The 25th Futures Conference focused on the futures of technologies, their development, importance, role and risks as a driver of social change. A record number of 330+ participants from more than 35 different countries met up in Turku (Finland) to discuss the effects of social and environmental changes on technological development and vice versa.

A new foresight starter toolkit video from the Eye of Europe team at the Finland Futures Research Centre. This time focusing on CLA - Sohail Inayatullah's Causal Layered Analysis. 

The accessible 8-minute video takes its viewers through the background and the theoretical framework of CLA with its emphasis on multiple layers. Following the classic tradition, the video highlights the layers of Headlines, Systems, Worldviews, and Metaphor - and how reframing metaphors might assist in bringing about needed and desired systemic changes. 

The video also prepares thos who are about to participate in a workshop with CLA exercises. Three major tips are provided: i. Stay curious and avoid trying to solve problems "too early", ii. Practice slow thinking: notice, reflect and vocalise your insights, and iii. Do bring your own personal experiences, stories, and cultural background to the table.

This Eye of Europe Foresight Starter video introduces viewers to the Futures Wheel, a tool of futures research and foresight. The video briefly explains the history of the method, describes how faciliators can carry out exercises with Futures Wheels, and discusses why the method is a valuable component of the foresight and futures thinking toolbox. If you are organizing or participating in a Futures Wheel exercise, this video is an essential introduction to the method.

The Futures Wheel method is particularly effective for identifying non-linear relationships and the long-term implications of trends. It can be used to broaden discussion around a given development, sensing out towards the implications of the implications, extending the very boundaries of what we can imagine.

As an example of use, the video uses the 1st order, 2nd order, and 3rd order implications of accessible AI tools, which, for example, enables that "Students use AI to write essays".

The consortium of LifeFactFuture (LFF) gathered for a successful event on 12 March 2025 at Nokia in Espoo. Nokia provided an exceptional venue for the event, showcasing their advanced facilities and ongoing development efforts.

Our host, Veli-Pekka Luoma, who opened the event, introduced the magnificent facilities of the Executive Experience Center in Espoo.

Nokia shared valuable insights into their LifeFactFuture activities. Tomi Lahti presented the new Nokia factory campus in Oulu and discussed Nokia’s initiatives in MTP and Modular Automation within the Biopharmaceutical Industry. His presentation emphasised Nokia’s cutting-edge capabilities, the significance of data architecture and common reference models (OPC UA), and the benefits of Edge computing over Cloud solutions for latency-critical operations, especially in times of geopolitical uncertainty.

Perry Suojoki supplemented the discussion with a fascinating view on how RXRM (Real-time eXtended Reality Multimedia) can enhance industrial productivity, particularly in the life science sector.

See the presentations from Nokia:

Veli-Pekka Luoma: LifeFactFuture at Nokia Espoo Campus
Nokia Oulu New Campus
Tomi Lahti: MTP and Modular Automation in the Biopharmaceutical Industry
Perry Suojoki: Nokia RXRM for Pharmaceutical Industry
After the introduction to Nokia and their ongoing projects, each university-based Work Package presented the state of their research. Finally, each company partner briefly introduced where they are with their internal projects. All consortium partners demonstrated progress in their projects and showed strong commitment to the LifeFactFuture initiative. Several companies already reported demonstrable results, for example a solution that after successful deployment in Finland is now already being rolled out to company locations elsewhere.

Key Takeaways:

Excellent facilities and development work at Nokia
Insights into Nokia’s LifeFactFuture activities, including MTP and Modular Automation
The importance of data architecture, common reference models, and Edge computing
The potential of RXRM to boost industrial productivity
The importance of joint ecosystem cooperation
Strong progress and commitment from all partners
Veli-Pekka Luoma has also already summed up in LinkedIn the event with additional photos from the day.

As he writes beautifully in the comments:

“We may see that ‘everything’ circulates around the Data, and AI as a toolkit consuming, processing, assessing, operationalising it. Data is the new Soil.”  

About

The LifeFactFuture (LFF) project combines world class-excellence of Finnish life science companies, technology companies and academic researchers. It seeks to enhance advanced pharmaceutical and life science manufacturing in Finland.

