The uniqueness of the Smart Green Campus initiative lies in its integration of participatory planning, real-life campus transformation, and academic innovation within a single framework. Unlike conventional campus development projects, it directly involves the academic community in co-creating strategic documents while simultaneously serving as a hands-on learning environment. Its key USP is the positioning of the campus as a living lab, where education, research, and practical implementation of sustainability and spatial planning solutions converge in real time.The activity is expected to strengthen stakeholder engagement in the transformation of the FM UK campus by actively involving students, staff, and partners in decision-making processes. It will contribute to the development of a high-quality, community-driven Smart Green Campus strategy, reflecting real user needs and sustainability principles. In the long term, the initiative will enhance the campus as a living laboratory for education, research, and innovation in environmental management and spatial planning.
An inaugural participatory meeting held under the motto “Growing Together” took place on Monday, May 4, 2026, at the Faculty of Management, Comenius University. This was the first creative session dedicated to the joint campus transformation project involving the Faculty of Management and the Faculty of Pharmacy. The goal is to create an opportunity for all members of the academic community to actively participate in shaping and realizing the vision of a smart, green campus and a strong, unified community for both faculties. Participants learned about the project’s current and upcoming activities and had a unique chance to actively contribute to the development of the campus vision and community plan—for instance, by sharing their feelings and ideas regarding how our campus should look. Featured activities included a screening of a student film about the campus grounds and the presentation of a concept for adopting and collectively planting greenery.
These implementation steps aim not only to improve the physical campus environment but also to create conditions for better communication and the more effective use of modern methods and technologies in teaching, research, and operational activities. The “Smart Green Campus” concept seeks to bring a new, comprehensive quality to the university environment, transforming it into a “Living Lab” for participatory processes and the dissemination of innovation. Spatial planning plays an indispensable role in this context, serving as a response to current societal and economic challenges such as climate change, urban safety, and the spread of innovation. Participation—as the foundation for a sustainable consensus and a facilitator of a shared vision—is essential for the long-term success of such a project. Ultimately, this is not merely about the physical transformation of the campus grounds, but about creating a democratic arena where all stakeholders have the opportunity to participate in shaping the vision and its implementation.
A key output is the FM UK Community plan, which initiates the process of transforming the faculty and its community. The community itself will decide which measures and activities will serve as the catalyst for making the physical and social environment—and the way it is used—more pleasant, inclusive, interactive, and safe; a space where spending time alongside work and study becomes a daily asset to a growing community.
The campus is a living ecosystem that naturally evolves and changes. It must respond flexibly to change, absorb new ideas, and integrate education, research, and the daily life of the faculty, the city, and society. FM UK aims to translate this approach into concrete solutions—ranging from energy efficiency and blue-green infrastructure to higher-quality shared spaces and more active engagement with professional practice.
“Spatial planning today is not just about the physical layout of an area; it is about the ability to integrate data, community needs, and sustainability principles into a single functional whole. The Smart Green Campus offers a unique opportunity for our students and experts to work on a real-world project with a direct impact,” says Prof. Maroš Finka, the academic guarantor for the upcoming Spatial Planning study program (see Trend, April 28, 2026).
This transformation is spearheaded by the Department of Environmental Management and Spatial Planning at the Faculty of Management, Comenius University (FM UK), and Spectra, an EU Centre of Excellence. Smart Green Campus activities are carried out within the framework of the international STICS project (Smart Transformation and Innovation Consortium Slovakia), which connects 24 partners—ranging from local governments, universities, and research centers to the business community and the non-profit sector. The project creates a platform for sharing experience and transferring innovative solutions to the Slovak context. These innovative solutions are tested directly in Living labs, one of which is the FM UK Smart Green Campus.
