CSC and Sikt launch collaboration to advance the safe use of AI
Finnish CSC and Norwegian Sikt have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening safety and data protection in the development and use of AI solutions across education, research, culture, and public administration. As a first concrete step, the partners will further develop Sikt’s AI management solution to serve Finnish public sector customers.
Based on the MoU, CSC – IT Center for Science and Sikt (Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research) are establishing a long-term partnership to promote the safe and responsible use of AI in education, research, culture, and public administration. The collaboration focuses on developing practical services that enhance AI capabilities for their customer organizations. At the same time, the partnership supports European digital sovereignty by, for example, enabling market access for small, national and local AI solutions.
Sikt provides IT services for Norway’s public sector, delivering national digital services for education and research, similarly to CSC in Finland.
An operational layer for organizational AI use
At the core of the collaboration is Sikt AI, an AI management service developed by Sikt. It is a centralized service that enables the secure and controlled use of AI tools in public sector organizations, and it has already been widely adopted in the Norwegian education sector.
The service allows organizations to securely scale the use of AI-based solutions. In practice, it functions as an operational layer where users log in with their organizational credentials, select the large language models and other AI tools they wish to use, and manage how their data is utilized. The solution ensures, for example, that user prompts and data are not used for further training of commercial AI models, while giving organizations full control over AI usage. In addition, the platform enables the sharing and integration of applications into learning environments, for example.
CSC contributes with infrastructures and international networks
CSC brings to the collaboration strong expertise in digital services for research and education as well as European co-operation networks. The partnership will leverage the computing power of the LUMI AI Factory, and the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) ecosystem, among others. For instance, the LUMI AI Factory provides reliability, control, and high-performance computing capacity for AI and data-intensive processes.
The collaboration also enables the use of European and national language models alongside global alternatives. The goal is to support a diverse ecosystem where smaller providers can bring their solutions to market and where public and private stakeholders collaborate.
“At CSC, our goal is to advance and develop the responsible use of AI. We want to provide our customers with secure AI services and operating environments. Collaboration with Sikt supports these objectives, and I see our expertise complementing each other in an excellent way,” says Kimmo Koski, CSC’s Managing Director.
First pilots in the Finnish education sector
Following the MoU, CSC and Sikt will begin their collaboration in phases. The first phase includes pilot projects in the Finnish education sector, from primary education to higher education institutions, where organizations will test the AI management service in practice. At the same time, integration of Finnish identity solutions such as Haka and MPASSid, developed by CSC, will be piloted as part of the platform.
The pilots will gather insights into how the service meets the needs of different user groups in teaching, research, and administration.
In the longer term, the collaboration may expand toward broader European interoperability, supporting the use of European language models and strengthening European sovereignty in AI development.
“Nordic cooperation has always been a strength in our sector. Through this partnership with CSC, we combine our expertise to give both Norwegian and Finnish institutions access to AI solutions built on shared values of safety, data protection, and R&E sector needs”, says Terje Mørland, Director General of Sikt.
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Kimmo Koski
As Managing Director, Kimmo Koski is responsible for the implementation of CSC’s strategy and the company’s operations.
About CSC
CSC is a Finnish center of expertise in ICT that provides world-class services for research, education, culture, public administration and enterprises, to help them thrive and benefit society at large.
About Sikt
Sikt is Norway’s digital backbone for education and research, a national IT provider delivering the data and network infrastructure, shared services, and digital tools that connect institutions of all sizes and help them thrive.
