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Aalto University is changing over to an electronic diploma system in August 2025. All students who graduate from Aalto on or after 1 August 2025 will receive their official degree certificates in digital form. This important transition is part of broader digitisation developments in the education sector. Aalto University is one of last Finnish institutions of higher education to make the switch.  

E-diplomas offer significant benefits. First of all, compared to traditional physical certificates, they are more conveniently available and run less risk of getting lost or damaged. An e-diploma can be securely saved in several different places, such as on a cloud service or external hard drive. This significantly reduces the risk of loss or damage. Graduates’ employment seeking will also become easier, as an e-diploma can be easily added as an attachment without scanning or obtaining a certified copy.  

As it significantly reduces paper consumption and the environmental impact of printing, the transition to e-dipomas also supports environmental friendliness, an important value in today’s society. The change thus contributes to sustainable development.  

Compiling an e-diploma and delivering it to the student is faster and more economical than doing so with a traditional paper version. In addition, the authenticity of e-diplomas can be easily verified, which increases their reliability and hinders attempts at forgery. This is especially useful for employers and educational institutions that check for counterfeiting. 

Nonetheless, e-diplomas also have some drawbacks. The first involves the traditional value of a paper certificate and its symbolic meaning as a widely respected mark of graduation. E-diplomas have not yet been accepted as widely, and they are subject to challenges in some quarters. In some countries, organisations and employers may still require traditional paper certificates, at least for the time being.  

Another challenge is information security and privacy. E-diplomas are exposed to a risk of data intrusion and misuse, so it is important they are stored in a secure location to ensure student privacy.   

The introduction of e-diplomas represents a major and timely change that will bring benefits as well as challenges. Preparations for the changes are already underway at Aalto, as it affects a number of areas, including certificate archiving, planning the visual appearance of the certificates, upgrading various certificate-related processes, and considering the consequences of the change for graduation ceremonies in the future.  

For additional information:  

Pia Lahti, pia.lahti@aalto.fi  

Katri Laaksonen, katri.j.laaksonen@aalto.fi