User account


When you start your studies at the university, you will sign a contract where you agree to use the university’s IT devices according the rules and guidelines provided. This is most easily done online in the electronic user account activation service. After this, you will see a summary of your user account, indicating the details of the authorisations granted to you (such as your username).

As part of the responsibilities related to the user account, all degree students must complete the University of Helsinki IT Security Test. The annual test was introduced in February 2022. Read more about completing the test in the Studies Service.

Please note that in order to use the electronic activation service, you must have a) a Finnish personal identity code and b) Finnish online banking credentials, a mobile certificate or an electronic identity card issued by the police. If you cannot use the electronic activation service, please contact the Helpdesk.

User name

When you activate your user account, a user name will be generated for you from your first and last names. The following image shows the data related to the user name of our sample student, Raimo Keski-Vääntö:

The picture shows Raimo Keski-Vääntö's name, email address and username

With your username, you can log in to different university services. Do not use your e-mail address to log in: the e-mail address and the username are two different things!

User accounts for different computer systems

At first, you will most likely be given a user account for one system only. However, if your studies require it, you may get user accounts for other systems, too.

  • University account, i.e. AD account: the primary account for all students is the so-called AD account, with which you log in to the university computers and the most popular online services, such as e-mail and Sisu.
  • Other accounts: You may sometimes need test or conference accounts or jointly used group accounts. These can be applied for with an online form. For visitors, the University of Helsinki offers the HelsinkiUni Guest visitor network with access to the university’s open wireless network.
  • In addition, some campuses have their own, closed systems, such as computer labs, where you will need a separate user account to log in. More information can be obtained from the administrator of such facilities.