The Digital Security Starter course opens for new students on Thursday, August 14

Digital Security Starter Course – Important information at the start of your studies: Digital security concerns everyone!

With the Digital Security Starter online course, you will learn to act responsibly and safely in digital environments. The course is a requirement for your user account to remain active. Complete the course independently and on time to ensure a secure start to your studies.

Digiturvastartti – in Finnish
Digital Security Starter – in English

The course is provided and maintained by Metropolia Business School and Metropolia IT Services.

Digital Security Starter Course – What is it about?

The Digital Security Starter (DTS/DSS) online course is designed to ensure the digital security of Metropolia’s students and staff. The course is short and practical, lasting about 30–120 minutes depending on previous experience and skills.

The course will be rolled out in phases:

  • First, the course is offered to new students starting Thursday, 14 August 2025.
  • During Autumn 2025, other students and staff will be invited (further information will follow).

The course is part of the studies for many beginning students, for example, as part of the Study Start module. Anyone with an active Metropolia user account can complete the course. The course key is found on the course’s front page.

Why is the course important?

Digital security is an essential part of modern studies and daily life. It is the foundation for using services safely, protecting both your own and others’ data, and avoiding damage and misuse.

Completing the course will, in the future, be a requirement for your user account to remain active:

  • More detailed schedules and instructions will be published later.
  • IT Services is building an automated tracking system that records completions in Moodle.
  • No separate notification is required – registration in Moodle is enough.

Course language versions and development

You can already take the course, even though it is not yet in its finished form. If you want, you can wait for future versions. Your completion will be accepted, regardless of which version you choose.

  • In August (from Thursday 14 August), the following will be published:
    • 0.9 FI/EN (Finnish and English)
    • Technically functional, content still to be finalized
  • In September:
    • 1.1 FI/EN
    • Corrections based on feedback
    • Content development
    • Testing automation
  • In 2026:
    • 2.0 FI/EN/(possibly other languages)
    • More diverse, accessible, engaging, and up to date
  • In the future:
    • The course will be regularly updated and developed
    • It is part of every student’s and staff member’s ongoing skills maintenance

Where can you get more information and support?

The aim is that all frequently asked questions and answers can be found directly in Moodle. At first, the questions and instructions are the same for both students and staff, but if needed, instructions will be targeted for each group.

If you are not sure whom to contact, you can easily submit a service request to the Helpdesk using the instructions: User Support (Helpdesk). The Helpdesk will direct your issue to the right person.

  • You can ask questions and offer suggestions for improvement through the contact channels listed in Moodle
  • Feedback is given as part of completing the course
  • You can use the course contact form at any time to send questions or feedback
  • The most common questions and answers are published in the course’s own FAQ news in Moodle
  • If you need technical help, you can contact Metropolia Helpdesk, whose contact details are at the end of these instructions
  • You can find information about the course on the Digital Security Starter Wiki page

Course background

Digital Security Starter was produced as part of the project "Cyber Security Training and Related Collaboration Development in Higher Education Institutions". The course is based on cyber security competence descriptions created as part of the project and on the information security and data protection course at Tampere University. The course will also be made available for use by other higher education institutions and organizations.

Digiturvastartti – in Finnish

Digital Security Starter – in English

Did you encounter a problem?

In unclear situations, try the methods listed below to fix the problem before contacting user support.

  1. Restart your computer and the device where the issue is occurring. Try the function again.
  2. If the function you are attempting is happening in a web browser, try the function again in an incognito or private window and in a different browser.
  3. Try searching for a solution on the site of the IT Services by using the following search methods:

If the problem is not resolved, please contact the helpdesk according to best practices. Always include a full screen screenshot of the issue in your service request.

Instructions for contacting support

Contact information