How to Use the Search and Quicklinks Tools on the University of Innsbruck Website (uibk.ac.at)

The University of Innsbruck homepage provides three navigation aids in its header area: Web search for finding pages across the site, People Search for locating university staff, and Quicklinks for jumping directly to frequently used pages. Use Web search when you know a topic or page name but not its location; use People Search when you have a person's name; use Quicklinks when you want a common destination (such as study programmes or the newsroom) without navigating menus.

Web Search: Finding Pages on uibk.ac.at

The homepage lists "Web search" among its primary tools, alongside People Search and Quicklinks.

What you do:

1. Open uibk.ac.at.
2. Locate the Web search entry in the header/utility area of the page.
3. Enter a keyword related to what you need — for example, a programme name, an institute, or a topic like "Newsroom."
4. Submit the query and review the results list.

What to expect: Results point to pages within the university site, such as study programme descriptions, news items, or organizational unit pages. The homepage itself references content areas like "Study," "Newsroom," and "Quicklinks," so searching those terms is a reasonable way to reach them.

Common snag: If a search returns too much, add a more specific term (e.g., a department name rather than a broad subject). If it returns nothing useful, the content may sit under a German-language page, since the site serves an international audience but is based in Austria.

People Search: Locating University Staff

People Search is listed as a separate tool next to Web search, which indicates it is the intended route for finding individuals rather than general pages.

What you do:

1. From the homepage, select People Search.
2. Enter the person's name — ideally surname plus first name to reduce ambiguity.
3. Open the matching entry to see the person's affiliation and contact details.

When to use it: You have a name (a lecturer, researcher, or administrator) and want their university contact page or unit affiliation. For finding a degree programme instead, use Web search or the study pages — People Search is not designed for topical browsing.

Common snag: Common surnames can produce multiple matches; include the first name or the department if you know it.

Quicklinks: Jumping to Common Destinations

Quicklinks is the third header tool and functions as a shortcut menu to frequently used pages, bypassing deeper menu navigation.

What you do:

1. Select Quicklinks on the homepage.
2. Choose the destination that matches your task from the list that appears.

What it is good for: Repeated visits — once you know which pages you use often (study information, news, internal services), Quicklinks gets you there in one step. The homepage also surfaces major entry points directly, including Study (with study programmes, campus-life sessions, and education fairs) and the Newsroom for research and university news.

Common snag: Quicklinks covers a curated set of destinations, not the whole site. If your target isn't listed, fall back to Web search.

Choosing the Right Tool

Practical Notes

• The homepage also offers a StudyTest — described as 15 minutes, 72 questions, producing an interest profile with course recommendations — useful if you are undecided rather than searching for something specific.
• The university states it offers more than 160 courses to around 28,000 students, so Web search results for programme names can be broad; adding the degree level (bachelor's, master's) narrows them.
• All three tools sit in the same header region, so once you are on the homepage you can switch between them without leaving the page.