Courses at the Library

Student's Digital Skills: Information Seeking

• Study material on the University of Helsinki blog

Information Seeking and Management for Thesis Writers

• University of Helsinki students register for the course via Sisu with code LIB-200

Helka Essentials – Navigating Library Services

• No upcoming courses this semester 

Information Seeking Basics in English 

• No upcoming courses this semester 

More courses in Finnish, see Kirjaston kurssitarjonta

Learn How to Manage References with Zotero 

The course is held in Finnish, Swedish and English. For other language options, change the language of the page. 

• Mon. 24th of November 2025 at 12.15-13.45 in Zoom, registration 

The content is the same both times. You can attend either session – just sign up! 

Please download the program from Zotero.org before the course and make yourself an account.

Basics of Systematic Literature Search: Scopus / Web of Science

Read the preliminary material and complete the tasks on the Moodle area of the course in time for the online meeting. Please allow 1-2 hours for this.

• Wed. 26th of November 2025 at 9.15-11.00 in Zoom, registration

The library AI training introduces AI services provided by the university, including Keenious, Scopus AI, Web of Science Research Assistant, and AvidNote.

AI and Information Retrieval Webinar in English 

• Thu.  4th of December 2025 at 10.00-11.00 in Zoom, registration

Tekoälyä ja tiedonhakua -työpaja (in Finnish) 

• Fri 12th of December 2025 at 10.15-11.45, workshop in Kumpula, Physicum. registeration for the AI workshop in Finnish

More courses in Finnish, see Kirjaston kurssitarjonta

Information Management for Doctoral Researchers. Timetable, registration and course description in Sisu. You can find the course in Sisu by searching with the code LIB-900. Select one of the three courses for different fields of study: 

• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Life and Natural Sciences
• Managing Scientific Information in Medicine and Health Sciences (former code Health-145)

The University of Helsinki Data Support organises data management courses.

RDM Basics 

RDM Basics is an introductory course on the basic concepts of research data management.  

REDCap trainings 

REDCap is a secure online tool for building surveys and databases and collecting data from them.

For more information and registration for data management courses, visit the Data Support website.

At the workshops you can ask about academic writing, information retrieval or reference management. 

The workshops are led by the Language Centre's written communication teacher and library experts in information retrieval and reference management. 

The workshops start with a short introduction in Finnish, after which you can work on your own essay or thesis and ask for help from instructors if necessary. The duration of the workshops is two hours, but you can stay in the workshop as long as you like. 

Please bring your own laptop and other necessary study equipment. 

Please note, that the workshops are held in Finnish, but you can also ask in Swedish and English. 

For more information, please contact kouluttaja@helsinki.fi 

Remember to cancel your participation if you are unable to attend.

• Monday 1 December 2025 at 16.15-18.00. Registation.

Place: Kaisa House, Fabianinkatu 30, Kaisa Hall 7062 (7th floor)

Have you perhaps studied information seeking on a library course but still need more help? Book an appointment. Please note that advice will not be available during the summer break (dates to be announced).

The information seeking drop-in sessions are short information sessions about different topics. After the short introduction, you’ll have an opportunity to ask a library specialist questions about information seeking. 

Do you need tips on information seeking? Are your sources lost or references messed up?  

Welcome to the information seeking drop-in sessions!

The short information seeking sessions will be held on Zoom on Mondays from 14:00 to 14:15, from September to December. There are no sessions during the spring term.

Information seeking drop-in sessions are mostly held in Finnish, and you do not need to register in advance. 

The Autumn 2025 sessions 

Are you ready for an adventure? The Library Virtual Escape Game is running throughout the academic year. 

You’re about to embark on a magical journey, during which you’ll need to solve library-related problems online.  

The game is available in Finnish, Swedish and English.

Link to the escape game

At the library's thesis festival event, Gradufest, you can get advice on your thesis from various experts at the university. The event will also help you in producing other large written pieces of work related to your studies.   

At Gradufest, you will find out what kind of help the university has to offer to support you with your thesis. The day's program consists of presentations by various experts, workshops and one-to-one advice sessions.  All bachelor's and master's students and other interested students and staff are welcome to attend the event. 

The event programme and schedule will be published closer to the event date.

The library also occasionally organises low-threshold activities to support your wellbeing and studies.

At the beginning of the semesters, you will find roaming librarians on the 3rd floor of the Kaisa House. You can identify the librarians by the Ask me about library pin.

In addition, the library organizes regularly courses and lectures on other issues, such as open science. More information on the library website. 

Read tips how to find and manage information.

The library offers special support in information retrieval to students of the University of Helsinki who need this service due to a learning difficulty or some other reason. For example, you are entitled to personal advice on information retrieval (one hour) to support your studies.

• Please contact the library to agree on organising additional support. Explain where you need help and suggest times suitable for you.
• A specialist from the library will contact you and ask for additional information, if required.

Contact the library to agree on special assistance

In questions concerning the courses, please contact the library teachers via the online form. 

Contact the library using the online form. 

How do I re­gister for the courses? 

The students register for the courses mainly online by clicking the course you want.

The exceptions:  

• The online course Information Seeking and Management for Thesis Writers: University of Helsinki students register for the course in Sisu with the code LIB-200. 
• Courses for doctoral researchers are in Sisu, code LIB-900. 

When should I take a course?

You should consider taking an information seeking course already prior to starting your thesis. When you are familiar with using databases and evaluating sources, you have better skills to search for academic information.  

Will I get cred­its for the courses?

If you study at the University of Helsinki, please contact your degree programme to find out if you can have the course recognised as part of your studies. You’ll get certain degree programmes award a credit for completing this course or allow its inclusion in a study module. Before completing the course, check from your degree programme or seminar coordinator how the course can be included in your studies.