Code: S2C2
ECTS: 6
Semester: 2nd
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the methods and practices of digital foresight, equipping students with the skills to anticipate and analyse potential futures shaped by technology. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks and practical exercises, students will learn to identify emerging trends, assess their potential impact, and develop strategies to navigate the evolving digital landscape.
Introduction to the principles, scope, and role of foresight in digital transformation; horizon scanning and monitoring of emerging technologies and socio-technical developments; identification and interpretation of trends, drivers, uncertainties, and weak signals; methods for analysing technological disruption and long-term change; scenario building and construction of plausible alternative futures; assessment of possible social, economic, political, and ethical implications of digital developments; use of foresight in strategic planning and policy or organisational decision-making; digital tools for trend analysis, collaborative foresight, and visual communication of future scenarios; critical reflection on uncertainty, anticipation, and responsible future-oriented thinking.
- Search, analysis and synthesis of data and information, with the use of the necessary technology
- Adaptability to new situations
- Decision-making
- Working independently
- Team work
- Working in an international environment
- Working in an interdisciplinary environment
- Production of new research ideas
- Project planning and management
- Criticism and self-criticism
- Production of free, creative and inductive thinking
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
Knowledge
- explain key theories, methods, and practices of foresight in relation to digital transformation;
- describe approaches such as horizon scanning, trend analysis, scenario building, and weak-signal detection;
- discuss technological disruption in relation to social, economic, political, and ethical implications.
Skills
- identify and analyse emerging technological trends and their possible trajectories;
- construct plausible future scenarios based on structured foresight methodologies;
- use digital tools for monitoring, analysing, and communicating foresight findings.
Competences
- support strategic thinking and informed decision-making under conditions of uncertainty;
- develop evidence-based and critically reasoned perspectives on future digital developments;
- integrate analytical rigour and imaginative thinking in the exploration of alternative futures.
