Follow the Curriculum and your designated group (entry/exit).

• Your degree consists of a major, minor, and Master’s thesis.
• The courses that you must (compulsory courses) and may (optional courses) take in your major are defined in the Curriculum.
• Only the courses that you have on your approved personal study plan (HOPS) will be counted towards your degree. The credits on your personal study plan must add up to 120 ECTS or as close to it as possible.
• You can register for and complete courses other than those in your curriculum. These extra credits cannot be included in your degree (but you can have an official transcript of all the courses). Consider carefully where you want to focus your energy, because 30 ECTS per semester is equivalent to full-time studies. Based on students' experience, the courses are time-consuming.
• Anything that you wish to take outside of your curriculum and include in your study plan is an individual exception. These exceptions can be made for compelling reasons. These are usually limited to 1 course per student, and must always be approved by the academic coordinator/professor of your major.
• You can update your study plan (HOPS) until you graduate (exit students), or until we send your transcript to your exit university (entry students).

All degree students create their personal study plan (HOPS) in Aalto University student information system Sisu (sisu.aalto.fi). Log in to Sisu by using your Aalto username and password. Detailed instructions for creating the study plan can be found in Sisu instructions. You can create several versions of your personal study plan, but only one can be primary.

Familiarize yourself with the curriculum of your major and your year (entry/exit).

Go to tab Stucture of Studies in Sisu. Draft a study plan, following the curriculum.

Check carefully the info texts in the selection assistant and follow the instructions.

If you have a compelling reason for an individual exception, add the course to your study plan in free edit mode (see the instructions) and give reasons for the exception. You must also apply for module content approval in free edit mode.

Adding partner university courses to the study plan:

• if your partner university courses have already been transferred to Aalto (code JOI-SCI or JOI-ELEC), you can place them under the major and minor (I&E courses) in your study plan. Watch a video how to add the transfered courses to your study plan.NB! Unlike shown in the video, you might not see which course is which by clicking the course code. In that case you need to have two tabs open: go to my profile and the tab completed credits, click the course and see the additional information. If some courses are still missing or have not been transferred, create a study draft for them.
• if your partner university courses have not been transferred to Aalto yet, add them to the study plan as study drafts.
  • entry students: create a study draft of 24 credits to the major and study draft of 6 credits to the minor.
  • exit students: create a study draft of 36 credits to the major and study draft of 24 credits to the minor

Choosing a master's thesis code: the code for the master's thesis depends on the department of your master's thesis supervisor. By default, you should select one the following codes (this can be changed later if for some reason the supervisor is from another department):

• AUS: ELEC.thes (or EEA.thes if the ELEC.thes is not offered in the selection assistant)
• CNI: ELEC.thes (or COM.thes if the ELEC.thes is not offered in the selection assistant)
• DSC: CS.thes
• HCID: CS.thes

Watch a recording of EIT Digital HOPS demo.

You need to apply for approval only for the Aalto university courses in your major, the part that says "approval required". In other words, you do not need to apply for approval for the entire study plan (HOPS).

Click the section entry/exit year at Aalto and scroll up the selection bar → Apply for module content approval.

When your study plan has been checked, you receive a message in Sisu. You are not notified by email. Check the message in Sisu and make the requested changes.

Selections against rules?

If you still cannot see the button "Apply for content approval", it is usually because the structure or the choices in your plan deviate from the default.

• Click the section entry/exit year at Aalto (the section that says "approval required").
• In the blue bar on the top, you see a small icon with three dots. Click the icon, and go to free edit mode.
• Now the button "Apply for content approval" should appear, and you can click it. As "grounds for request" you should write what deviates from the default and if and when it has been approved by the professor of the major.
• If your plan is approved, the errors disappear. If it is rejected, you are instructed to make some changes and reapply for approval.

You can change the personal study plan whenever necessary. If you want to make changes to an already approved study module (for example replace one course with another), you need to first give up the approval you have obtained. Please edit the study module and its contents only after giving up the approval. After editing, reapply for approval for the study module.

1. Click on the study module or grouping module that has been approved (its status is selections approved or selections conditionally approved).
2. Click "Show" to go to the approved application.
3. Select "Give up the approval" in the lower part of the form.
4. Sisu will ask you to confirm. Select "Yes, give up the approval."
5. Make the changes and reapply for approval.