The LFF consortium includes research teams at the University of Turku and the University of Helsinki, as well as some of Finland’s leading life science manufacturers, data and technology companies. The goal of the project collaboration is to speed up the introduction of digital solutions and more efficient utilization of data and to make Finland the most attractive place in the world for investments in data-driven life science manufacturing.

Current global vendors for pharmaceutical manufacturing are not able to provide the critical future data capabilities already identified by the sector in Finland. The data-driven capabilities offered by life science manufacturing vendors are assessed as less mature than similar solutions for other manufacturing sectors such as the automotive industry.

If Finland becomes the lighthouse for exploiting new data-driven capabilities in advanced life sciences manufacturing, new billion-euro export opportunities are on the horizon. The export potential is considerable within the life science sector itself as well as within technology industry companies supplying the life science sector with data-driven capabilities.

LFF is designed to fulfill the following objectives:

World-class, interdisciplinary research published in high-level journals.
Map the transformative potential of data-driven capabilities in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Facilitate the design and adoption of regulatory practices in favor of agile/adaptive manufacturing.
Support the development of technology Proofs of Concept advancing data-driven life science manufacturing.
Progress made in developing sustainable business competencies in digital production environment.


The consortium is led by the Finland Futures Research Centre, University of Turku and
funded by Business Finland during 2024–2026.

Black Swans Futures Studies Students Association is the official student association for Futures Studies students and alumni of the Turku School of Economics and Finland Futures Research Center, University of Turku.

Established in Spring 2015, our association is dedicated to uniting students from diverse backgrounds in the field of futures studies, advocating for their interests, and fostering connections within the academic community and beyond. We actively engage in scientific, educational, and cultural activities, including meetings, discussions, presentations, and excursions to enhance our members' academic and social experience.

Membership is open to all degree, postgraduate, and exchange students of futures studies at the University of Turku. 

FutureCraft project aims to foster entrepreneurial mindsets and enhance the capacity of ecosystem enablers while promoting futures literacy and global collaboration.

The project aspires to cultivate innovative thinking, provide effective guidance to entrepreneurs, and increase awareness of future trends and sustainability challenges. Ultimately, the goal is to drive economic growth by developing vibrant and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems, fostering prosperity and innovation.

The project is funded by EU program Erasmus+ during 12/2024–11/2026.

https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects/search/details/2024-1-TR01-KA220-ADU-000251939

This video introduces viewers to the Delphi method, a tool of futures research and foresight. Although it gets its name from the ancient Greek oracle, the modern incarnations of the method are powered by technology. Even so, the difficulties of reaching consensus and the influence of group dynamics on rational argumentation remain. If you are participating in a Delphi process, this video is an essential introduction to the method.

This video is third part of a series of videos introducing foresight workshop methods for the Eye of Europe project funded by the EU.

The University of Turku opened the call for applications to the Pentti Malaska Futures Award on 27 January 2025. We are looking for bold, research-based, visionary, and boundary-crossing solutions supporting the building of a more sustainable global future.

Join industry leaders, sustainability experts, and educational innovators in a dynamic online conference organized by the EU Project SF4S to address the critical skills and capabilities needed to drive Europe’s green growth agenda. Gain actionable insights on overcoming sustainability challenges and explore cutting-edge training modules designed for a green growth future.

AGENDA (CET)

12:00-12:05 Welcome & Overview of SF4S project
Moderator: Amos Taylor

12:05-12:20 Challenges: What do industries need to lead green growth?
Speakers: Toni Ahlqvist (U of Turku) & Johanna Vallistu (Taltech )

12:20-12:45 Practices & Methods: What are the lessons learned from industry foresight projects?
Speakers: Henning Breuer (Media University Berlin) & Pierre Plouzennec (Michelin)

12:45-13:10 Training for the Future: How can curricula be adapted for vocational and higher education?
Speakers: Rene Rohrbeck (EDHEC) & Theresa Hanning (author of Pantopia and socially critical science fiction)

13:10-13:15 Closing

The University of Turku’s Futures Knowledge Distillery is a research group that serves organisations whose goals are to develop their foresight skills and the ability to prepare for changes in the operating environment. Our service is based on the Finland Futures Research Centre’s 30 years of experience in future, combined with the expertise of eight faculties of scientific research at the University of Turku.

