A 'new ways of working' environment with a difference was officially opened on Tuesday. The Facilities Management Graduate Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, one of the leading providers of FM education and research, now has an environment that allows it to practice what it teaches.

Building on the joint DEGW/BRE study New Environments for Working, FMGC worked with Claremont Business Environments to re-design its space for new ways of working. The new environment incorporates many of the work settings now familiar from NWOW projects around the world - hot desking, semi-enclosed meeting spaces, private 'harbours' and team spaces click here to see floorplan and photographs.

FMGC staff visited WorkLife London, the Steelcase working office and demonstration centre, to see how some of the new ideas could work in practice. Claremont sponsored the project with design, space planning and furniture worth around £80,000. FMGC's co-Director told i-FM, "The majority of people bought into NWOW from the outset - including myself! I quickly realised that I didn't need a desk."

Speaking at the launch, Tony Thomson of DEGW said: "I believe that what FMGC has done is almost unique in the education sector. They have broken down the barriers between teaching and support staff and now the physical boundaries have gone."

The Vice Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam, Diana Green, put the project into the context of culture change in higher education: "Universities must be more entrepreneurial and responsive to the needs of customers. But we must also lead, especially by example. I'm very impressed by FMGC's determination to put new thinking into practice."

Richard Byatt