Sustainability Has Been a Long-Standing Tradition at FIT VUT: An Interview with Lukáš Duránik

April 22nd? Earth Day. The roots of this international initiative, which focuses on environmental protection and raising awareness of humanity’s relationship with nature, date back to 1970. We at the Faculty of Information Technology can say that we work, study, and spend a great deal of time in a place that, thanks to its technical and technological solutions, connects the grounds of a historic monastery with the vision of a modern and environmentally responsible campus.

We asked the most qualified person for this, the energy and building services manager Lukáš Duránik, for his perspective as a practitioner and coordinator on the “sustainable faculty” project. He certainly has a lot to say on the topic, having worked at the faculty since its inception in 2002. “From the perspective of building operations management, it’s not just about ecology, but also about economic sustainability. Reducing energy costs and efficient management are investments that pay off for the faculty in the long term. Our goal is for the Faculty of Information Technology to be not only a leader in IT education but also an inspiration for how a modern institution can care for its surroundings and resources,” he summarizes his view on the principles of campus sustainability at the outset.

In an interview that took place during a tour of the FIT campus, we discussed the four pillars of the faculty’s sustainability—namely: energy management, ranging from solar power to the heat generated by server operations; water management on a campus with extensive green spaces; green roofs on lecture hall complexes E and D, and most recently on part of the roof of building Q; and finally, the concept of a smart campus. You can read about the details, as well as the campus’s near future, in our press release.