The Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology of BUT has awarded Information Technology Development Merit Medals

Yesterday, in the Tugendhat Villa, the Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology of the Brno University of Technology, Pavel Zemčík, awarded two Information Technology Development Merit Medals. He awarded the medals to two major personages in the field - Pavel Baudiš, the founder of AVAST, and Martin Grigar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AUTOCONT.

This marked the first time that Merit Medals were awarded. By awarding the medals, the Faculty of Information Technology wishes to reward people who contributed to development of the field. "In this way we not only fulfil our social obligations but, in particular, we express our respect to those people who have been systematically working in the field of information technology for a long time and whose work is beneficial both for the economy and for the society. However, we cannot award medals to all those people so we would like this award ceremony to be considered a token of respect to all those who contribute towards the development of information technologies," said Pavel Zemčík, the Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology of BUT.

The Faculty of Information Technology has decided to award the medals to Pavel Baudiš and Martin Grigar who represent an example of highly successful entrepreneurs whose long-term hard work has built companies whose importance reaches far beyond the Czech Republic. "Pavel Baudiš has played a key role in formation and development of the world-famous AVAST company pursuing business activities in the field of computer software, specifically antivirus and security technology. Martin Grigar is the founder of an important Czech information technology company. AUTOCONT started as a manufacturer of computers, today, its business activities focus not only on complex IT infrastructure, but also on outsourcing and business information systems," added Pavel Zemčík.

Pavel Baudiš, the founder of Avast (on the left) | Author: Igor Šefr

The medals with the motives of Brno, the Faculty of Information Technology and IT elements were made in the medallist workshop of Petr Kazda based on the design by sculptor Michal Vitanovský. The awarded personages were presented with the medals by the Dean during a formal event held at the Tugendhat Villa on 17 October 2018.

"First and foremost, it is a symbol of appreciation for the work of our entire AUTOCONT team, which has currently over a thousand members. What is more, it comes from BUT which was one of our first large customers and which did truly an excellent job preparing many of our thousand employees for their future lives," said Martin Grigar. "I highly appreciate the award. During my thirty years of experience in the field, I had the honour of meeting many smart people, many of whom were graduates of the Faculty of Information Technology," added Pavel Baudiš.

One of the medals was also received by Martin Grigar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Autocont | Author: Igor Šefr

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Avast is one of the largest security providers in the world using new-generation technologies to combat cybercrime in real time. The company was founded in 1988 by Czech researchers Eduard Kučera and Pavel Baudiš, who is one of the pioneers of computer security. Today, Avast is the second largest antivirus and security company in the world.

Autocont is currently the largest and most important Czech supplier of information and communication technology in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It focuses on provision of comprehensive IT solutions and services for corporate clients and government. Its Brno branch was founded in 1991 by Martin Grigar who worked his way up to the position of the Director of the entire company over the following seven years.