On this basis, we offer practical solutions for consciously making futures. Foresight can be seen as the most effective way to prepare for uncertainty, identify opportunities and create desirable futures.  

This is the short English-language Policy Brief from the research project Foresight and Future Generations in Law-Making (FORGE). FORGE examined issues of future-regarding lawmaking in an interdisciplinary manner, combining expertise on futures studies, political science, and jurisprudence. The aim of the study was to analyse the status of future generations and their rights in current legislative processes, and to map and compare practices for foresight and consideration of future generations in different political contexts, nationally and internationally. The purpose of the project was to increase understanding on i) how future generations can be better taken into account in policymaking; ii) how foresight can be better utilised in lawmaking. 

The FORGE-project was unique – there had not previously been a study with a similar scope in Finland and comparable international examples are, to the best knowledge of the authors, extremely rare. FORGE supported the preparation of the second part
of the Government Report on the Future. The project was funded by the Government’s analysis, assessment and research activities (VN TEAS) and was conducted during 1/2022–11/2022 by researchers of the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University and Tampere University.

Findings:

From an international comparison, Finland already has an advanced national foresight system and can be regarded as a pioneer in futureregarding policymaking. However, there is still room for improvement in terms of using foresight and considering future generations as a part of lawmaking. Such improvement could be achieved by developing and upgrading the existing institutions and practices and by making more incremental changes in practices, modes of interaction, and attitudes. For example, foresight should be conducted more as a continuous activity, and future generations’ interests and rights should be considered more systematically in legislative processes, while acknowledging the plurality of future interests.

Development proposals:

Full lenght-report available in Finnish

In addition to the 12-page Policy Brief summarising the FORGE projects' finding in English, The Prime Minister's Office has published the full 203-page report in Finnish. This can be found here below.

The research project Foresight and Future Generations in Law-Making (FORGE) examined issues of future-regarding lawmaking in an interdisciplinary manner, combining expertise on futures studies, political science, and jurisprudence. The aim of the study was to analyse the status of future generations and their rights in current legislative processes, and to map and compare practices for foresight and consideration of future generations in different political contexts, nationally and internationally. The purpose of the project was to increase understanding on i) how future generations can be better taken into account in policymaking; ii) how foresight can be better utilised in lawmaking. FORGE’s conceptual and analytical structure is pictured in the figure 1.

The FORGE-project is unique – there has not previously been a study with a similar scope in Finland and comparable international examples are, to the best knowledge of the authors, extremely rare. FORGE supported the preparation of the second part of the Government Report on the Future. The project was funded by the Government’s analysis, assessment and research activities (VN TEAS) and was conducted during 1/2022–11/2022 by researchers of the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University and Tampere University.

This is a synthesis report based on 130+ interviews conducted as part of the Strategic Foresight for Sustainability (SF4S). The synthesis report concludes the project’s Work Package 2, led by Finland Futures Research Centre, which had as a central objective to identify “key skills and good practices on the basis of interviews with the key community actors”.

Nine SF4S consortium partners – DKSD, EDC, EDHEC, FFRC, GEA, HMKW, ISPIM, IZT, and TalTech - carr ied out 91 interviews in situ or via digital communication channels from September 2022 to March 2023. In addition, 47 interviewees or discussants participated via focus group discussions (November 2022) and a public webinar (January 2023). 

The interviews map out sustainability, digitalisation, and foresight skills and practices in organisations around Europe with an emphasis on the project’s three target clusters: Agri-food, Health, and Mobility. In addition to industry representatives, experts in foresight, policy, consulting, and education have contributed their views to the project. 

For more information on the report, see the project website.   

A new series of 'Foresight Starter Sets' is an an essential part of Finland Futures Research Centre's (FFRC) contribution to the Eye of Europe project. One starter set component is a set of short videos. The videos introduce and clarify futures thinking and foresight, what to expect from a foresight workshop, and a variety of foresight workshop methods. The videos could serve as promotional material but also help organizers calibrate participants expectations prior to their participation in a foresight workshop.

Finland Futures Research Centre is developing the video series to help participants prepare to participate in foresight workshops. The videos immediate use is related to the Eye of Europe Pilot Foresight Activities which will run through 2025 and 2026, but the videos will be freely available as a useful resource for foresight organizers outside the scope, and beyond the lifetime, of the project. 

