Microsoft 365 at the University of Helsinki

Microsoft 365 is the university’s toolkit, which includes numerous services essential for day-to-day work, such as email, calendar, instant messaging and online meeting services, as well as tools for sharing information and social media.

These instructions summarise the most important information about Microsoft 365 services. You can find further guidance on this instructions site, for example by using the search function. If you are unable to resolve the issue using these instructions, please do not hesitate to contact IT Helpdesk.

Sign in to Microsoft 365 at www.helsinki.fi/office365

Students and staff who have activated Microsoft 365 have free access to the Microsoft 365 Apps service, which includes, amongst other things, the right to install the Microsoft Office suite on their own devices. Read more about home use of the Microsoft 365 Apps suite in the separate instructions .

New members of the University community (staff and students) automatically gain access to Microsoft 365 email, calendar and other services. By activating your account via the MyAccount service, you can start using your account quickly and easily. 

Students and staff who have signed up for Microsoft 365 are given free access to the Microsoft 365 suite, which includes, amongst other things, the right to install the Microsoft Office suite on their own devices.

Read more about installing the Microsoft Office suite on your own devices in the separate instructions.

User data contained in the following Microsoft 365 applications is processed within the EU:

• Email and calendar system (Microsoft 365 cloud)
• Collaboration software (Teams)
• Storage service (OneDrive for Business)
• Office productivity tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, InfoPath)

User data contained within these Microsoft 365 applications is processed within the EU or outside the EU:

• Web-based presentation platform (Sway)
   

Service descriptions of the Microsoft Services 

Email and Calendar (Exchange Online)

• A unified email and calendar system for the whole university.
• 50 GB of storage.
• Microsoft 365 can also store users’ to-do lists and contact details.
• Read more detailed instructions on managing email in Outlook.
• Read more detailed instructions on email in a web browser.

Teams

• Microsoft Teams brings meetings, tools and content together in one place. You can create and edit files, chat via video or instant messaging, and use other Microsoft 365 apps directly within Teams.
• Teams is a cloud-based service that enables easy and efficient online collaboration. The difference compared to, for example, Jabber and other chat programs is that a team can be divided into different channels.
• All users can quickly and easily set up an online meeting when needed. Meetings can be joined online using your own device (computer, phone, tablet).
• 25 TB of group-specific storage space.
• Read more detailed instructions in the Teams – best practices instructions.

Microsoft 365 Apps

• Right to download the Office suite for home use on five devices.
• Read more detailed instructions on using the Microsoft 365 suite at home in the separate IT Helpdesk instructions.

Office Online

• Provides Office applications in the cloud: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook.
• Access your files from anywhere, on any device. You can create and edit files in your browser, even simultaneously with others.
• For more detailed instructions on using Office applications in the browser, see the separate IT Helpdesk instructions.

OneDrive

• OneDrive is part of Microsoft 365 cloud services. It is used for cloud storage and for sharing files with other users instead of using email attachments.
• For more detailed instructions on using OneDrive, see the separate IT Helpdesk instructions.

Sway

• Sway’s web-based drawing platform allows you to create presentations to which you can add images, text, documents and other content.

OneNote

• OneNote is a notebook program that brings all your notes together in one place. You can create separate notebooks for different purposes (work, travel, hobbies, etc.).
• With OneNote Online, you can use your web browser to create, open, view, edit, format and share OneNote notebooks stored on OneDrive.
• For more detailed instructions on using OneNote, see the separate IT Helpdesk instructions.

OneNote Class Notebook

• With OneNote Class Notebook app, teachers can quickly set up a personal workspace for each student, a content library for sharing learning materials, and a collaboration space for lessons and study assignments.

OneNote Staff Notebook

• Using the Staff Notebook creation app, a OneNote notebook can be set up for staff members and used for versatile management and sharing of information.

Where can I find the email?

• You can access your email at www.helsinki.fi/office365. The link can also be found on the IT Helpdesk homepage, on Flamma and on the Studies service, amongst other places.
• If you are unable to log in, use the format username@ad.helsinki.fi for your username
• Your password is the same as for other university services
• On mobile devices, we recommend using the Outlook app (more on this below)

How do I download Office programs onto my home computer?

• You can find illustrated instructions in the separate instructions.
• If you encounter any problems with the installation: please note that support for Office (M365 Apps for Enterprise) is provided by Microsoft, not the University of Helsinki.

Is this available for iPad or mobile phones?

• Yes. Instructions can be found on separate help pages:
  • Outlook for iOS devices
  • Outlook for Android devices
• For apps (e.g. OneDrive), it’s worth installing the “for business” version if one is available.

My user account doesn’t work when I try to set up email on my devices

A Microsoft 365 user account consists of your university username followed by @ad.helsinki.fi. For example, Raimo Keski-Vääntö’s (rkeskiva) Microsoft 365 username is rkeskiva@ad.helsinki.fi

Are mailing lists part of Microsoft 365?

Mailing lists are still managed via Majordomo. Read more about Majordomo lists in the separate instructions.

Why can’t I sign out of Outlook on my work computer?

If you try to sign out of Outlook on your University of Helsinki managed work computer by clicking on your profile picture and selecting Sign out, the browser will reopen your email after a short while. This is because Microsoft 365 retrieves your login details directly from your computer’s login credentials.

A colleague tried to log in to their own email on my work computer, but my email opened instead. Why?

Microsoft 365 retrieves login details directly from your computer’s login credentials. We recommend that your colleague carry out a so-called temporary sign-in by following the separate instructions or by using the browser’s Incognito / Private window.

How do I use another organisation’s Microsoft 365 credentials? 

Example: I have a HUS email account and am trying to log in to my University of Helsinki email, but I am always logged in to HUS instead.

Solution: Open the other organisation’s account in your browser’s Incognito or Private window (or in a different browser).

Upgrading your licence level

Example: I installed Excel on my home computer, and even though I enter my user account and password, it doesn’t work

Order a licence level upgrade using the separate instructions. 

The University of Helsinki uses the Microsoft 365 email and calendar system. This also includes a number of programs that support collaboration.

In practice, this means that firstname.x.lastname@helsinki.fi email is redirected to the Microsoft 365 system. It is recommended that you read your emails using Outlook.