What is important for a forum for ideas, innovations and field professionals generating them? What infrastructure or services help such an ecosystem to thrive, and how can it open up and benefit a wider community? These are the issues underlying the efforts for the development of the Danske Campus at Saltoniškių street of the capital which has become a second home for several thousand employees of the Bank.

A place for cooperation and initiatives

At the moment, the Danske Campus consists of a compound of six modern buildings with the most recent opened for the employees in December 2019. But the core of the campus is not buildings or spaces, but rather the potential to bring people together and empower them to realise their ideas and their creativity.
 
„Just as in case of any viable ecosystem, the driving force of the Danske Campus is diversity and the possibility to unite differences for achieving common goals.“

The Danske Bank Group's Global Services Lithuania and the Group IT unit employ representatives of more than 100 different professions, but even that figure does not cover all differences that shine through the diversity of personalities, their hobbies and interests.

Joggers, bicycle or motorcycle enthusiasts, cinema and book lovers, sportsmen, choir singers, modern dance dancers, robotics and computer games fans – at the Danske Campus all employees are welcome to organise into communities, act and implement their own initiatives.

This is why the Danske Campus is always so full of life, and not only professional but also social: a huge data analyst hackathon in progress in one part of the town, with an international conference for anti money laundering prevention professionals, or a custom banking innovation is presented to the colleagues, while others are preparing for zumba lessons or planning a bicycle march route for the weekend.
All about the convenience of the employees

Without a doubt, an active life requires not only a culture of employee empowerment or an atmosphere of cooperation. That also requires an appropriate infrastructure – convenient and technology-equipped spaces for holding events, formal and informal meetings, work, recreation or leisure activities. In this regard, all efforts are made to adapt the Danske Campus to the needs of the employees. For that reason, specialists working at the Danske Bank office complex can use movable desks, regular meetings rooms, conference rooms and lounge areas. For those tired there are several rooms with beds, or, if needed, they may use individual working rooms with trainer bicycles or balance chairs. At the Danske Campus one can find a gym, bicycle storage and showers, spaces for parents who bring their children to work, and a library.

The infrastructure of the complex reflects one of the main principles of the Danske Campus – a good balance of work and leisure. This principle is implemented through a diversity of offered activities, services or entertainment. Massages, exercise, sports workouts, clothing cleaning and catering services – all of this is available for the Danske Bank employees at their in-house Campus. Even such seemingly small things as preparing the bikes for the season at the workplace paid by the employer – that releases the employees from their daily concerns and helps saving time that can be devoted to their most satisfying activities.

Moreover, it is the employees of the Bank that are at the heart of creating the Campus. Issues relating to the equipment of the office premises, infrastructure solutions, service supply and event grid are decided by specific groups of employees, and any ideas or proposals are welcome from any member of the Danske Campus community. This arrangement is also an important part of the empowerment culture.

Value for communities and the city

However, the Danske Bank community does not limit itself to the vision of the Campus alone. The Danske Campus aims to open for the neighbouring communities and the city in general. The Campus premises are used to host knowledge sharing events for technology and innovation developers or communities of selected professions. In the future the bank intends to enhance its cooperation with various social partners – universities, public organisations, academies – and offer them an opportunity to avail themselves of the Campus infrastructure or join in implementing various projects. Two larger open spaces have been already adapted for the purpose, and two smaller rooms, accommodating up to 100 persons, will be arranged in a unit that is still in the process of construction.

Actually, anybody passing by can, at least, partly feel the life pulse of the Danske Campus by dropping in at the café operating here. The aim is to ensure that the Danske Campus create as much value as possible for the entire community of Žvėrynas and the city of Vilnius. This value can be created and communicated not only through direct influence on the economy or the development of innovations, but also through educational and cultural initiatives, the creation of spaces for residents' leisure. Because of this, residents of Vilnius should not be very surprised to receive an invitation from the Danske Campus to an open-air cinema or a music event.

Focus on sustainable activities

Finally, an integral part of the Danske Campus identity is its greenery and sustainability. To ensure that the entire organisation of 4,000 employees operates in an environmentally friendly manner the Danske Campus is being built and developed by investing heavily in green solutions. Such measures include solar collectors, and solutions for the use of rainwater use system or energy conservation solutions. For example, lighting solutions with sensors installed in the offices save energy, and the automatic façade window curtains reduce the penetrating solar heat thus saving energy for indoor cooling.

„All green solutions used in the Danske Campus allow cutting energy costs to 40 percent, and water consumption by 50 percent.“

Due to the measures taken, the carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere are reduced by about one third. Thus, the efforts have already yielded results.

The Danske Campus is not only trying to be as ‘green’ as possible, but it is also like a living organism that is constantly growing, learning, responding to the environment and discovering new ways to coexist within it. More importantly, this is all made possible by its curious, developing and cooperating inhabitants. At the same time, the Campus is a perfect medium for their own personal development.

Just like other similar Campuses of other technology companies throughout the world, the Danske Campus proves that creating a convenient and sustainable environment for work and innovation development, providing the necessary infrastructure for professionals in their field, bringing them together and empowering facilitate create a significantly higher value for both employees and the company itself, as well as the city and the state in which it works. This makes any contribution to the growth of the Danske Campus and following its development or implementation of new ideas even more satisfying