Reaching target audiences with foresight beyond text

As the Work Package lead of Eye of Europe, the FFRC targets two unofficial ambitions underpinning all project activities: First, lowering the bar for organizing and participating in foresight workshops. Second, moving foresight beyond text. That is, finding new audiences via new formats compared to the classic domain of long text-based foresight reports. The set of Foresight Starter Videos aims to achieve both of these premises, as it uses a format of short videos (3-8 minutes per video) to introduce foresight, futures thinking, and futures methods to new audiences with a playful and welcoming tone. 

The video set has two introductory videos that can be used in advance of any foresight workshop, while the ambition for the following videos relate to specific methods and approaches. The presumed use case is that foresight organizers can provide links to the introductory videos for foresight workshop participants in advance of their participation. We have found at the FFRC that sometimes people, even if they are domain experts in other fields, can be apprehensive prior to foresight workshops, as this may be unfamiliar territory for them (and for people used to being experts, unfamiliar can mean uncomfortable). 

Foresight Starter Set Video Roadmap

Launching the first videos

The series of videos are developed by Martyn Richards and Zainab Yasin at the Finland Futures Research Centre. The videos will be hosted on the Finland Futures Research Centre’s YouTube Channel as well as feature on the Futures4Europe platform’s upcoming Toolbox, a set of useful methodologies and resources for advancing R&I foresight. 

As of December 2024, the first video on “Untangling Futures and Foresight: An Essentials Guide” is now available on YouTube.  

What lies ahead for universities? A new futures research study from the University of Turku maps multiple pathways and tensions that could transform how universities teach, research, and serve society.

Introduction
Researchers of the University of Turku have published a comprehensive report "Future directions and possibilities for the university: Report on literature review and Delphi study" (Virmajoki et al. 2024) about the possible future trajectories of the university of Turku. The report, which is uploaded here and also available on utupub.fi, is part of a larger project - Strategic Foresight and Futures Thinking Initiative.   

The report, conducted by the Strategic Planning Unit of the University of Turku together with Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC), contains the results of the analysis of the operating environment of universities. Operating environment here refers to the broader context of trends, challenges, and conditions - both nationally and globally - that affect how universities function and perform their core activities in teaching and research. While the report has as its scope the University of Turku, its findings and especially the approach are more broadly relevant, particularly in Europe.

Analysis of Operating Environment as Research
The analysis of the operating environment was primarily based on a literature review and a subsequent Delphi survey. We reviewed over 200 scientific texts relevant to the subject. It quickly became evident how multifaceted and unique universities are. Scenarios—a common tool in foresight—would not be sufficient on their own to understand the possible futures of universities. Therefore, we first categorised universities into 10 different dimensions, such as societal purpose, international orientation, and educational organization, and identified different directions for development for each dimension. This allowed us to create a multidimensional description of possible development paths for universities, yielding in total 30 different paths and their combinations. The reality is somewhere between the idealized end-points.

In addition to helping understand various possible futures, the analysis where several dimensions and their paths are explained also provides a tool for the university units to examine their own position in relation to these possible developments. University units can differ significantly from one another, and no analytical tool that accounts for these differences can be sufficient. Our report offers such a tool by enabling discussion – with agreements and disagreements – of different development trajectories from the perspectives of diverse traditions and practices that can be found within any university.

Possibilities and Desirability – The Delphi Study
It was not only important to understand the possible futures universities may face. Equally crucial at the University of Turku was to understand what university members – researchers, students, administration, and other staff – think about these futures. To achieve such understanding, we conducted a Delphi study to ask what university members consider probable and desirable when it comes to the future. The statements were designed to provoke thoughts and bring out views that might not emerge in more traditional discussions. In addition to the probability and desirability assessments, we gathered valuable insights from the open comment sections, which often reveal perspectives that might be overlooked in the literature review.

Some Key Results
While the most interesting results cannot all be included in this text, some should be highlighted to provide a sense of the nature of the study.

First, universities are continuously balancing societal impact, economic goals, and fundamental research. The demands from the side of the wider society often pull in different directions. The Delphi study showed that working towards a societal mission is seen as desirable, but market orientation is expected to be more likely. A common thought and worry seems to be that universities are likely to shift towards more commercial interests, despite the tension this creates with their social responsibilities not measurable in economic terms.

