Science pushes us further. And we are pushing science forward

Research is one of the pillars of the faculty, its staff and many students. At FIT, research is the responsibility of Tomáš Vojnar, Vice Dean for Science and Research. "Both basic and applied research is cutting edge at FIT and we can foster the transfer of ideas ranging from mathematics to applications developed with companies. That's what I find so great here," he says.

IT is all around us, but not everyone considers information technology to be proper science. "Science is all before you can place an advert for the product and find a company to make it for you. Just think of the times a couple of years ago when Google didn't exist. If you wanted to buy a search engine on the market, you just couldn't. No one has yet come up with its operating principles, implemented them and fine-tuned them. In short, the research has not yet been done," says Tomáš Vojnar about the importance of science in IT.

If he were to introduce science and research at FIT, he would start with a list and, as he says, just hope he doesn't forget to mention someone. He and his colleagues at FIT are involved in a wide range of IT disciplines in both basic and applied research, which is why they are able to respond well to global trends. "Almost any time a new field emerges to the foreground, FIT has a stake in it. In recent years, machine learning has been an example of such an emerging field," says Vojnar.

In addition to artificial intelligence, researchers at FIT also deal with network security and other aspects of cybersecurity, automated analysis and verification, embedded computing and supercomputing technologies, evolutionary hardware, robotic and cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, and the theoretical foundations of computer science.

"We are pushing the boundaries of knowledge in many areas important to society. The results of this research then improve the quality of life for everyone - I am talking, for example, about security, smart cities, eGovernment, autonomous vehicles, smart agriculture and applications in medicine," says Tomáš Vojnar.

He adds that it is also extremely important to be able to pass on state-of-the-art knowledge to students. "Not only for the benefit of their careers but also for the development of the entire region. Only then we can build strong teams and companies that will attract other smart people," Vojnar says.  That is why FIT tries to get its students involved in research as early as possible - already during the summer following their first year of study. Thanks to what is known as the project course, they can substitute part of the traditional learning for work on research projects. "If they make it all the way to writing their diploma thesis, they have already spent four years in a specific research area, which is nothing to scoff at for a student. Maybe they'll just use the experience and go work in the industry. But there is always the possibility that one day they will lead a whole research team and push the possibilities of IT a little further still," says Tomáš Vojnar.

FOTO: Michal Fanta

The faculty co-operates on research with a number of academic and industrial institutions in the Czech Republic and abroad. FIT works with them on national and international projects - both in grant-funded research, which clearly dominates, but also in contractual research projects. "Both basic and applied research is cutting edge at FIT and we can foster the transfer of ideas ranging from mathematics to applications developed with companies. That's what I find so great here," concludes Tomáš Vojnar.