You can find more detailed instructions in Sisu instructions. 

The personal study plan (HOPS) is an agreement which binds both the student and the university. It grants the student a right to study according to the approved, official personal study plan. It also obliges the student to follow it. Any deviation must be checked first with the student services of your programme.

In Master's Programme of ICT Innovation, the study plan is used for the following administrative purposes, for example:

• to monitor your study progress (the amount of ECTS alone you have accumulated is not critical, but rather the fact whether these credits are part of your study plan)
• to prepare your official transcript for the partner university (see Credit Transfer below).
• to check your eligibility for awards, such as the dean's scholarship
• to generate your diploma, i.e. to define which studies are to be included in your degree and which are not.

Even though creating the personal study plan (HOPS) is mandatory and is used in many administrative processes, it is first and foremost a tool for students. Drafting your personal study plan helps you to plan your studies and keep track of their progress. When you have considered your goals, chosen the courses accordingly and drafted a realistic and target-oriented schedule for completing these studies, you have a map for making your plans a reality.

Exit student admission process

After the exit changes are confirmed, the Master School provides Aalto with final lists of exit students. The letters of admission are sent soon after that. This takes place normally in the end of March or beginning of April.

Housing information

Aalto University does not provide housing. Student housing is available through HOAS (Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region) and Aalto University Student Union AYY. Please see our housing for students page for more information.

Residence permits (non-EU/EEA citizens)

Start applying for student residence permit to Finland in your entry university country immediately once you receive the letter of admission from Aalto. So keep this in mind if you are planning to travel back to your home country for summer holidays. Please see the instructions on the Finnish Immigration Services website.

Registering your residence (EU/EEA-citizens)

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you do not need a residence permit. You should, however, register your stay in Finland. Book an appointment for this registration. Do it in good time beforehand, since it can be difficult to find a slot in the autumn as new students arrive.

Credit points

The scope of the degree is 120 ECTS. If you take extra courses and get more credits from your entry university, you will still need to complete 60 ECTS (24 ECTS courses + 6 ECTS I&E Thesis + 30 ECTS Master’s thesis) during your exit year in order to graduate from Aalto. If you take extra credits from Aalto, they will be left out of the degree, but you may receive a separate transcript of them.

Remember this before leaving Aalto University and during your stay at the exit university.

Enroll at Aalto University

Please always take care of the annual enrolment, whether non-attending or attending. Neglecting the enrolment during the enrolment period leads to a separate fee upon the next enrolment. You can enroll in Oili, if you have Finnish online banking codes or a credit card accepted by the system. Read general information and instructions on the page Annual enrolment.

Please note that all attending students need to pay the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) fee to Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland), even if they are abroad. However, you do not have to pay the healthcare fee if you have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country, from Switzerland, or from Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For more information about the FSHS, see https://www.kela.fi/healthcare-fee-for-students-in-higher-education.

Instructions for students unable to enroll in Oili

• If you cannot enrol in Oili, please contact [email protected] and ask for payment instructions of AYY membership fee for basic degree students for autumn / spring / for the whole year. Once you have received the instructions, please pay the fee and send the receipt / payment confirmation to [email protected]. We will register your enrolment.
• In case you urgently need a certificate of enrolment, e.g. for residence permit purposes, please contact [email protected] and we can write you a temporary statement explaining the situation.

Non-EU/EEA citizens: Apply for residence permit (extension)

The general guideline for all non-EU/EEA students is to apply for the residence permit to their exit university country while they are in Finland, unless instructed otherwise by the exit university or the immigration authorities of their exit country. This usually means that you have to visit an embassy of your exit university country in Helsinki and wait to receive the decision / residence permit card in Finland.

You can also apply for extension to your Finnish residence permit. The most important thing is to make sure that you have a valid residence permit to at least either Finland and/or your exit country, for the whole duration of your studies in EIT Digital Master School. This includes the summer break between entry and exit year, when you attend the Summer School.

