Press Releases

For Immediate Release
Andrea Sanchez
George Deutsch
1-713-623-4362

July 29, 2008

WORLD WORKPLACE CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO FACILITY MANAGEMENT PROFESSION
 
HOUSTON — (July 29, 2008) — The International Facility Management Association’s World Workplace 2008 Conference & Expo, held Oct. 15-17 in Dallas, Texas, will bring facility professionals together with students looking to break into the industry to focus on the future of the built environment. Students from facility management programs around the world will present their own original projects and research during the IFMA Foundation’s second annual ePoster competition, presented by the foundation’s Committee on Academic Affairs and the American Society of Interior Designers. In addition to the ePoster competition, the foundation will also present more than US$90,000 in scholarships to 28 students whose efforts are already making an impact on the profession.

The World Workplace ePoster competition provides an international stage for students in IFMA Foundation Recognized Degree Program schools and other institutions offering FM-related educational programs to present original work in the field of facility management.

An ePoster presentation is a visual summary of a recent research or work project, consisting of a PowerPoint or other electronic display combined with an interactive two-minute question-and-answer period. Student ePoster submittals will be displayed Oct. 16 on the expo floor, with the winning ePosters being selected by an international panel of judges, including a representative from ASID.

Students from institutions such as Brigham Young University, the University of Teesside in the U.K. and the University of Applied Sciences in Kufstein, Austria, will travel to World Workplace to present their projects. The winning ePoster author(s) will receive a US$1,500 expense allowance toward attending the 2009 European Facility Management Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Last year’s winners included students from BYU, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, Germany.

Because supporting deserving students helps to ensure the quality of the built environment in a changing world, the IFMA Foundation will also present a record dollar amount in scholarships at this year’s conference. The foundation will be giving out nearly US$20,000 more in scholarships than it did last year and more than twice what it gave out in 2005.

Fifty-four graduate and undergraduate students representing 22 schools applied for the scholarships, which are awarded based on merit to students pursuing degrees in facility management or a related field. Scholarships provided by the IFMA Foundation start at US$1,500 and include an allocation for the recipient to attend World Workplace.

“I heard about the scholarship through a peer at Cornell studying the same program as me, facilities planning and management — and I ended up winning,” said Anne Marie Oswald, who won the Barbara Pryor Scholarship at last year’s conference and is applying for a scholarship again this year. “The trip to World Workplace 2007 was an amazing experience for me. It would be great to win the scholarship again and reunite with my peers who are heading to Dallas.”

To learn more about scholarships provided by the IFMA Foundation, click here.

To view ePoster submittals from World Workplace 2007, click here.

Members of the media interested in attending World Workplace may register at no cost here.

IFMA’s World Workplace Conference & Expo is an annual three-day educational and networking event focused on the future of the built environment. Building on the professional development opportunities available through the association year-round, the World Workplace experience includes a conference focused entirely on education and an exposition incorporating product demonstration and instruction. This year’s conference will be held Oct. 15-17, 2008, at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit the World Workplace press room or www.worldworkplace.org.