The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture is launching a fixed-term pilot of a Study Voucher for open higher education. The Digivisio 2030 project will implement the digital solution required for the pilot within the shared Opin.fi service for Finnish higher education institutions, and HigherEd Hub Finland Oy (HEHF) will be responsible for its operation. The pilot will begin after the spring 2026 joint application process.

The Study Voucher is a payment instrument worth 30 ECTS credits for open higher education studies. In August 2026, the voucher will be granted to young people who have completed their first upper secondary qualification after 1 December 2025, are under the age of 29 at the time of graduation, and who either do not receive a study place in the spring joint application or choose not to accept the place offered.

The aim of the Study Voucher is to provide young people without a study place the opportunity to pursue studies in open higher education, thereby supporting skills development and facilitating transitions into degree education. Read more about the target group and instructions in the Opin.fi service: https://opin.fi/fi/opintoseteli.

Digital solution in the Opin.fi service

The Digivisio 2030 project will implement the digital solution required for the Study Voucher pilot. Within the Opin.fi service, the solution will primarily function as a payment method: during enrolment, learners can use the Study Voucher balance to pay open higher education course fees instead of using online banking.

The Study Voucher will be available from August 2026, once the joint application results and waiting list procedures have been completed.

The voucher is valid for two years and can be used for thousands of open study offerings from all 35 higher education institutions under the Ministry of Education and Culture via the Opin.fi service.

HEHFin roolHEHF’s role as operator

HEHF will act as the operational administrator of the Study Voucher solution within the Opin.fi service. HEHF is responsible for ensuring that:

• the Study Voucher payment method operates reliably and consistently across all Finnish higher education institutions
• payment transactions between higher education institutions and learners function smoothly
• usage monitoring, reporting, and balance management are handled centrally
• the service operates securely, transparently, and in accordance with the Ministry’s guidelines

In its role as operator, HEHF ensures that the Study Voucher effectively supports young people in accessing studies and promotes unified operating models across higher education institutions throughout the pilot.

Read more:

More information about the Study Voucher in the Opin.fi service:
https://opin.fi/fi/opintoseteli

Learn more about the Digivisio 2030 Study Voucher development work:
https://digivisio2030.fi/digivisio-toteuttaa-opintosetelin-opin-fi-palveluun/