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Abstract
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.
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.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- MSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
- Signup End
- 12.09.2026
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture |
Strategic Foresight for Sustainable Futures
Does not take place this semester.
|
No time listed | 2 h weekly |
Offered In
-
Management, Technology and Economics Master (Welcome and Introduction to MSc ETH MTEC 14 September 2026, 14.00 - 16.15, Room HG E 1.1)
-