The University of Helsinki Open Science Award to Species learning environment Pinkka

A versatile and easy-to-use online learning environment, Pinkka increases biodiversity-related species awareness. Pinkka is widely used for learning, education, and recreational purposes.

The 2024 University of Helsinki Open Science Award has been presented to the species learning environment Pinkka ( and ).

Pinkka is an online learning environment developed at the (Luomus), aiming at the broad development of species expertise, improving the quality of scientific research data and raising awareness of biodiversity. The name “Pinkka” refers to the bundled plant samples which have traditionally been used to learn species identification. 

Pinkka learning environment utilises the open databases of the , which can be used to compile entities tailored to the needs of different user groups. These pinkkas, which have been developed over two decades, can be divided into three main groups: one for university students, teachers and researchers, one for schoolchildren and nature enthusiasts, and one for continuing education in the field of biodiversity.

The number of Pinkka users is impressive as Pinkka has an average of more than 3,000 users per month, and in the spring term, up to 6,000–7,000 users per day.

Pinkka is also a good example of literature presenting the results of bio and environmental research to a wide audience. The learning environment has content in both Finnish and Swedish, and some content can also be found in English. Pinkka’s materials are suitable for a wide range of users and are ideally structured.

Easy to use and linking to other services

Professor from the Finnish Museum of Natural History and Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences points out that in addition to higher education students, Pinkka supports education in primary schools and secondary schools, and supports nature enthusiasts who are interested in different species. 

As Rikkinen explains, “Pinkka opens quickly on your computer, tablet and mobile phone, so it can be easily used to support a wide range of nature-related education and hobbies. Texts written for Pinkka and images uploaded to it are automatically transferred for the use of other services of the Finnish biodiversity info facility. The convenient field herbarium app (in Finnish Retkikasvio) also imports images directly from Pinkka.”

The jury appreciated the pedagogical merits and versatility of the award-winning learning environment. Pinkka works well both as pedagogical material for teaching and as a support for self-study or a hobby involving nature. Pinkka maintains and increases species awareness, which the jury considered particularly important in this era of nature loss.

Special mentions

Among the numerous high-quality proposals, the jury also wanted to highlight the following innovative open learning materials:

  • : Professor Instagram account, where short videos are used to illustrate the correct methods for surgery and plastic surgery
  • : A databank of information and educational materials that supports the learning of Finnish and Swedish in working life and everyday life. The project is a joint project of five Helsinki metropolitan area universities and is co-coordinated by the University of Helsinki.
  • The website ‘’ is a learning material site implemented by university lecturer , his students and other researchers.
University of Helsinki Open Science Award

The University of Helsinki Open Science Award is given annually in recognition of the significant promotion of open science. The aim of this year’s award is to highlight the makers of high-quality, innovative and widely used open educational resources and learning materials produced at the University of Helsinki, as well as working communities that support the opening of learning materials. 

Nominations for the award were requested in September and October from all members of the University community. Proposals could nominate a person, a group or a project.

The Open Science Award jury included University Librarian Minna Niemi-Grundström from the University of Helsinki Library, doctoral candidate Sini Davies from the Faculty of Education, coordinator Harri Kettunen from the Helsinki Term Bank for the Arts and Sciences, researcher Karolina Lukasik from the Urban Rats research project, senior advisor Mikko Mäntyniemi from the University of Helsinki Doctoral School, and university lecturer Rami Ratvio from the Faculty of Education.