EuroFM Honours Excellence with Awards at Conference Dinner in Trondheim
During the EuroFM Conference in Trondheim, Norway, the EuroFM community gathered for a festive and inspiring award ceremony held during the conference dinner. The evening provided a moment to pause and celebrate excellence within the Facility Management profession, recognising individuals and initiatives that are making a meaningful impact across industry, research and education. In total, three EuroFM Awards were presented, each highlighting a different dimension of professional excellence and reflecting the diverse strengths of the EuroFM network.
Best Industry Initiative
The Best Industry Initiative Award recognises organisations that push the boundaries of Facility Management through innovation, impact and a strong societal vision. This year’s winner was XUKRA, founded by Mais Taha in Malta.
XUKRA impressed the jury with its human-centred, sustainability-driven approach to workplace management. Rather than focusing solely on operational efficiency, XUKRA integrates wellbeing, inclusivity and ESG principles into everyday workplace practices. Through a positivity-driven digital platform, the organisation promotes recognition, transparency and engagement, while linking employee reward systems to environmentally responsible choices.
The jury highlighted XUKRA’s rapid growth, international relevance and clear focus on impact over profit alone. Their approach demonstrates how Facility Management can actively shape organisational culture and contribute to healthier, more ethical and future-ready workplaces.
Other nominated initiatives for the Business Industry Initiative Award were Shukri Habib and Qualitas, both recognised for their valuable contributions to the industry.
Best Paper Award
The EuroFM Best Paper Award honours outstanding academic research that advances knowledge in Facility Management and connects theory with practice. This year, three high-quality papers were nominated. The award was ultimately presented to Bintang Prabowo for the paper Community-Based Facility Management in an Urban Experiment Area: Case Svartlamon.
The jury praised the paper for its conceptual ambition, originality and strong alignment with the conference theme “Social FM”. The research contributes to emerging debates on Urban FM and socially sustainable placemaking, offering valuable insights for both researchers and practitioners.
The other nominated papers were Two types of hybrid workers by Deniz Tuzcuoglu et al., and The Impact of Lighting and Indoor Air Quality on Students’ Comfort and Performance by Wim Krijnen et al. All three papers were recognised as strong contributions to the field.
Best Teacher Award
Education is a cornerstone of the Facility Management profession, and the EuroFM Best Teacher Award celebrates those who inspire and prepare the next generation of FM professionals. The EuroFM Board selected Professor Morten Gjerde (NTNU) as this year’s winner, in recognition of his outstanding educational leadership and long-term impact on FM education.
The nominees for the Best Teacher Award 2025 were the DEEP COIL Team, Shady Yehia, Lukas Windlinger and Morten Gjerde. Professor Gjerde was nominated by students, colleagues and departmental leadership, reflecting his broad influence within the academic community. Under his guidance, the NTNU master programme has developed into one of the few programmes in Europe where Facility Management plays a central role. His work is characterised by a strong connection between research and practice, a clear focus on sustainability, and an inclusive, future-oriented learning environment.
Celebrating impact across the EuroFM community
EuroFM congratulates all award winners and nominees and thanks them for their dedication, inspiration and contributions to the advancement of Facility Management. The award ceremony in Trondheim was not only a celebration of individual achievements, but also a reflection of the strength, diversity and forward-looking spirit of the EuroFM community.
