There are several options for setting up an online meeting for teaching and learning, both automated and manual.  

Each option will suit different teaching and learning scenarios with varies outcomes for participants. Please look at the various pros and cons that are listed for each meeting and choose the option that is best suited to your requirements. 

Please note that some meeting options will allow for potential disruption from attendees or students and that the choice of meeting type should be carefully considered. If you need further advice and guidance on which meeting would best suit you, and mitigating potential disruption, contact your Faculty Ed-tech team

Tabs

CELCAT generated meeting

CELCAT-generated meeting links are versatile and not tied to any specific module, making them suitable for various events.

Once an event is created in the CELCAT timetabling system (via Client or Live), a link to an online Teams meeting is automatically generated and displayed in attendees' Outlook calendars. Clicking the link will bring up the usual audio/video preview screen before joining the meeting.

NB: This is the only type of meeting link that can be generated using the CELCAT timetabling system. 

For instructions on adding a meeting link to an event, please refer to the information on the Meet Now tab.

Pros: 

  • The Teams meeting link is automatically added to the event and available in both staff and students' Outlook calendars.
  • It is not linked to a specific module, offering greater flexibility.

Cons: 

  • Although the link can be created only by staff with access to the CELCAT timetabling system, anyone can join the meeting.
  • If a new staff member is added after the link is generated, they will not have organiser/presenter permissions. The existing link will need to be deleted and regenerated.

Create a Teams meeting generated through CELCAT

  1. Open the CELCAT timetabling system (Client or Live) and select an existing Event or create a New Event.
  2. Enter the Event name, which will appear in attendees' Outlook calendars.
  3. Add the Module associated with the event.
  4. Ensure a named staff member with an Imperial email address is added to the event. A link will not be generated if there is no staff member or if a generic placeholder (e.g., Staff to Be Confirmed) is used. Staff will be Organisers for the meeting.
    Add any Groups you wish to attend. If unsure which groups to add, contact your Departmental Administrator. Students within groups or directly attached to the event will be attendees in the meeting.
  5. Add any additional Students not in groups that you wish to attend.
  6. If necessary, add a room in the Rooms section for a blended learning event. You can omit the room if the event is only online.
  7. Select Equipment. In the popup window, choose the item listed as Microsoft Teams Meeting Link. This ensures a Teams meeting link is generated for online attendees. The URL will be added to the ‘Published Online Link’ field within CELCAT. Allow up to 60 minutes for the URL to be available to attendees.
  8. Ensure the Published Online Link field is completely empty. Any character in this field may cause issues with creating the meeting URL. Even if the field appears empty, there may still be a character such as a space, which will prevent a meeting link from being generated.
  9. To generate a new meeting link (e.g., after adding a new staff member, or changes to staff members), delete the current link in the Published Online Link field. This will trigger a new meeting link to be created in about 30 minutes.
  10. Add an Event Category. There are several categories for online events.
  11. Select your Department.

For more information about creating events and mandatory fields, visit the Timetabling webpages on Managing Events in Celcat and Mandatory Fields on Events

Once created, the CELCAT-generated link will appear in the Event Published Online Link field. When accessed through Outlook and CELCAT Calendar, the link will be clickable.

Download attendance

Meeting organisers will have access to an attendance list. 

Recording a CELCAT scheduled meeting

Meeting organisers will be able to record the session. The recording will be available on SharePoint.

A help sheet on generating a MS Teams link in CELCAT is available.