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If your university PC uses Windows 10, you will already have Skype for Business installed and available on your Start menu.

Note that Skype for Business is completely different software from Skype, although they are both owned by Microsoft, are used for web chat and have similar names. One offers serious features and security for businesses and costs per employee, while the other is for social use and is free. You can read more about the differences if you want.

You can use Skype for Business to make and receive calls with people who use Skype, for example international students, academics at other institutions and job applicants. To do so you’ll need the email address they use for their Skype account. You don’t need to know their Skype username.

Start Skype for Business, log in and Add a new contact as shown below.

Note that you can add contacts at other organisations which also use Skype for Business, such as a colleague at another university. You will need to know their institutional email address e.g. A.Scholar@hull.ac.uk

Type the email address they use with their Skype account and click OK

They will be sent a contact request which they must accept before you can call them or they can call you. They will need to log in to Skype to see and accept that request.

It is essential to successfully make a test call before any real use, and the first step is always to find out what email is associated with their Skype account.