Studies in digital commerce became established at universities – the model launched by the Finnish Commerce Federation will continue permanently

As a response to the growing need for digital competence in the commerce sector, the Finnish Commerce Federation launched the Digital commerce study module together with the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Jyväskylä, LUT University, the University of Oulu and Tampere University. The establishment and operations of the study module were made possible by the support of Helsingin Kauppiaitten Yhdistys (currently Helsingin Kauppiaitten Säätiö).

The aim was to bring content to university studies that would strengthen competence in areas such as e-commerce, the utilisation of data, digital marketing and the changing commercial business.

Over five academic years, the cooperation has become an established part of the universities’ course offering. At the same time, it has built a new competence base for the needs of digital commerce and strengthened cooperation between higher education institutions on the subject.

“From the outset, the aim was that digital commerce studies would be established as part of the universities’ own course offering instead of remaining as a separate project. The aim has now been achieved, and the studies will be carried out independently by the higher education institutions,” says Moona Naakka-Stenvall, Senior Advisor of Education at the Finnish Commerce Federation who is responsible for coordinating the study module.

In future, the Finnish Commerce Federation’s role will be to support the development of the module through corporate cooperation. Taking the needs of companies into account in the development of the module will continue to be important so that the module can truly support the competence needs, competitiveness and growth of working life.

Significant results in five academic years

There has been clear demand for the studies since they began. At the same time, the completion of the studies has remained at a good level, which shows both the commitment of students and the functionality of the study module.

Over five academic years, the studies were completed over 2,600 times. The number of students completing the studies increased from 381 in the starting year to 597 in the previous academic year, i.e. by 57 per cent.

The study module has been built into a functional cooperation model that combines the competence of the five universities into one study module. Over the years, common structures and solutions have been created to support the studies and serve students, such as websites, administrative procedures, support materials for internships, digital competence badges and a completion certificate intended for open university students to demonstrate competence.

At the same time, the contents of the study module have been developed in line with the changing operating environment together with companies in the commerce sector. The themes of the green transition and new technologies have been added to the study content, the utilisation of student feedback has been strengthened and the offering has been expanded with a new study module on business analytics.

The feedback collected from the students has also been positive. Students have particularly highlighted the working-life-oriented nature of the studies. The combination of theory and practice, as well as guest lectures and company examples, have also been found rewarding. The multidisciplinarity of the project and the cooperation between the five universities are also reflected in the positive feedback. The online implementations were praised for their flexibility and carefully produced materials, with special mention being given to video lectures given by the teachers, interactive tasks and teachers’ accessibility.

The study module also received recognition outside Finland. In the summer of 2025, the Finnish Commerce Federation was selected as one of the exhibitors in connection with the 30th anniversary of EuroCommerce for the Digital commerce study module. The cooperation presented in Brussels aroused interest in the European commerce network, and the module was selected as a finalist in EuroCommerce’s Future of European Commerce awards. Among more than 50 applicants, the study module ranked among the top four in the capacity building category.

“Digital commerce is constantly evolving, and companies in the sector need more and more experts who understand e-commerce, data, digital marketing and new technologies. It is great that a permanent place has now been created for the development of these skills in Finnish universities,” says Naakka-Stenvall.

For further information, please contact:

Moona Naakka-Stenvall, Senior Advisor, Education, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 45 651 8474, moona.naakka-stenvall(at)kauppa.fi

Information on studies in digital commerce and instructions for enrolling in them will be transferred from the digitaalinenkauppa.fi website to the universities’ own study guides during the autumn.

The project has been supported by Helsingin Kauppiaitten Säätiö and the Foundation of Finnish Business College.