Second, global research collaboration and local relevance create a significant tension. Universities aim to be part of global networks, while also expected to contribute to their local communities. The Delphi study revealed varying opinions on this balance. Some see global engagement as essential, while others stress the importance of local ties. Whether a university can succeed in both areas or must focus on one is a central question. The geopolitical tensions and the regional clusters this might create adds another path that might make the question between local and global even more difficult and multidimensional.

Third, in teaching, the main tension seems to lie between scalable, mass-oriented education and more personalised, tailored teaching. Scalable teaching allows universities to reach more students, but the Delphi study showed that personalized methods are considered more desirable. Yet, the study also indicated that standardised models are, according to the members of the university, more likely to prevail due to the scarcity of resources. Technology and its development will be an integral part of both scalable and personalised teaching paths (and everything in between) but different technological solutions might be associated with different paths.

Significance for the University Sector
The project and the report highlight the value of combining an analysis of the university operating environment and a more detailed study of the views of the university community. On the one hand, an analysis of the environment and the paths therein provides a tool to navigate the prospects and risks. On the other hand, the analysis of the members’ perspective helps the university understand where we stand now and what are the paths that the members recognise. Together, these two provide a robust view on the strategic status and importance of different possible trajectories for universities’ operating environment.

The research has broad applicability across universities worldwide. Through its dimensions and models, any higher education institution can map out and discuss likely trajectories, desired directions, and concerning paths ahead - regardless of their unique features. By combining extensive research literature with a Delphi study, the report opens a window into the possible futures of universities – or rather a map that can be used to navigate the long-term issues that these long-standing institutions face.

References
Virmajoki, V., Ahokas, I., Witoon, S., Ahlqvist, T., Kirveennummi, A., & Suomalainen, K.-M. (2024). Future directions and possibilities for the university: Report on literature review and Delphi study. A Report by University of Turku Strategic Planning Unit in collaboration with the Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC). ISBN 978-952-249-617-1.

Charting Europe’s R&I Futures Pathways: Responsive Foresight for EU Policymaking in Uncertain Times
Foresight on Demand (FOD) addresses the growing need for quicker and more responsive foresight to inform policymaking in an increasingly turbulent environment. It complements strategic foresight by:
-) Raising and anticipating awareness of future developments, disruptive events, emerging technologies, and their potential broader socio-economic impacts.
-) Stimulating individuals, networks, and organizations to explore novel terrain, trigger “out-of-box” scenario development and foster innovative long-term thinking.
-) Supporting the preparedness and adaptability of long-term policy initiatives from a forward-looking perspective

Background
Already in 2016, the need for a rapid response foresight facility was identified by the SFRI expert group (Strategic Foresight for R&I Policy in Horizon 2020). They emphasized the importance of integrating foresight into European policymaking and complementing long-term strategic foresight with a rapid response mechanism. This would equip the European Commission with the necessary intelligence to swiftly address unexpected developments. In the context of R&I policy, greater flexibility in using foresight is essential to support various policy initiatives, from framework programmes to European partnerships. Higher and longer-term R&I ambitions, such as those in the context of missions, may require revisiting agendas, priorities, and plans in light of new scientific discoveries and socio-economic or geopolitical developments.
Building on the expertise and competence developed during FOD1 (2019-2023), FOD2 (2024-2028) will significantly expand the previous initiative, offering a more comprehensive and adaptable approach to address a broader range of challenges and opportunities.

Client Authorities
The demand for Foresight on Demand affects various European Commission services and other European institutions and agencies involved in policymaking at EU level. Foresight is increasingly important for implementing R&I policies, as large-scale initiatives and ambitious long-term projects require more than traditional strategic planning. They profit from a long-term view on emerging research opportunities and innovation needs. Joint Technology Initiatives and other European partnerships, which pursue long-term agendas, can build on foresight knowledge to anticipate and respond to emerging scientific, technological and socio-economic developments.
Several client authorities, including the European Commission (lead), EEA, ERCEA, FRA, ETF, EUROFUND, EFSA, EMCDDA, ECDC, EISMEA, EASA, OSHA, Global Health EDCTP3, and the Joint Undertakings EU-RAIL and CBE JU, have entered a single framework contract (FWC) for Foresight on Demand. While foresight processes are increasingly integrated into policymaking, the timing requirements for foresight intelligence and sense-making (e.g. signals of change in society, economy, science, and technology) often necessitate a quicker response than what usual foresight activities can provide. THE FOD framework provides the setting and conditions for this rapid foresight response mechanism.

