Singapore University of Social Sciences

Change occurs in continuous and disruptive ways. In a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA), foresight (also known as futures studies) enables businesses (e.g., Apple, Philips, Procter & Gamble, and Samsung), governments actors (e.g., Canada, Finland, Japan, and Singapore) and non-government actors (e.g., OECD, UN, and UNESCO) to explore what the future might hold and respond rapidly and effectively to future market and industry changes. Foresight is not an attempt to predict the future but offers a futurist mindset, methods, and tools that enable us to better appreciate and widen up our views of the range of possible and plausible futures we might eventually face. In DES556 Design by Foresight, students will develop foundational concepts, methods, and skills in futures and foresight, and adopt a structured approach to scope, gather, understand, imagine, evaluate and communicate alternative viewpoints of the future. Acting as ‘student-futurists’ in a group, students will undertake activities that respond to a given challenge: What might the future of ‘x’ be like and what can design do to create views of the future, and shape a more human-centric, positive, and inclusive future?