RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, USA – (November 27, 2019) – The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) Foundation awarded over $115,000 in scholarships to 27 students at the IFMA World Workplace Conference and Expo in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. These scholarships honor the outstanding achievements of students studying the field of facility management and the built environment. You can learn more about each scholarship recipient and their sponsors at on the IFMA Foundation site. Scholarships are funded by IFMA Chapters and Councils along with organizations and companies supporting the IFMA Foundation. “We are grateful for the support of the IFMA community in providing scholarship funding to help these talented students further their facility management education and ease their financial burden of college tuition” said Joe Archie, IFMA Foundation Chair.
The scholarships include an all-expense paid trip to the annual IFMA World Workplace conference where students interact with Facility Management (FM) professionals and their peers to network, learn and engage with IFMA Fellows and leaders. At the conference, students meet and interview with IFMA Foundation Global Workforce Initiative (GWI) Advisors including Sodexo, ABM and FM:Systems. “Having access to the best and the brightest students in facility management provides our GWI Advisors with the ability to fill the talent gap in our industry with top-notch students,” said Joe Archie. “Additionally, student scholarship recipients participate in the Foundation’s IgniteFM! Student Challenge where students are placed in teams with peers from other schools whom they had never met and given three hours to solve an FM problem.”
Sponsored and led by FM:Systems, IgniteFM! student competition participants present their solutions to a judging panel and an audience of conference attendees the following day, working long hours the night before to perfect their presentations. In the audience are GWI Advisors’ talent acquisition teams observing the students and ready to interview and hire these talented future FM leaders. “We at FM:Systems believe fervently in the mission of the IFMA Foundation to support and expand the education in facility management. GWI is critical not just in filling a workforce gap but in elevating facility management to a true profession” said Michael Schley, Founder and board member at FM:Systems.
The IFMA Foundation scholarship program has awarded more than $1.5 million dollars to more than 554 students since the program started in the early 1990’s. The 2020 IFMA Foundation scholarship applications will be posted on December 15, 2019 on the Scholarships page of the IFMA Foundation website. “Solving the FM labor shortage will take a village of FM professionals dedicated to tackling this problem. Working with GWI advisors and major donors like A&A Maintenance, and IFMA members, chapters, communities and councils, we can all be that village that provides new approaches to tackle the FM talent shortage. Together, we can ensure there are skilled FMs to meet talent acquisition demands” said Joe Archie.
2019 IFMA Foundation IgniteFM! Student Challenge Winners are:
- Mohammed Aldaaja, Arizona State University
- Yujin Kim, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Cailyn Poschner, Conestoga College
- Victoria Smikowski, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
About FM:Systems
FM:Systems provides workplace management technology and solutions that enable facility and real estate teams to identify, plan, and deliver the ideal workplace for every employee. Our leading web-based Integrated Workspace Management System (IWMS) and real-estate analytics software improves management of space, occupancy, renovations, moves, maintenance, property, assets, agile workspaces, employee experience, smart buildings and more. FM:Systems is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, and conducts business throughout the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information about FM:Systems, please visit fmsystems.com.
About the IFMA Foundation
Established in 1990 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and separate entity from the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), the IFMA Foundation works for the public good to promote priority research and educational opportunities for the advancement of facility management. The IFMA Foundation is supported by the generosity of the FM community including IFMA members, chapters, councils, corporate sponsors and private contributors who share the belief that education and research improve the FM profession. To learn more about the IFMA Foundation, visit foundation.ifma.org.
About IFMA
IFMA is the world’s largest and most widely recognized international association for facility management professionals, supporting 24,000 members in more than 100 countries. This diverse membership participates in focused component groups equipped to address their unique situations by region (136 chapters), industry (16 councils) and areas of interest (six communities). Together they manage more than 78 billion square feet of property and annually purchase more than US$526 billion in products and services. Formed in 1980, IFMA certifies professionals in facility management; conducts research; provides educational programs, content and resources; and produces World Workplace, the world’s largest series of facility management conferences and expositions. To join and follow IFMA’s social media outlets online, visit the association’s LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr pages. For more information, visit the IFMA press room or www.ifma.org.
Contact: Brian Haines | FM:Systems | 919-582-9739 | bhaines@fmsystems.com