Applying for extension to your Finnish residence permit (Aalto entry students)

University documents required for residence permit application and how to get them (see full list of required documents & instructions at https://migri.fi/en/application-for-an-extended-permit-on-the-basis-of-studies):

The benefits of extending your Finnish residence permit

• You can keep your student benefits in Finland and remain legally in Europe until your exit year starts, even considering differences and gaps in academic calendars.
• Some countries might even allow you to study there with the Finnish residence permit. Please check this very carefully with the exit university and/or the immigration authorities of your exit country. A mobility notification might still be required.
• In some cases, the extension might not even require a visit to Migri, making the processing faster.
• Keeping your Finnish residence permit valid gives you flexibility when choosing the location of your Master’s thesis. Returning to Finland might be one option. Please note that the thesis would still be supervised and evaluated by your exit university.
• If you keep your Finnish residence permit valid until graduation, this will grant you the possibility to extend the student residence permit for job seeking purposes after graduation for up to one year (see https://migri.fi/en/extended-permit-to-look-for-work). This is not possible, if you do not hold a valid residence permit at the time of graduation from Aalto.

Update your contact information

Please make a notification of move at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV, formerly called Local registration office, or maistraatti in Finnish), or at post office (Posti) when you move inside Finland and when you leave Finland.

Update any changes in your contact information (address, phone number) in the student register. You can do this in My profile of student information system Sisu (sisu.aalto.fi).

The name of your exit university is entered in the student register and it will appear on your certificate of enrolment, transcript of records, and eventually your degree certificate. If you have changed your exit university since you were admitted to EIT Digital Master School, please notify ictinnovation(at)aalto.fi so that we can check that there is a correct exit university in our study register. 

Remember that your aalto email will remain our primary channel to communicate with you. Keep your account valid: update your password when requested. Remember to auto-forward emails, if you do not read your aalto email regularly. You will also need your aalto crendentials when you start your Master's thesis or apply for graduation, for example.

Update your personal study plan (HOPS)

We will share your transcript with your exit university as soon as the final credits of your entry year (which is usually the Summer School) have been registered, or by 30 September at the latest.

Make sure that your personal study plan (HOPS) is up to date before you leave. We will process all pending study plan updates before sharing transcripts with your exit universities.

Technical process and scaling of grades

The credits are transferred between the two universities by the administrative staff. We will translate each individual course grade of your entry university into Aalto grades, according to the scaling table agreed in EIT Digital Master School cooperation agreements. In some universities it is possible to include failed courses in the degree. Failed courses are registered to Aalto's register with grade 1 (lowest passing grade).

Note also that the Summer School should be part of your entry year credits, according to the Master School structure, i.e. you should get 60 ECTS including the Summer School (registered in the beginning of the autumn semester) at your entry university. The summer school grades are registered by all entry universities, which then send the transcripts to exit universities. This means that we will translate the grade that your entry university has given.

UPM grade translation

For translation of UPM grades, we use the ECTS grade on UPM transcript. This applies to both thesis (entry students 2018 and 2019) and course grades as of 15 March 2021.

Scope of the degree

The scope of the Master's degree is normatively 120 ECTS. It can be exceeded only by compulsory studies (for example the mandatory language course).

Extra credits from Aalto University

There is no maximum limit for the credits you can take at Aalto University, but extra courses cannot be included in the degree. However, you can upload a transcript of records that includes all courses you have completed from Sisu. Only the courses that are included in the degree will show in the transcript you will get with the degree certificate.

Extra credits from other universities

We will transfer all the credits that count towards your degree at the partner university, strictly following the transcript provided by the partner university administration. Aalto University cannot decide on behalf of the partner university which credits are included or excluded, if a policy like this is even available at the partner university. However, at least 50% of the scope of the degree must be completed at Aalto, meaning at least 60 ECTS. If you take extra courses and receive more than 60 ECTS from the partner university, be aware that you cannot use them to take less credits at Aalto. You will still need to complete 60 ECTS in order to graduate here, and the scope of your degree will simply be more than 120 ECTS.