FOD Consortium
The FOD consortium comprises fifteen core partners and five specialised partners, totalling twenty research and technology organisations experienced in foresight. Fourteen of the core partners were also involved in the first period of FOD (2019-2023), while seven new partners joined for the current FOD2 period (2024-2028). The new partners include 4CF The Foresight Company, DLR, TIS, EUNOMIA, RAND Europe, VTT, and Prognos, with 4CF and RAND Europe joining as core partners. The incumbent core partners are Arctik, Fraunhofer ISI, FFRC, IDEA Consult, Insight Foresight Institute, ISINNOVA, Institutul de Prospectiva, Technopolis, 4strat, Technology Centre Prague, Visionary Analytics, and ZSI Center for Social Innovation. The consortium is led by AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. 

Objectives
The framework contract is the basis for the Foresight on Demand (FOD) mechanism and aims at providing quick forward-looking inputs to policymaking by leveraging the best available foresight knowledge. FOD operates on a much shorter timescale complementarily to longer-term foresight activities but relies on extensive ongoing and accomplished foresight work. Access to a wide range of foresight sources and expertise is crucial for fulfilling FOD functions.
Policymakers increasingly face sudden and often surprising events that can quickly escalate secondary policy issues into disruptive ones requiring fast and effective responses. FOD foresight knowledge must be timely and efficient to support decisions related to urgent crises, emerging risks, and opportunities for addressing ongoing policy challenges. FOD aims to offer the broad range of client authorities timely and effective support in uncertain times, and provide forward-looking insights for policy design, planning, and implementation.
Foresight benefits policymaking in various ways, including for example by scanning the horizon for emerging developments and weak signals or by developing scenarios of alternative futures to better understand and to be better prepared for disruptive futures. The FOD service steps in where foresight activities have already been initiated or where there is a need to strengthen foresight capabilities, providing targeted foresight services that respond to emerging demands and potentially relevant developments.

The 24th edition of the International Futures Research Conference was not short of insightful keynotes, newly published studies, and constructive exchanges in the field of foresight for the sustainable management of natural resources.

Futures Conference 2025 focuses on the futures of technologies, their development, importance, role and risks as a driver of social change. What are the effects of social and environmental changes on technological development and vice versa?

‘Futures of Technologies’ is the 25t h international Futures Conference of the Finland Futures Research Centre and Finland Futures Academy, University of Turku. It is organised together with the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd during 10–12 June 2025 in Turku, Finland.

Keynote Speakers
Ali Aslan Gümüşay is professor of Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Sustainability at LMU Munich and head of research group Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society at the Humboldt Institute for Internet & Society Berlin. His research focuses on values, meaning and hybridity in entrepreneurship; grand challenges, sustainability and new forms of organizing; digitalization, management and innovation as well as impact, scholarship and futures.

Cynthia Selin is a pioneering social scientist and strategic foresight expert known for developing innovative methodologies to navigate complex change and advance the theoretical boundaries of anticipation. An Associate Fellow at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and core faculty in the Oxford Scenarios Programme, Dr. Selin also founded Scenaric, a consulting firm that equips organizations to tackle uncertainty and shape resilient futures.

Philip Brey is professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Technology at the University of Twente. He is member of the management team (and former chairman) of the 4TU Center for Ethics & Technology, a partnership of the universities of Twente, Delft, Eindhoven and Wageningen with more than 60 researchers.

Jerome C. Glenn co-founded and directs The Millennium Project, a leading global participatory think tank with over 70 Nodes around the world. He is assisting the UN Council of Presidents of the General Assembly on the UNGA’s role in governance of Artificial General Intelligence, author/editor forthcoming Global Governance of Artificial General Intelligence (De Gruyter), lead author State of the Future 20.0 and Future Work/Tech 2050: Scenarios and Actions and co-editor Futures Research Methodology 3.0 with Ted Gordon. Glenn has directed over 80 futures research projects and is a member of the IEEE SA P2863 Organizational Governance of AI working group.

