Students at Lapland University of Applied Sciences to receive electronic degree certificates

Lapland University of Applied Sciences and Novia University of Applied Sciences are the first universities in Finland to use electronic signatures for degree certificates.

An electronic degree certificate is an official certificate that does not require any separate witnessing. The certificate can be sent as such to various authorities, such as the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) or Employment Offices, or attached to a job or study application. If the certificate is misplaced, a new electronic version, identical to the original certificate, can always be obtained.

- Degree certificates signed in the Atomi service meet the strictest and highest reliability requirements laid down in the EU regulation, says Jaakko Rannila, senior consultant and product owner of the Atomi service at Studyo Oy, the company that built the solution.

An electronically signed degree certificate significantly improves students’ opportunities to control their own data and makes student administration processes smoother. The transition to digital documents from paper printouts is also a significant step in information security.

- The electronic degree certificate is part of the digital development of student services, and it has been recognised in the goals of universities’ shared Digivision 2030 project, says Riitta Rissanen, Rector at Lapland University of Applied Sciences.

The first electronically signed degree certificates will be given to students who graduated on 15 January 2021. Currently, students who graduate from Lapland University of Applied Sciences also receive their degree certificates on paper in addition to electronic degree certificates.

Further information

Sari Mattinen, project manager, tel. +358 50 461
Mirja Ollilla, team leader, tel. +358 40 089 6371