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Case story

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions for Oulu University

University of Oulu

Executive summary

Oulu University engaged in two distinct RPA projects to address critical operational challenges. One of them automated the manual processing of employee contracts and bachelor's thesis documents that were received via email and required manual archiving. The other implemented automated validation for a large-scale data migration involving tens of thousands of documents to a new archiving system.  

Both solutions delivered significant time savings and operational improvements. 

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Key Results

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Thousands of manual processing hours eliminated across both projects, administrative staff freed to focus on strategic, high-value initiatives

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Automated document handling and validation workflows

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Systematic data verification replacing manual processes prone to human error

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15% random sample coverage ensuring data integrity across entire migrated dataset

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Critical production deadlines met for new archiving system deployment

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Automated exception handling and corrupted file identification

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About the client

Oulu University (Oulun Yliopisto) is a major Finnish university located in Oulu, Northern Finland. 

The university operates alongside Oulu University of Applied Sciences (Oulun Ammattikorkeakoulu), managing substantial administrative operations including employee onboarding, academic document processing, and large-scale data management systems.

 

Oulu University faced two distinct operational challenges that were consuming significant administrative resources.

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Challenge

Manual document archiving process

Oulu University's administration manually processed new employee contracts for both Oulun Yliopisto and Oulun Ammattikorkeakoulu, as well as bachelor's thesis documents for archiving. Documents arrived via email requiring manual data extraction, verification, and transfer to the archiving system. This repetitive process consumed significant weekly administrative resources, was prone to human error, and created email inbox clutter. The manual workflow prevented staff from focusing on more strategic administrative tasks.

Solution

We developed an RPA robot that automated the complete document archiving workflow:

Email monitoring: Continuous automated monitoring of designated email inboxes

Document identification: Intelligent recognition of relevant contract and thesis documents

Data extraction: Automated parsing of document metadata according to university standards

Verification process: Data accuracy validation before archiving

Automated archiving: Direct transfer to university's archiving system with integrity checks

Email management: Automatic clearing of processed emails to reduce inbox clutter

Exception handling: Automated flagging of corrupted or invalid files for administrative review

Results

The document archiving automation eliminated the manual processing bottleneck, freeing up weekly administrative hours for strategic tasks. The automated verification process reduced archiving errors while systematic email management decreased inbox clutter.

Exception handling capabilities enabled rapid identification and response to problematic documents.

Administrative staff could reallocate time from repetitive data entry to higher-value university operations and strategic initiatives.

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Data migration validation challenge

Following a large-scale migration of hundreds of thousands of documents to a new archiving system, Oulu University needed to verify successful data transfer within tight production timeline constraints. Manual verification of document accuracy, downloadability, and data integrity would have required thousands of administrative hours - an impractical approach that would have delayed the new system's production deployment and prevented staff from focusing on other critical projects.

Solution

We implemented an RPA solution for systematic migration validation:

Random sampling methodology: Robot automatically selects 15% random sample of document IDs from migrated dataset

Multi-point validation: Each selected document checked for accuracy, downloadability, and data integrity

Automated testing: Systematic verification of document accessibility in new system

Comprehensive reporting: Detailed reports identifying any corrupted or problematic files

Quality assurance framework: Statistical validation approach ensuring migration success confidence

Targeted remediation: Automated flagging enabling focused correction of identified issues

Results

The migration validation solution saved thousands of manual verification hours while providing systematic quality assurance. The random sampling approach delivered statistically relevant validation coverage, giving the university confidence in migration success.

Early identification of corrupted documents enabled targeted corrections before production deployment.

The new archiving system was deployed within the required timeline, and administrative resources remained available for other strategic university initiatives rather than exhaustive manual checking.

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Summary

Both RPA projects delivered measurable operational improvements for Oulu University. The document archiving automation eliminated weekly manual processing bottlenecks, while the migration validation solution ensured successful system deployment within critical timelines.

Combined, these solutions freed thousands of administrative hours, reduced process errors, and enabled staff reallocation to strategic initiatives. The university achieved improved operational efficiency while maintaining data quality and system reliability standards.

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University of Oulu

Technologies and methods

    • Open-source
    • Python
    • Robot Framework
    • MongoDB
    • Azure
    • Selenium