Students will learn about strategic foresight in the context of sustainable futures that incorporate principles of regeneration, resilience, and circularity. Foresight is an approach that scientists, government officials, and business executives use to explore and reflect on potential future challenges. The course will explore tools and techniques to advance our understanding of possible futures.
Learning objective
After completing the course, students will be able to: • Discuss the value of foresight and how to use it. • Execute activities to gather intelligence about future contexts. • Organise and analyse drivers to explore the dynamics of change. • Independently develop scenarios based on current best practices. • Systematically analyse scenario implications and evaluate their relative value.
Content
The course is for Master (and PhD) students who want to develop their long-term thinking and leadership skills and are curious about sustainability and regeneration. Students will benefit from their own practice-oriented learning experience covering the foresight process and a deep dive into scenario-building methods and their concrete applications. The student number is limited; we select from a diverse group with interdisciplinary backgrounds.
This course is project-based and guided by the question: “Given that Switzerland will continue to experience significant climate change, what will sustainable energy/mobility/food production etc. scenarios for Switzerland look like, and how will we get there?” Students will work in groups to explore the different methods, building up a coherent understanding of Strategic Foresight applied to real-world contexts. The methods are analytical and creative, training students in openness and curiosity. The class requires hands-on engagement with the learning process. The lecturers will provide inputs and access to experts, and students will actively use the methods presented to develop realistic, valuable scenarios.
The case context will be sustainability linked to Swiss energy/mobility/food etc... Students will independently explore different aspects of this case and, in doing so, will meaningfully contribute to their learning and the ongoing work within ETH and the higher education sector about how universities may contribute to positive change in society. Students will develop their own scenarios in groups and present them at the end of the course. The course covers four phases of Strategic Foresight: (1) gathering intelligence about the future, (2) exploring dynamics of change, (3) describing what the future might be like, and (4) developing and testing strategies.
Competencies
Subject-specific Competencies
Concepts and Theories
fostered
Method-specific Competencies
Analytical Competencies
fostered
Decision-making
fostered
Media and Digital Technologies
fostered
Problem-solving
assessed
Project Management
fostered
Social Competencies
Communication
fostered
Cooperation and Teamwork
fostered
Leadership and Responsibility
fostered
Self-presentation and Social Influence
fostered
Sensitivity to Diversity
assessed
Negotiation
fostered
Personal Competencies
Adaptability and Flexibility
fostered
Creative Thinking
assessed
Critical Thinking
assessed
Integrity and Work Ethics
fostered
Self-awareness and Self-reflection
fostered
Self-direction and Self-management
fostered
Performance assessment
Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again)
Repetition only possible after re-enrolling for the course unit.
Additional information on mode of examination
The assessment is based on a group-based development of scenarios, with several deliverables during the semester, such as a final in-class presentation (Board Session) of the scenarios developed by each group (each group submits a ppt presentation), and a written group essay (Reflection) based on the case that students will work on during the semester.
Learning materials
No public learning materials available.
Only public learning materials are listed.
Groups
No information on groups available.
Restrictions
Places
Limited number of places. Special selection procedure.
Performance assessment as a semester course