IT center

Freshmen pages

Welcome!

You have arrived at the Freshmen page made by the IT Center of the University of Helsinki.

The purpose of this site is to introduce the University's IT services to new students, and to lower the threshold to start using these services.

• IT Services leaflet (pdf)

User account

The user account, given to every new student, is your key to the University's IT services. The most important of these are your University e-mail address and your personal drive space. New students can activate their accounts by using Finnish Internet bank account or an electronic Finnish Identity Card. If you're unable to active your account yourself, it's also possible to retrieve the account details from user account offices. Remember to bring an official proof of identity with you (passport, driving license or an electronic ID card issued by the police). Also note that your account can't be activated until your data is found from the student registry.

• Before receiving your user account, we recommend you to take the time to familiarize yourself with the section of the ICT material entitled User accounts and user names.
  
• Please turn to our user account offices if you have questions regarding your user account.

ICT Driving License

New students' IT skills are brushed up with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) study module. More information on how and when to complete this module may be found here.

We warmly recommend you to acquaint yourself with the University's IT services by checking out the ICT Driving License learning material even if you're not taking the ICT Driving License course right now. The material includes an account of the University's IT environment as well as some useful and digestible information on computer use, security, and the basics of finding information on the net. The ICT learning material may be found at http://www.helsinki.fi/tvt-ajokortti/english/material.htm.

IT Services

A wide variety of services become available to you with the user account, ranging from workstations in computer labs to Alma, the University's own intranet. We've listed all of the most important services on this page.

Computer Labs

The IT Services provides students workstations with many kinds of software ready for use.

• You'll find an overview of all the services available at the computer labs, together with their rules of use, on the ICT learning material pages in the section entitled Computer facilities and services. We warmly encourage you to acquaint yourself with this material.
• The locations and opening hours of the computer labs are listed in http://www.helsinki.fi/atk/english/clabs/index.shtml

E-mail

In addition to the user name and password which grant you access to the IT Center's services, every student's user account includes a University e-mail address with the @helsinki.fi suffix. You can read your e-mail with just about any e-mail program and with Webmail, an e-mail client which is used with a web browser.

• Instructions on using Webmail, filtering junk mail, sending attachments etc. may be found on the ICT learning material web site in the section entitled E-mail at the University of Helsinki.
• Webmail is found at www.helsinki.fi/webmail.
• Other e-mail related instructions, such as instructions on how to configure and use various e-mail clients (Mozilla Thunderbird, Outlook Express, etc.) may be found in the
  IT Center's guidance directory.

Weboodi and Alma

Along with the University e-mail, Weboodi is probably every student's most important tool. You can organize your study plan, order a transcript of your studies, and register for attendance at the University in Weboodi. Most departments and organizations also handle their course registrations through Weboodi.
Alma, the University's intranet, is a communications channel for everyone at the University.

• More information on Weboodi and Alma may be found on the ICT learning material pages in the section entitled Planning your studies: Weboodi and Alma.
• You can access Weboodi by typing www.helsinki.fi/weboodi in your browser.
• Alma can be found at alma.helsinki.fi

Software distribution

The IT Center also provides useful commercial programs students. These programs may be downloaded from the University's software distribution service by all students who have a user account. Please bear in mind that the programs are only for use by staff and students of the University of Helsinki. Furthermore, redistribution of the software or any part of it is strictly prohibited.

• Instructions on how to use the software distribution service (and information about the software sales unit) may be found on the ICT learning material pages in the section entitled Software distribution.
• The software distribution is found at www.helsinki.fi/atk/ohjelmistojakelu.

HY-VPN and remote access to databases

Some of the University's services, such as the NetMOT dictionary, electronic journals, and article databases are only accessible from inside the University network. You can also use these services from home either by connecting your computer to the University network with the HY-VPN client (found in the guidance directory), or by using the University's remote proxy. Internet access and a University user account are the only requirements for doing this.

• More information on the ICT learning material pages in the section entitled Remote access to UH internal services.
• Links and additional information on online databases and other material can be found at the University of Helsinki Libraries web page at http://www.helsinki.fi/kirjastot/english/.

Remote access to home directory

User accounts' personal home directories and homepage directories can also be accessed outside university's workstations by using VPN portal. VPN portal is a browser based secure connection service which can be found at www.vpn.helsinki.fi.

Help available

The IT Center provides many kinds of support services which students and staff alike are free to utilize. Help is available by phone, by e-mail, and in person at the computer labs. Furthermore, a wide variety of instructions are available in print and on the net.

• Additional information about the helpdesk may be found on the ICT learning material pages in the section entitled Web and e-mail guidance.
• The locations and opening hours of helpdesks may be found at http://www.helsinki.fi/atk/english/guidance/servicepoints.html
• You can also seek help by sending an e-mail to helpdesk@helsinki.fi.
• The telephone helpdesk is open on weekdays at 09-191 55555. Opening hours are listed here.
• If you are experiencing problems with a certain specific program, you might want to try looking for answers from the helpdesk's own easy-to-use guidance directory at http://www.helsinki.fi/atk/english/guidance/directory/.

10.04.2012