The pilot, beginning in April 2026, will chart the benefits of the M365 Copilot AI tool in the daily work of University staff and includes testing the data classification model, which will be implemented at the University in 2026.
The pilot participants were selected from multiple University units in early 2026 to test M365 Copilot in their everyday tasks. Pilot users will take part in training sessions and workshops and classify the files they create or edit in the M365 environment – including emails they send – in accordance with the data classification model.
Please note! Data classification labels on files and emails sent by M365 Copilot and data classification pilot participants may be visible to other University community members (including students) if pilot participants share such content. At this stage, however, only pilot participants can classify content.
The University’s decision to proceed with the pilot was guided, in part, by input provided by multiple University units. The pilot will continue through December 2026, after which the University will evaluate whether the M365 Copilot service should be implemented across the organization. Upon completion of the pilot, we will release key findings and recommendations for best practices to the University community to support AI use and implementation.
Should the University decide to enable organization-wide use of the M365 Copilot tool after the pilot, each unit will independently decide whether to purchase paid M365 Copilot licenses for its staff based on need and from its own budget. The University will not automatically acquire licenses for all community members.
Microsoft 365 Copilot in brief
- Microsoft 365 Copilot is a paid personal AI assistant integrated into Microsoft products (e.g. Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Copilot can answer questions, create content, generate documents, and summarize information to which the user has access within the University’s Microsoft 365 environment—for example, emails, Teams chats, and documents shared in Teams.
- M365 Copilot uses only chats, files, and emails to which the user already has access. Copilot cannot process files or emails whose classification prevents AI use. Copilot does not share your data with other users or outside the organization, and none of the information Copilot reads is used to train language models.
- See detailed information about the Microsoft 365 Copilot service on Microsoft’s website
Data classification model in brief
- The national data classification model defines how information and files handled in higher education institutions are classified, and what restrictions apply to the processing and sharing of classified information.
- At the University of Helsinki, the model will be implemented in the M365 environment during 2026. In practice, classification is done in Microsoft 365 products (e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) by selecting a classification level based on the content’s risk level.
- Read more about the information classification model in the Flamma announcement
- You can use this form to submit any questions about the implementation of the classification model