Students in Master’s Programme in ICT Innovation may apply for travel support for a few hundred euros from the programme (EIT Digital funding) upon certain conditions. NB! This is not a subjective privilege for all ICT Innovation students, but decisions are made on case-by-case basis. This possibility is only available to entry and exit students enrolled at Aalto University during their academic year at Aalto University. The application should answer at least the following questions:

• When is this trip taking place?
• What is the purpose of the trip? If you are participating in an event, describe this event.
• What is the estimated cost of the trip? (Transportation, accommodation, participation cost.)
• How does this event/activity/trip benefit your studies?
• How does this this event/activity/trip benefit EIT Digital? How does it enhance awareness of EIT Digital?
• How will this trip affect your studies, if at all? If you miss exams, when will you retake them? If you miss classes with compulsory attendance, what arrangements have you made with your teacher?

The programme director (Mika P. Nieminen) will accept or reject your application. Please follow the application instructions: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/students-travel-grant-travel-arrangements-and-reimbursing-other-expenses. Ask the programme director or planning officer about cost centre and project.

NB! EIT Digital Master School's student insurance (issued by Kammarkollegiet) is not valid on these kind of trips. The same applies to Aalto University insurance. Neither Aalto University or EIT Digital can be held liable for issues caused by student's personal conduct, legal and intellectual property right issues, epidemics, natural disasters, violent conflicts, or any other emergency situations in the destionation country. You are responsible for obtaining a sufficient travel insurance.

If you are an ICT Innovation entry student who has not been awarded a scholarship from EIT Digital Master School, you are eligible to apply for free-mover scholarships for student exchange for the period of stay at the exit university. This scholarship is 1500 EUR/semester or 2500 EUR / academic year. The detailed application instructions are sent to eligible students. General information about exchange scholarships in Funding for exchange studies.

As exit students have the possibility to return to Finland for the spring semester to write their Master's thesis, which means that the exchange period is interrupted, the scholarship can only be awarded for one semester at a time. If you stay at your exit university for the spring semester, you can reapply for the scholarship in the spring.

EIT Digital Master School tuition fee and scholarship scheme (i.e. your student and scholarship agreements) is valid for two academic years. After this, students in ICT Innovation will transfer to the local tuition fee scheme of Aalto University. The tuition fee for non-EU/EEA citizens in Master's level is 15 000 EUR/year. There is no tuition fee for EU/EEA citizens. The definition of tuition fee liability differs slightly from the one of EIT Digital Master School. Please see Tuition fees and scholarships for more information.

In order to successfully complete studies and apply for graduation after the EIT Digital Master School agreements expire, students in Master's Programme in ICT Innovation may be awarded Aalto University scholarship for one additional semester beyond the standard duration of the degree programme. You can apply for the scholarship on the condition that your studies have progressed in accordance with the approved study plan, and that you have a realistic, approved plan to complete the remainder of the programme. These conditions are not likely to be met until March–April. That is when the students concerned will receive more information and instructions. The scholarship for the additional semester is offered as 100% tuition fee waiver. This scholarship has a strict requirement that you:

• submit your Master's thesis by the agreed deadline
• successfully complete the programme
• and apply for graduation within the additional semester.

The additional semester is likely to impact your residence permit, student accommodation and financial arrangements. The scholarship decisions will be made in May/June. This gives you time to apply for residence permit extension before your current permit expires.

More information at Tuition fees and scholarships.

Finnish citizens who are eligible for KELA financial aid for studies can receive this aid for Master's Programme in ICT Innovation, just as for any other studies. KELA may offer increased support for studies abroad.

European (EU/EEA or Switzerland) citizens can receive financial aid from KELA (The Social Insurance Institution of Finland) for studies in Finland, if the conditions below are met.

• You you are employed in Finland for at least 4 months with an average of at least 10 hours of work per week, or if you have taken out statutory pension insurance for self-employed persons. The entitlement to financial aid for students only continues for the duration of the employment.
• You you have been granted the right of permanent residence in Finland under the Aliens Act.

In other words, exit students at Aalto University are eligible for financial aid if you get a thesis job in Finland, but only after 4 months of working there. If it is a six-month internship, this means that you can get financial aid for the last two months. As this is a study allowance, it naturally expires when you graduate. The aid is approximately 250 EUR/month.

https://www.kela.fi/web/en/financial-aid-for-students-study-grant

More information and instructions how to apply at https://www.kela.fi/web/en/financial-aid-for-students-eligibility.