Rohit Talwar (CEO, Fast Futures, UK) was recently in the top three in 'the Global Gurus Top 30 futuris' rankings for 2025. He is an inspirational futurist and the CEO of Fast Future, delivering award-winning keynote speeches, executive education, foresight, research, consultancy, and coaching. Rohit was delivered over 2000 speeches, workshops, and consulting assignments for clients in 80+ countries across six continents. He is the co-author and lead editor of nine books and over 50 reports on the emerging future and appears regularly on TV and in print media around the world. 

Read more about the Keynotes. 

Conference Newsletters

• Conference Newsletter #1 (4.11.2024)
• Conference Newsletter #2 (26.11.2024)  
• Conference Newsletter #3 (08.01.2025) 
• Conference Newsletter #4 (25.03.2025)    

Collaborative research on the human capacity to understand, anticipate, prepare for, and embrace the future.

About Futures Consciousness

The futures consciousness concept and scale has been developed by researchers at the Finland Futures Research Centre (University of Turku) and University of Geneva, with help from other contributors. Teach the Future received a grant from the World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF) and the Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University (PMU) to adapt the Scale for use by young people, ages 12-18. The results of that grant are being submitted for publication by the partners. After that, the Scale will be available for use by schools and other organizations that work with youth. The details will be published on this page shortly.
Take the test.
The Five Dimensions of Futures Consciousness are:

• time perspective; the ability to be aware of the past, present and future, as well as the way events follow each other over time
• agency beliefs; basic sense of confidence that an individual has in their own ability to influence the external world
• openness to alternatives; abilities used to critically question commonly accepted ideas and influences an individual’s willingness to consider alternative ways of being and doing
• systems perception; the ability to recognize human and natural systems around us including groups, societies and ecosystems
• concern for others; relates to the degree to which an individual pursues favourable futures for a group beyond themselves
  

Our partners

Teach the Future collaborates with the University of Turku in Finland, the Finland Futures Research Centre and Digital Futures to research and promote the work in the context of education and (young) students. Sanna Ahvenharju, Matti Minkkinen and Fanny Lalot are the research experts that developed the futures consciousness concept and scale. 

Our activities

Teach the Future supports the de velopment of a scale matching the language and level of young people. This project is in collaboration with schools in the Netherlands, Italy, Turkiye, United States, and United Kingdom. And we thank our sponsor the Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd, Center for Futuristic Studies.
Next to this we support the testing. Erica Bol has wo rked with Martin de Wolf of the Master Learning and Innovation at the Fontys University of Applied Sciene. She designed a futures lesson program supporting the Master program and tested if the students futures consciousness improved. The students did a test before and after the lessons program. A paper on the project and results are published in FUTURES issue 12-2022.

Established by the European Commission, Foresight-on-Demand is a mechanism to respond to the demand for quick inputs to policy-making by drawing on the best available foresight knowledge.

FoD aims at offering the European Commission services with timely and effective support related to crisis situations, emerging risks, and policy challenges.

Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC) is one of the largest academic institutions in the world for foresight and futures studies with a history dating back to 1992. FFRC provides both graduate and doctoral degrees in futures studies. In 2024, the institute celebrated the completion of its 100th M.Sc. in Futures Studies! 

FFRC is part of the Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku. 

FFRC also provides standing services to the Committee for the Future at the Parliament of Finland and takes part in numerous national and European research projects and foresight projects. For example, FFRC is a partner in the European consortium Foresight on Demand II with a foresight framework contract with DG Research and Innovation.

Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC) works with a transdisciplinary approach in an international environment. The cornerstones of our activities are on developing academic futures studies, critical interdisciplinary research, high quality education, strategic and business foresight and insightfully produced futures knowledge.

Learn more about our activities:
Research at Finland Futures Research Centre
Studying at the Finland Futures Research Centre
Collaboration
News from the Finland Futures Research Centre 

Each year, the Finland Futures Research Centre organises its annual conference, an invaluable opportunity for meeting, exchanging and debating current topics related in futures studies and foresight. With approximately 200–350 individual participants attending from all over the world, international researchers, organisational delegates, business people and students convene to the annual conferences in the spirit of futures-oriented information, research, analysis and collaboration. 

