Knowledge and information sharing are also a priority during the Facility & Building Management trade fair. The organizers strive to present high-quality lectures on current topics. A lecture committee therefore considers the following when selecting the submitted lectures:
- Is the lecture relevant to the sector?
- Does the topic relate to the theme of the field?
- Does the subject have a clear relationship to practice?
The method to be followed involves formulating an applied research question and following a substantive step-by-step plan to provide the lecture with the necessary content. This may seem quite complicated, but it will most likely proceed naturally. In many cases, the speaker will only need to reformulate an existing lecture.
The most important aspect of this step-by-step plan is that speakers formulate a practice-oriented research question, which not only forms the starting point of the lecture, but also allows the organization to interest the target group of facility managers and building administrators in combining the exhibition visit with attending a lecture.
STEP 1 THE PRACTICE-ORIENTED RESEARCH QUESTION
Take the title of the lecture and rephrase it as a question, the answer to which is the lecture's conclusion. Then test this question against the following criteria:
- Is the sentence formulated in the form of a question?
- Is the research question written in understandable language? (Do not use jargon that can only be understood after listening to the presentation.)
- Is the question formulated in such a way that it consists of only one single question?
- Is the answer to the question broader than “yes” or “no”?
- Is the answer much broader than a commercial product?
- Is there a false assumption in the question? (For example, a question like "Why does everyone think..."? That everyone is a proposition to be proven.)
- Is the question meaningful enough to present to an audience of specialists in facility management and building management?
- Isn't the question too general? (Perhaps it's better to narrow it down to a real-world situation, a sector like healthcare, or an object like a building.)
- Is there sufficient objective material available to answer the question later? Can this question be answered within the allotted time frame (20 minutes)?
STEP 2 COMPLETE THE LECTURE IN THE FORMAT
All lectures must conform to the following format:
1. Situation of the subject
The speaker was asked to discuss his professional background, how and why this topic is close to his heart, and what challenges he has encountered.
2. Practice-oriented research question
The speaker then defines the specific problem, avoiding any chance situational implications. A hypothetical example might be: How can poorly tuned acoustics in the work environment prevent employees from being negatively impacted?
In this way, the problem becomes generic, clear and also reproducible for the broader world of facility management and building management.
3. Examples that illustrate the situation in the research question
The speaker will discuss experiential situations: his personal experiences, the nice-to-know facts, anything that clarifies the problem, and how a solution was found (possibly through trial and error).
4. Possible solutions
The speaker indicates in two steps how he would solve the problem from the research question.
In an ideal world, product-free and unhindered by "yet-to-be-discovered" real products, methods, and applications. That requires a lot of conceptual thinking, which ultimately serves as a good, neutral source of inspiration for lecturers. Admittedly, this is a bit of a future.
The speaker's starting point is today's real-world experience, using the best available technology and solutions. This allows the speaker to immediately offer practical advice that can be put into practice.
5. Decision
The speaker will explain their thoughts on a proposed solution for the practice-oriented research question. They may also draw connections to other potential problems and/or future developments.
PLEASE NOTE
While not wanting to guarantee that the Facility & Building Management trade fair will feature only high-quality lectures, both in terms of structure and content, the lecture committee intended to take a step into the facilities sector with this approach. After all, the existing knowledge in the facilities management and building management sector deserves to be accessed in a high-quality manner.