LAB is switching to Sisu – “Now we have a clear partner to solve issues with”

LAB University of Applied Sciences is preparing for a major change in its student administration system. In mid-July 2026, Sisu will replace the current Peppi Student Information System. After that, Sisu will be used for study planning, course registrations, assessments and the management of study rights.

At LAB University of Applied Sciences, Arto Kutvonen and Mirva Törmälä, among others, have been leading the implementation of Sisu. Kutvonen works at LUT University as the Head of Educational Services in the Academic and International Services department. Törmälä serves as a Project Manager in Educational Services. Both are working on the implementation of Sisu at LAB as part of the shared services organisation of the LUT higher education institutions.

According to Kutvonen, the implementation doesn’t end with the system going live.

“From our perspective, this is perhaps about halfway there. The planning, specification, and implementation work carried out together with Funidata has been of paramount importance. Next comes supporting end users. We will provide training and guidance as different tasks and processes arise throughout the year,” says Kutvonen.

Sisu is being rolled out to users in phases

At LAB, students gained access to Sisu as early as the beginning of April 2026. They have been able to create their personal study plans and familiarise themselves with the new system. However, throughout the spring, the old system has remained the primary system, where, for example, assessments have been recorded.

According to Törmälä, this phased approach has been important, even though it has also raised questions.

“Students have already been able to explore Sisu and create their personal study plans. At the same time, we’ve had to communicate that the migration work is still in progress. It’s understandable that students ask why not all their credit units or assessments are visible in Sisu yet,” says Törmälä.

Staff access rights have been granted gradually. The staff in the Student Affairs Office, study advisors and programme managers have had access to the system earlier than others. Sisu will be made more widely available to teachers once there are fewer unfinished aspects in the system.

A clear partner helps with the system transition

The implementation project began in 2025. The first joint kick-off with Funidata took place in May 2025. Since then, the collaboration has been regular and close.

Törmälä considers Funidata’s support particularly significant during the migration.

“It has been a huge help to us that Funidata is involved in the migration. Not all data could be transferred from the old system as-is, and some aspects had to be built into Sisu manually. The systems have different structures, so we’ve had to look closely at what data is transferred, how it is transferred and what needs to be done differently.”

Kutvonen highlights the clarity of the collaboration with Funidata. In the previous system, support was spread across multiple parties. Finding an answer wasn’t always straightforward.

“In the past, it could be difficult to figure out where to get an answer to a specific question. Now we have a clear partner to solve issues with,” says Kutvonen.

Sisu supports collaboration across the higher education group

The decision to switch to Sisu is also linked to the collaboration between LAB and LUT University. LUT University has been using Sisu for some time, and LAB is part of the same higher education group. A shared system facilitates work in areas such as language teaching, academic administration, and IT services.

“When both higher education institutions have the same system, things can be done more consistently. Staff in student services no longer need to consider how a particular task is handled in different systems. It streamlines student administration work,” says Törmälä.

The transition to Sisu coincided with a time when a major version update would have been required for the previous system anyway. According to Kutvonen, it made sense at that point to evaluate whether to continue with the old system or switch to a solution that better supports the higher education group’s shared operations.

The implementation has proceeded on a tight schedule. According to Kutvonen, not everything could have been resolved in advance, even if the project had started earlier.

“Certain issues only come to light as go-live approaches. In hindsight, we could have prepared a bit earlier with a larger team. That would have given us more time for testing and creating guidelines,” he says.

Guidelines, training and support are being developed continuously. According to Törmälä, not everything needs to be resolved before implementation, as some issues only become clear through actual use.

Learning to use Sisu happens on the job

LAB isn’t planning a single, large training session for staff where everything is taught at once. Instead, users are supported as tasks arise. Assessment, registration and managing course implementations are learned as part of day-to-day work.

According to Törmälä, using Sisu has already proven to be straightforward in many respects.

“When teachers have been shown, for example, the dashboard, registered students and students awaiting assessment, many have remarked, ‘Is it really this simple?’ Basic use isn’t rocket science. When users see the right section and get instructions, many things fall into place quickly and almost on their own,” says Törmälä.

Change is still change. Students’ questions often revolve around whether their own information is displayed correctly. Staff have particularly asked how to set aside time for the system transition alongside their other work.

According to Kutvonen, many tasks remain the same even though the user interface changes.

“If a teacher is assessing students’ work, the work itself doesn’t change. It is simply carried out in a different view. We should help people right at the moment when the task comes up,” Kutvonen says.

The system change brought processes under review

One of the biggest surprises during the implementation has been related to the national cross-institutional study service RIPA. LAB is a large higher education institution where information also flows through national services.

“We knew that RIPA could be a challenging area. Still, we couldn’t have anticipated just how extensive the whole thing would be. We’ve worked through it together with Funidata,” says Kutvonen.

The implementation of Sisu has also prompted LAB to review its own processes. For example, study rights, extensions to study periods, degree structures and provisions in the degree regulations have come under review.

“It has been a good time to consider why a certain practice exists and whether it is still appropriate. A system change brings these issues to light,” says Törmälä.

Kutvonen summarises the importance of a phased and well-planned rollout:

“The most important thing is that we get started in a controlled manner. The world won’t be ready on launch day, but users need to know how to move forward with their own work.”