Do you have questions about our courses, openHPI certificates or getting started? Here you’ll find all the answers at a glance – clear, direct and to the point.
Please note: Some features are still under development and will be available shortly.
openHPI is the digital education platform of the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) in Potsdam. Since 2012, we have been offering high-qualitytop-class online courses on IT topics, programming and artificial intelligence at an academic level. From 2026, openHPI will focus even more strongly on school pupils to inspire the next generation to take an interest in IT and tech.
Yes, using openHPI for free is a central part of our mission! All course formats, learning materials and certificates of completion are 100 per cent free of charge.
For anyone who wants to learn about IT directly from one of the leading computer science institutes. Our courses are particularly aimed at school pupils, university students, teachers and anyone with an interest in the subject from secondary school onwards.
In principle, any age – ideally from secondary school onwards (approx. Year 7). If you’re under 16, you’ll just need your parents’ consent when registering.
For full courses, workshops and certificates, you’ll need a free account. Would you like to have a go without registering first? Then take a look at our openHPI Shorts!
No! Our courses are divided into the levels Beginner (Blue), Intermediate (Purple) and Expert (Orange). You can take courses at the Beginner level with absolutely no prior knowledge.
We offer four formats to suit your ideal learning experience:
Our beginner courses on Python or Java are the perfect place to start. However, you don’t need to know how to programme to get started on openHPI – many courses on AI, cybersecurity or media literacy don’t require any coding at all.
The main course language is German. Many courses also offer English subtitles or accompanying materials.
Yes! Learning on openHPI is asynchronous. You can watch videos, take breaks and repeat lessons whenever it suits your daily routine.
CodeOcean is the practical programming platform developed at the HPI, which is integrated directly into your openHPI learning environment. You can use it to solve and run programming tasks directly in your browser without needing to install anything.
Depending on the course, you can receive two types of certification: an official certificate (formerly a certificate of achievement) or a certificate of participation.
The openHPI certificate (certificate of achievement) confirms that you have successfully completed the course, including your mark. You will receive it for active courses and projects if you have worked through at least 75 per cent of the content and pass the one-hour final exam with at least 70 per cent of the marks. It will be available to download from your profile no later than three weeks after submitting the exam.
The Confirmation of Participation, on the other hand, confirms your active participation in the course without the need for an exam. You can obtain it for courses, workshops (coming soon), projects and archive courses (coming soon) as soon as you have worked through at least 75 per cent of the course content. It will also be available in your profile area no later than 3 weeks after the end of the course.
Absolutely! An openHPI certificate demonstrates initiative and specialist knowledge. You can download it as a PDF, include it with your application documents or share it directly on LinkedIn.
No! openHPI does not require computer science to be a school subject. Our beginner courses explain all the basics of IT clearly from the very beginning.
Yes! In addition to school curriculum content, our Fit2Study theme world in particular offers you the ideal preparation for HPI level, helping you to find out whether a degree in computer science is right for you.
Click on ‘Log in’ in the top right-hand corner and then on ‘Create a new user account’. Enter your email address, your name and your date of birth, and choose a password. If you are under 16, your parents must give their consent for you to create an account. Then simply click the link in the confirmation email.
openHPI stores and processes your data exclusively on HPI’s own servers in Germany in accordance with the strict requirements of the GDPR. Your data will never be passed on to third parties for commercial purposes.
No, openHPI is completely ad-free and accessible free of charge.
This page was last changed at Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:04:13 +0000.