20 years of Haka – The cornerstone of digital identity in Finnish higher education

Haka was born out of a need to reduce redundant user management and improve information security in academic environments. As more services moved online, higher education institutes (HEIs) faced a common challenge: managing user identities in a fragmented digital landscape.

With Haka, students, researchers, and staff from member organizations can access a wide range of national and international online services using a single login. This simplifies daily life while ensuring that personal data is not shared with service providers. For IT departments, Haka offers a centralized authentication method that enables easy onboarding of new services, without the need for separate user databases or custom integrations.

A shared solution for shared needs

In the early 2000s, digital services in Finnish HEIs were expanding rapidly. Online learning platforms, digital tools, and student services were becoming the norm. However, each institute and service had its own way of handling logins and user management, leading to frustration among users who had to juggle multiple credentials.

To address this, CSC and HEIs launched a joint project to streamline access. The result was a single sign-on solution built on a simple yet powerful idea that has stood the test of time: enabling secure data exchange within a trusted federation.

Built on trust

Haka’s strength lies not only in its technical foundation but also in the trust shared among its members. Thanks to common principles and a shared platform, user data can be transferred securely and reliably between organizations. This trust enables broader collaboration. Because when data is trustworthy, cooperation becomes easier.

“Trust doesn’t happen by accident, it’s built through shared rules, transparency, and long-term collaboration. Haka is a great example of this: it enables secure data exchange between organizations and lays the foundation for smooth digital interaction,” says Arto Tuomi, Development Manager at CSC, who has been involved in Haka’s development from the beginning.

CSC is responsible for coordinating and maintaining the Haka federation. From the outset, the goal has been to create an open, scalable, vendor-neutral system based on open standards, one that supports collaboration across higher education.

Today, all Finnish HEIs and several research organizations are part of the Haka network. Through Haka, users can access services such as learning platforms, library databases, the Eduuni collaboration platform, research computing services, and international publication repositories. Haka has evolved alongside its users to meet the changing needs of academia.

“When the system works seamlessly in the background, users can focus on what matters: studying, research, and collaboration. Haka’s strength lies in combining technical reliability with administrative cooperation in a way that has endured and adapted over time,” Tuomi adds.

Looking ahead

Digital identity and user management are undergoing significant changes. National and European initiatives, such as Suomi.fi authentication and the EU’s eIDAS regulation, are shaping the future of identity solutions in higher education. At the same time, the growing role of international cloud services is sparking new discussions.

Looking forward, Haka’s development will focus on flexible identity brokering services, new protocols, and exploring pathways toward digital identity wallets. The aim is to ensure that Haka remains a secure, adaptable, standards-based solution that scales to meet the demands of a changing digital environment.

“Thanks to strong technical and administrative collaboration, Haka has stood the test of time and maintained its role as a trusted authentication solution in a rapidly evolving digital world. We are committed to ensuring that Haka continues to evolve to meet future challenges and serve the needs of the academic and research community,” Tuomi concludes.

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