is to send an email to 

MicroelectronicsCentre@stfc.ac.uk

being sure to quote:

• your contact details 
• a complete description of the problem
• details of the host on which the package is being run 
• our site number A35780

It will help if a cc. of the message is sent to the Europractice representative.  There's more information about the support available at: http://www.europractice.stfc.ac.uk/contact_us.html

Training

• There is no training or technical support available within CUED for these packages, although as active users of some of them we will always do our best to assist new users.   It is up to the individual group or department to ensure that it has the necessary computing infrastructure and local technical support for any packages to be used.
• A number of training courses are available, some at highly subsidised rates, in the use of these packages.  If you are contemplating using a Europractice package for time-critical design work, you are strongly recommended to consider whether courses may be of assistance. 
• EuroTraining is a separately funded activity within Europractice that provides training infrastructures and supports certain specified training needs.  It is an established route for industry and universities to gain access to technology and training. The EuroTraining team comprises: Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Consorzio per la Ricera e Educazione Permanente (COREP), Technology for Industry Limited (TFI) and Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( BUTE).  EuroTraining publishes a EuroTraining Course Directory and a newsletter,  EuroTraining News.
• DRAL runs a series of events and initiatives which may be free to EPSRC customers in the UK.  Information days and other meetings are organised on behalf of Europractice and software vendors.  Upcoming courses are usually notified by email, and will be distributed locally by means of a Mailing List. For information about subscribing to this service, please click this cam-only link.  In addition, you can sign up for Europractice's own mailing list to be kept informed.

D M Holburn.  Last updated 2 July 2020