Gradufest was organized for the first time in March 2025 for students working on their theses. The library had long envisioned an event that would support thesis writers. The library coordinated the event and invited experts from the Language Centre, the National Library of Finland, the IT Center, UniSport, and various units within Teaching and Learning Services to participate. The event offered presentations, workshops and guidance.
Encouraged by the positive feedback, Gradufest will become an annual event. Students especially appreciated being able to receive assistance from multiple experts at the same time for their thesis process. All university units that support thesis writers are welcome to take part.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his spouse Olena Zelenska visited the University of Helsinki on 19 March 2025 together with President Alexander Stubb, and the President’s spouse, Suzanne Innes‑Stubb.
Alongside the discussion event, a ceremonial occasion was held at the university, during which the Olena Zelenska Foundation donated Ukrainian‑language literature and other current publications about Ukraine to the collections of Helsinki University Library, the National Library of Finland, and Tampere University Library.
The Rights Retention Strategy (RRS) was
The future of scholarly publishing has been widely discussed within the research community. The Think Open blog published
The University of Helsinki hosted the Open Science and Research Winter Conference 2025, held in December at the Kaisa House, the University’s Main Building, and Think Corner. The central theme of the event was research security and the sensitive balance between security and openness.
Helsinki University Press (HUP) moved from Gaudeamus publishing house to Helsinki University Library on 1 May 2025. The press continues to operate as an international open-access scholarly publisher, now as an integral part of Helsinki University, strengthening the publishing services provided by the Helsinki University Library.
In 2025, HUP published a total of six books. Its publication Forced Migrants in Nordic Histories (2025) won the international Nordic History Book Award 2025.
Professor of Computer Science Hannu Toivonen’s contribution
Helsinki University Library’s AI working group planned and delivered a three‑part AI orientation for all library staff, introducing the principles of artificial intelligence and providing hands‑on practice with the University’s own AI tools.
The AI working group also coordinated the testing of Writefull, a tool designed to support and improve academic writing, at University of Helsinki. In addition, the group designed and published an updated list of AI services recommended by the University.
The Library participated in the University of Helsinki’s AI coordination group and in planning the University’s AI Office, scheduled to begin operations in 2026.
In the Acess Services, an AI assistant was developed to support course book specialists, while in learning services the HELPi assistant was further developed for customer service.
The Library’s AI and Information Seeking webinars attracted a total of around 300 participants, and nearly 700 people attended other AI‑related training sessions.
The Helsinki University Library produced an open educational resource that allows users to explore open health sciences materials through a virtual game. Open educational resources support the accessibility of education globally. University of Helsinki’s open educational materials were presented in a series on the ThinkOpen blog.
A review of HUS (Helsinki University Hospital) research publications from 2016–2024 highlights the impact of research articles published at HUS. The publications are incorporated into clinical guidelines and referenced in policy documents both nationally and internationally.
The review is based on a publication analysis conducted by the metrics team of Helsinki University Library.
The
Library experts working in data services support the university community’s data management in many ways, for example through the
In 2025, two of the library’s data specialists also prepared data management plans for their own doctoral research projects, giving them the opportunity to experience the data support service from the user’s perspective.
The University of Helsinki has been an EOSC observer member since summer 2024, with University Librarian Minna Niemi‑Grundström serving as the university’s representative in EOSC.
Niina Nurmi, an information specialist at the Library, serves as a member of the EOSC Long‑Term Data Retention Task Force as well as the coordination committee of the Finnish EOSC Forum.
The Library has been preparing to renew the core of its collections and customer services: the Helka library system user interface, scheduled for 2026. The direction of the new interface's development has been explored through co‑creation with library users in workshops held in late 2025.
Photos: Jussi Männistö
Text: Veera Ristikartano