As the 38th member, the Åland University of Applied Sciences joins Finland’s national study information service VIRTA. Thereby, all Finnish higher education institutions are included. VIRTA is owned by the Ministry of Education and Culture, while CSC (the national IT Center for Science) is responsible for development and maintenance.
The Åland archipelago in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland is an autonomous region in Finland.
“We are pleased that even though Åland has its own education legislation, we can be part of the digital infrastructure and have the opportunity to offer our students the same services as in mainland Finland. The integration also enables participation in (Finland’s, ed.) Digital Vision 2030 development and the future of collaborative education. The collaboration with CSC has gone well, and together we have solved the challenges that have arisen,” says Development Coordinator Emmy Karlsson-Hellman, Åland University of Applied Sciences.
Seamless movement of student data
The VIRTA service contains information on approximately 1.5 million students. Participation in VIRTA enables seamless movement of student data between different services and actors. This supports cooperation between higher education institutions, reduces overlapping administrative work and offers student services that make everyday life easier.
Through the technical interface, the data is transmitted securely and in a uniform format for use by different actors. With the VIRTA study information service, the data of students at the Åland University of Applied Sciences is transferred to, for example, My Studyinfo, the national Licensing and Supervision Agency, Statistics Finland and Kela (the social insurance institution of Finland) through integrations.
Integration enables students at the university to use the electronic services of authorities that utilize VIRTA data and streamline the work of both the university and other actors, as tasks related to the statistical compilation of education data can be automated.
Next: a cross-study service
The Åland University of Applied Sciences will be able to implement other services produced by CSC that use data from the VIRTA service. An example is the higher education student and academic year registration service OILI, which streamlines university registration and enrolment.
With OILI, students can register for the academic year from one place without separate forms. The Åland University of Applied Sciences has first implemented OILI for enrolment of continuing students. Later, new students will also register through the OILI service.
In addition, CSC and the Åland University of Applied Sciences are preparing the deployment of a cross-study service. Åland students will be able to view the study offerings of other universities directly from their own university’s study information system, add courses to their personal study plan, and enroll in them. Completed studies are automatically transferred to the student’s own university’s study register.
A national educational ecosystem
The Åland University of Applied Sciences joining the higher education services produced by CSC strengthens interoperability between higher education institutions and creates new opportunities for more flexible, equal and efficient services for students, higher education institutions and authorities. The shared ecosystem supports the digital development of the entire higher education sector and improves the mobility of information nationwide.
“We welcome Åland University of Applied Sciences to use the services offered by CSC! The VIRTA study information service now covers all Finnish higher education institutions, so we can centrally access higher education data for, for example, statistics and research. Other services, such as the OILI registration service and the Cross-study service, will also benefit both students and higher education institutions when higher education institutions are comprehensively involved in the centralized services,” says Jukka Kohtanen, Director, Shared Digital Services, CSC.
The text is inspired by the article “The Åland University of Applied Sciences joins the higher education service ecosystem developed by CSC” on the CSC website.
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