Data economy to boost Finland's growth – New microdegree to skill more experts

AI is only as intelligent as the data it uses. The strong growth in the amount of data following the growing use of generative AI has created a need for data experts. Finnish technology companies require up to 15,000 new data experts to achieve a leading position in the data economy. To boost this, together with higher education institutions and technology companies we have created a fast route to acquire data skills.

Sitra estimates that the value of the European data economy will exceed one trillion euros this year. At the same time, only 1% of Finnish companies uses data to create new business. The shortage of data experts is slowing our growth.

The data economy is already a significant part of business in most industries, including the public sector, and its role will only grow in the near future. Organizations must learn to create value from data and develop data-utilizing business models to succeed in a competition where skilled pioneers win.

AI also increases the need for data expertise because it requires large amounts of high-quality data, an in-depth understanding of data to develop algorithms, and ways to solve cybersecurity and data protection challenges. In addition, we need the ability to analyze and interpret data to support decision-making and the continuous development of data expertise.

We need data experts right now. That is why we have, together with higher education institutions and technology companies, created a Data Skills microdegree that is free of charge and open to all, enabling everyone to acquire the basics of data in as little as two months. The microdegree has been established in cooperation with higher education institutions, Arrow ECS Finland, Atea, Cloud1, Elisa, Islet, Microsoft, and Sovelto Eduhouse.

Islet is proud to be a corporate mentor for the Data Skills microdegree. We are excited to share our expertise and experience from various Islet customer projects with the program’s students. Data, its analysis, and the utilization of AI play a crucial role in all organizations, making the study of these skills essential for the future.

Janne Anttila

CBO - Data, analytics & AI, Islet Group

Data Skills microdegree is part of a larger goal to train 300,000 technology experts

Data Skills microdegree is part of the broader Skills for Jobs program, which aims to support Finland in becoming one of the most advanced countries in the world in AI, data economy, cyber security, and sustainable IT. Over the past two years, 130,000 experts have accumulated new technology skills through the program. The program aims to train 300,000 new or further trained technology experts within five years.

Skills for Jobs program also offers Cybersecurity, Power Platform, and AI Developer microdegrees, a popular Practical AI course, as well as other opportunities for developing expertise through different training partners’ client and partner skills programs.

Towards an AI-driven growth: aka.ms/datataidot

More information on Data Skills microdegree

Data Skills microdegree includes the basics of cloud services and data analytics, the basics of Microsoft Azure services, the use of Microsoft Fabric to process and analyze data, the development and analysis of data processing skills, the creation of visually informative reports to support decision-making, and security issues covering data protection and management.

The microdegree is

Open to all
Free of charge
Worth 12 credits
In English
Made in cooperation with higher education institutions, Arrow ECS Finland, Atea, Cloud1, Elisa, Islet, and Sovelto Eduhouse.

More information: