A Shared Channel in Teams allows you to collaborate with people from other institutions in Teams channels, without using guest accounts in each other's Teams. Those who are part of a Shared Channel will then have access to the shared channel directly from their own Teams.

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This provides opportunities for a more "seamless" collaboration.

How do you set up and use a Shared Channel?

In Teams, you will have the option to choose "Shared Channel" when creating a new channel in a Team.

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For Shared Channels to be set up and used in Teams, a so-called "trust" must be opened using Azure AD B2B Direct Connect between the institutions. This must be done by the IT Division. It is currently only open for collaboration between NTNU and these institutions:

• University of Agder
• University of Bergen
• University of Oslo
• University of Tromsø

Who can set up and use a Shared Channel?

All employees at NTNU can set up a Shared Channel and add employees from the other institutions.

All employees at NTNU can also be added to a Shared Channel by employees at the same institutions. If you are added to a shared channel, you will be notified of this and must accept it to gain access to the channel.
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Specific rules for using Shared Channels at NTNU

Since shared channels are a collaboration with other institutions, some specific rules apply when you own or are a member of such a channel, so that NTNU fulfils its contractual obligations with the other institutions. If you create or accept to be added to a shared channel, you also accept the obligations and rules that this entails.

Please note that if you agree to be added to a shared channel, you will be visible in the channel’s list of members in the other institution's Teams.

Rules for using Shared Channels:

• It is only allowed to use Shared Channels in Teams for data up to the confidentiality level internal (yellow). <Link to storage guide>
• As the owner of a Shared Channel, you are committed to quickly and without undue delay remove access to members who:
  • End their employment
  • Get a new position/other work tasks
  • Or for other reasons no longer need access to the shared channel
• If personal data is to be processed beyond the participants' own personal data, there must be a legal basis for this.
• Where NTNU is the host organization, i.e., the channel is created in NTNU's Teams, NTNU has:
  • An independent responsibility to provide information about the processing of the data to the registered
  • A responsibility to clean up in case of deviations and delete any data that should not be shared in the channel.
• All members of a shared channel are responsible for ensuring that sharing and processing data in the shared channel is in accordance with NTNU's guidelines or rules in this routine.
• Deviations must be reported without undue delay in NTNU's deviation system.