The e-mail system at the University of Helsinki

Please note that you cannot log in to online university services with your e-mail address. Use your username instead.

E-mail name

Addresses in the format firstname.lastname@helsinki.fi are called e-mail names. It is used to redirect mail to different e-mail systems.

The e-mail name consists of the user’s first and last name, but if there are several people with the same name at the university, the addresses must be distinguished from each other by adding a middle initial or other letters (e.g. john.e.smith@helsinki.fi).

If you have access to multiple e-mail systems (such as the University of Helsinki’s Office 365 and Unix e-mail systems), you can choose to which system e-mail sent to your e-mail name address will be directed from Office 365. For all new users, the e-mail name directs to the Office 365 system. Please note that it is best to set your e-mail name as your return address in your mail client.

Searching for e-mail addresses

More information on searching the directory for e-mail addresses is provided later in chapter 2.3 E-mail at the University of Helsinki – Calendar and address book.

Terms of use and private use

The University’s E-mail handling rules (Flamma) require that you use the University’s email address to take care of your study matters. Using the University’s email address also benefits you: by following the e-mail, you will stay on the map of matters important to your studies and what is going on at the University. Remember to use the University’s e-mail address also when you are in contact with, for example, teachers or the Student Services.

The university’s Terms Of Use recommend that you do not use the university e-mail for purposes not related to the university activity.  Furthermore, the terms recommend that you do not use the university e-mail when you register for online services outside the University of Helsinki. If you forget the password for such a service after you have graduated, you may not necessarily be able reclaim it any more as your access rights to the university e-mail have already expired. Use some other service, such as the free Gmail, to register for services outside the university.

Using the same passwords for the university’s systems and external services is prohibited in the University of Helsinki’s terms of use.

For more information on passwords and information security, please refer to the section on information security in these materials.

You can also find information security instructions related to e-mail use on Flamma.

When you start using the Office 365 service, you agree to comply with related terms of use. Please familiarise yourself with Office 365 Terms Of Use.