2025: Futures of Technologies – Mutual Shaping of Socio-Technical Transformations , 10–12 June 2025, Turku, Finland

SF4S is a collaborative action with partners from Higher Education institutions (HEIs), Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers, innovation networks and business entities from the Agri-food, Health and the Mobility sectors.

Carried out between July 2022 - June 2025, SF4S supports our transition to a more sustainable European economy by helping to address the lack of green, digital and future (i.e. sustainability foresight) skills among students and professionals and by connecting knowledge flows between HEI, VET and industry actors that are necessary for Europe to develop cooperative solutions on a large-scale and support the recommendations for action in the major reports and initiatives: Green Deal, NextGenerationEU, European Skills Agenda and OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030.

As a Coordination and Support Action, project “Eye of Europe” aims to enhance the integration of foresight practices into Research and Innovation (R&I) policy making across Europe. Ultimately, the project envisions a more cohesive and influential R&I foresight community that contributes significantly, as a collective intelligence, to shaping and guiding policy decisions.

To this end, Eye of Europe builds on existing initiatives and experiences to foster knowledge-sharing between foresight practitioners and policy makers, attract domain experts in foresight endeavours, and engage a broader audience in futures thinking. Nurturing futures4europe.eu as the online home for the community and running various face-to-face events with different stakeholders will underpin these ambitions.
Methodologically, the project relies on the following building blocks:

• futures4europe.eu as the online hub for the R&I foresight community in Europe: The platform accommodates the interests of various stakeholders such as foresight experts, beneficiaries, domain experts, and an active audience. It operates on multiple integration levels, from mapping organizations and experts to sharing foresight results and capabilities. Moreover, it acts as the communication gateway for ongoing foresight activities, events, educational and inspirational materials.
  
  
• Sharing of practices: This entails mapping institutions engaged in R&I foresight activities, promoting mutual learning through interactive formats, developing shared visions for the future of foresight in R&I policy within the European Research Area (ERA), fostering exchanges among the foresight in R&I policy community through conferences, encouraging dialogues between futurist/expert communities, academics and policy practitioners.
  Key figures: 5 mutual learning events (MLE): 2 online, 3 face-to-face events; 1 vision building event for the Future of R&I Foresight in ERA; 2 conferences
  
  
• Running foresight pilots: Conducting a series of pilot workshops and online consultations with diverse formats, methodologies, and participants. This involves identifying topics of common interest within the European Research Area (ERA), where foresight perspectives offer added value, designing and implementing tailored pilot foresight activities involving various stakeholders, harnessing lessons learnt and feeding them into the platform and other dissemination channels.
  Key figures: 11 Foresight pilot processes: 3 exclusively with citizens, 4 mainly with experts and researchers tackling specific R&I topics, 4 involving a bespoke group of participants. Out of the 11 events, 8 will be face-to-face events, and 3 pilots will take place online
  
  
• Boosting futures literacy: The project encourages meaningful engagement with diverse audiences, from foresight professionals, researchers, policy-makers to various futures sensitive profiles (e.g. entrepreneurs, journalists, artists) and the wider civil society. The project will provide guides, methodology toolboxes, and training modules for R&I foresight and futures literacy, incorporating written and multimedia content.
  Key figures: 5-10 short training sets for participants in foresight exercises; 1 training module for foresight beneficiaries; 1 foresight training for early career researchers, 1 Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on R&I foresight; 12 conversational podcasts; 6-8 Short videos and/or animated materials showcasing foresight processes and outcomes
  
  
• Fueling the public discourse around futures: Promoting the project and fostering the foresight community via the online platform futures4europe.eu and complementary channels such as social media and a dedicated newsletter. In addition to highlighting the project's own initiatives, Eye of Europe will also aim to promote foresight content developed in other projects, showcasing a diverse range of perspectives and insights within the foresight field. The quarterly newsletter will feature various content types like interviews, project updates, and foresight-related articles. Social media, particularly Futures4Europe's LinkedIn page, will be used to engage professional communities and wider audiences, with a focus on sharing project activities and fostering discussions.