University user accounts

Your username will not be sent to you separately. Instead, you can start using it by activating your account before your studies begin.

• New students: You can activate your account once the Student Register has notified you via email that your details have been recorded in Sisu (max. four months before your study rights starts).
• Old students without a valid username: You can activate your account once your attendance registration has been recorded in Sisu and the term you registered attending for is ongoing (autumn term starts on 1 August, spring term on 1 January).
• Open university students: You will be notified via email when you can activate your user account.
• User accounts are not granted for completing MOOCs, as they are not required for such courses.

Your user account will be available within approximately one hour of activation. However, some services will only be available on the day after activation.

Activating your user account requires strong authentication, for example, with Finnish online banking credentials, a mobile certificate or a certificate card issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Visit the IT Helpdesk website for instructions for activating your user account.

If you don't yet have any suitable means for strong authentication at your disposal, you can apply for activation with a dedicated application form:

1. Fill out the IT username application form available on the IT Helpdesk website and sign it. A username and an e-mail address will be assigned to you based on your first name and surname. If desired, you can suggest a username (4-8 letters, a-z) and/or an e-mail address in the "Reasons for applying for a username" section of the form. After being set, the username can only be changed in exceptional circumstances.
2. Send a picture of your signed application by email to the IT Helpdesk (helpdesk@helsinki.fi) using the subject line: Student video identification: Firstname Lastname. Mention that you are a new degree student / new open university student.
3. After your application has been processed, you will receive a notification to visit a Helpdesk ID point personally or instructions for video identification. You will receive an e-mail from the IT Helpdesk with information on how to book an appointment. After receiving the email, fill in your details in the booking system. Please note that it can take up to a couple of weeks before you receive the reply.
4. For the actual online appointment, you need to have your official ID (e.g. passport) at hand and make sure you are in a well-lit space with a stable and safe internet connection preferably in a private surrounding. 

Your user account is valid when you have registered as an attending student as follows:

• Until 30 September for students registered for the entire academic year or the spring term
• Until 31 January for students registered for the autumn term

The validity of your user account will be automatically extended if you have registered as an attending student and used the account within the past six months.

Graduation in the middle of the term does not end the validity of your user account. For example, if you graduate in October, your account will remain valid until the end of January.

Accounts for open university studies are valid for the duration of the studies.

Visit the IT Helpdesk website for further information on the validity of user accounts.

The user accounts of students registered as non-attending are not valid during their period of absence. You can reactivate your account once your attendance registration has been recorded in Sisu and the term you registered attending for is ongoing.

If you are registered as non-attending, your user account is automatically activated for the time periods when registration for the academic year is open. This is done to enable registering in the Oili service also during your absence. If you register as attending for the next term, the validity of your user account continues automatically after registration.

If you have previously had a University of Helsinki user account, it can be restored if, for example, you pursue open university education after graduation. Accounts can be restored if less than a year has passed since their expiration.

Files and emails associated with user accounts are preserved for one year after the username expires.

Visit the IT Helpdesk website for further information on the expiration of user accounts.

University's services are logged in with a username. 

• The basic form of your username is a series of approx. 4–8 characters typically formed from the letters of your name (for example, the basic form of Jamie Doe’s username could be jamdoe).
• In most services, you need to add the suffix @ad.helsinki.fi after your username (for example, jamdoe@ad.helsinki.fi).
• When logging in to the Eduroam network, add the suffix @helsinki.fi after your username (e.g., jamdoe@helsinki.fi).

Keep in mind that your username and email address are not the same thing. You cannot receive email to addresses “username@ad.helsinki.fi” or “username@helsinki.fi”.

Multifactor Authentication (MFA) is a security measure that requires the use of two or more authentication measures for a service or system to be accessed. In practice, this means additional authentication, for example, with a separate application or by phone when you log in to the University’s services.

Multifactor authentication is already in use in several of the University’s online services and will be extended to all online services in 2025. More information and instructions for authentication can be found on the IT Helpdesk website.

Multifactor Authentication improves information security by making scam attempts more difficult for cybercriminals. The University uses many methods of identification, and identification is also possible without a phone.

Once you have activated your user account, you will receive a University email address, which will be in the form firstname.lastname@helsinki.fi (for example, jamie.doe@helsinki.fi).

Start using your University email address at the beginning of your studies and use it for any matters related to studying. This makes identification easier and speeds up service.

University email is also an important communication channel, so make sure you read your emails. You are responsible if you miss important information because you have not followed your University email.

Visit the IT Helpdesk website for instructions for logging in to your email.

You can change your password online if you have a valid user account. The method depends on whether you remember your password or not.

Instructions for changing your password are available on the IT-Helpdesk website.

The University’s IT Helpdesk will advise you on any questions related to user accounts. Contact details are available on the IT Helpdesk website.

Has your account been locked in the middle of the term even though you are an attending student? The most likely reason is that you have forgotten to complete the University of Helsinki IT Security Test. Please contact the IT Helpdesk to complete the test and open your account.