Ready, Set, Future! Introduction to Futures Thinking
About Course
About this Course
Do you want to think about the future with more creativity and optimism? Do you want to see what’s coming faster, so you can be better prepared for disruptions and more in control of your future? Do you want to get better at changing what’s possible today – in your company, your industry, your community, and in your own life?
This course will introduce you to the practice of futures thinking, as developed and applied for the past 50 years by the Institute for the Future, a Silicon-Valley-based research and learning group founded in 1968. In this course, you’ll build your understanding of what futures thinking is and what you can do with it. You’ll master essential foresight techniques. You’ll meet some professional futurists. And you’ll choose one or more future topics you want to investigate with your new foresight skills. This course is for anyone who wants to spot opportunities for innovation and invention faster. You can gain the skills and confidence to help YOU become someone who makes the future, instead of letting the future happen to you. Many thanks to the Enlight Foundation and the Enlight Collaborative, which provided a grant to support the creation of this course.
Course Content
Week 1: Welcome to the Future
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1.1 Are you ready to learn how to think like a futurist?(video)
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1.2 Take our 2-minute survey about the future
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1.3 Welcome to the course! Meet your professor Jane McGonigal(video)
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1.4 Give me some examples of futures thinking!(video)
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1.5 What is Futures Thinking?
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1.6 Meet some professional futurists(video)
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1.7 Who Hires Futurists?
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1.8 Introduce yourself!
Week1: What is futures thinking?
Week 1: When does the future start?
Week 1: What are the benefits of futures thinking?
Week 1: Example of a Futures Project: The Future of Food
Week 1: Choose Your Own Future
Week 2: Signal of Change
Week 2: More Examples of Signals
Week 2: How to Interpret Signals
Week 2: Where Do You Look for Signals? And Other FAQ
Week 3: Look Back or Look Forward
Week 3: How to Use the Tool: “Look Back to Look Forward”
Week 3: Let’s Look Back Together
Week 4: Four Types of Futures Thinking
Week 4: The Four Types of Futures Thinking
Week 4: A Day in the Life of a Professional Futurist
Week 4: Congratulations! You’re Ready to Think Like a Futurist
Earn a Certificate
Add this certificate to your resume to demonstrate your skills & increase your chances of getting noticed.