1. Bern University of Applied Sciences
  2. Continuing education
  3. Courses + Study trips
  4. Future Thinking Skills

Future Thinking Skills

Do you want to play an active role in shaping the future of your company? The positive mindset and comprehensive toolbox associated with future thinking will help you do this.

Gain a competitive advantage for your company by tackling the topics of the future today.

  • Identify indicators that are relevant for the future and develop scenarios into a coherent vision, a concrete story and a strong roadmap.
  • By implementing the tried-and-tested future thinking process, you can develop your ideas and conjectures in a visionary, comprehensible practical example.
  • The Sensemaking Business Canvas gives you a tool, a vocabulary and a basis upon which to make decisions, thus providing a persuasive way of presenting your project.
  • You will learn how to analyse complex situations from different perspectives, and to justify and defend your standpoint persuasively.
  • You will discover the processes, methods, tools and conditions required for creative collaboration and bold decision making.
Continuing education at the BFH Business School during the Corona pandemic (in German)

Factsheet

  • Degree/Certificate Specialist course
  • Duration 7 attendance days, 2 refresher days
  • Schedule Please visit the German website for more information
  • Application deadline 6 weeks before start, later registration also possible if places are available
  • ECTS credits No or 4 ECTS credits, depending on admission
  • Costs CHF 4,600
  • Teaching language German
  • Location Bern, Schwarztorstrasse 48
  • Department Business School
  • Next session Please visit the German website for more information

Contact

Downloads (in German)

To register, please visit the German website. 

Content + Structure

Portrait

Future thinking creates space to recognise indicators that are relevant for the future and to develop a ‘dream’ that gives purpose, i.e. a vision for a concrete story and roadmap. We train our cognitive flexibility when tackling challenging and creative situations, understand the requirements for success and learn the art of proactively shaping the future.

The skills you acquire will ensure that projects don’t get lost in the flurry of everyday business and that forward-looking decisions are made on an ongoing basis.

Learning outcomes

You will learn a range of methods, tools and skills for structuring decision-making processes that shape the future.

Specialist skills and methods

  • You will become familiar with the future thinking process and be able to apply and implement the relevant methods and tools within your organisation in a way that is adapted to the given situation.
  • You will incorporate existing insights from trend analyses and research into your decision-making processes in a targeted way.
  • You will set out visions and scenarios in dialogue with members of the executive or administrative board.
  • You will manage and moderate complex decision-making processes involving teams and stakeholders from a wide range of backgrounds and roles.
  • You will adapt what you have learned to your own practical needs.

Social skills and personal skills

  • You will become a trustworthy point of contact for visionary new projects within your department, company, government body or NGO.
  • You will learn to value differing and controversial perspectives and engage with those who express them openly, with genuine interest and respect.
  • You will learn to view opposition as a helpful indicator, rather than resisting it.
  • You will learn how to manage and moderate decision-making processes and bring them to a successful conclusion.
  • You will prioritise constructive solutions to your problem and find creative new approaches.
  • You will create a sense of psychological security when it comes to developing new, complex and controversial ideas, and to unite different concepts in a shared solution.

By implementing the tried-and-tested future thinking process, you will develop viable scenarios for your own practical examples that will enable sound decisions to be made:

Oops

  • Introduction to the principles and learning the theoretical concepts
  • Conditions for future thinking strategising, reflections on the perspectives and roles within future thinking
  • Determining individual and group-specific targets for the learning objectives
  • Selection and development of your own practical example and formulation of the problem

Discover

  • Identifying patterns and past drivers
  • Recognising future indicators and drivers
  • Carrying out structured discussions around future-relevant topics
  • Introduction to the ‘Sensemaking Business Canvas’;
  • entering an explorer’s mindset and applying the methods and tools acquired to guide and moderate groups in this phase

Dream

  • Translating current indicators and drivers into an inspiring and credible vision of the future
  • Constructing artefacts from the future
  • Substantiating and consolidating scenarios and ‘dreams’  based on informed feedback from different perspectives

Decide

  • Identifying the necessary conditions for future thinking teams both inside and outside organisations and businesses
  • Verifying compatibility and making decisions regarding targeted resource allocation
  • Developing a roadmap for your project and a ‘future thinking pitch’ and proposal
  • Recording key decisions in a decision logbook for conscious integration into the decision-making process
  • As part of this continuing education course, you will learn and implement both analytical and creative/intuitive methods.
  • In the course modules, there will be a conscious focus on ‘hands-on’ methods. We will consider and develop both strategic decision-making bases and artefacts from the future.
  • Participants will be guided through an interactive process and will learn with and from each other.
  • The course will be based around practically proven theories, methods and models such as strategic foresight according to IFTF.org, future thinking, storytelling, systemic transformation, Spiral Dynamics Integral, the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument, mindfulness and embodiment.
  • The classroom teaching will be split between face-to-face and online interactions.

If you are interested in earning ECTS credits, you must present an action plan for a personal project and a ‘future thinking pitch’, including a Sensemaking Business Canvas. Your grading will be based on the specified criteria.

Title + qualification

Specialist course as a Future Thinking Facilitator

Requirements + Admission

Typical participants:

  • Members of product and service management teams looking to have more influence over strategic decisions;
  • Members of company transformation or development departments;
  • Strategists looking for new approaches to managing their company in a more forward-looking way;
  • Design thinkers looking to have an impact at a strategic level;
  • Managers looking to develop themselves in terms of their methodologies and behaviour.

You do not need to meet any specific admission requirements to participate in this specialist course. If you wish to obtain ECTS credits, the general conditions for continuing education will apply: you will require a university degree or equivalent qualification and at least two years' professional experience. If you have any questions, please contact the study administration or the course coordinator. 

General admission requirements (in German)

You do not need to meet any specific admission requirements to participate in this specialist course. If you wish to obtain ECTS credits, the general conditions for continuing education will apply: you will require a university degree or equivalent qualification and at least two years' professional experience. If you have any questions, please contact the study administration or the course coordinator. 

General admission requirements (in German)

Language skills

German, English

Organisation + Registration

The course comprises seven days of teaching over the course of a semester for the basic training, followed by two specialisation days taking place over a year. The specialisation days focus on reflection, discussion among participants and widening perspectives.

To register, please visit the German website. 

Documents required for registration

You can register online via registration form. For registration we require following documents (in PDF format, max. 1 MB per document): 

  • Diplomas 

  • Curriculum Vitae 

  • Passport-sized photo (in JPG format) 

Please upload these documents even if you have already submitted them for another application. 

Organisational aspects of the specialist course

Please visits the German website 

To the German website

CHF 4,600

You will receive the following course materials:

  • Future thinking toolbox (CHF 38 each)
  • Sensemaking Business Canvas (x 2, CHF 9 each)
  • Prototyping material (approx. CHF 15)

The general terms and conditions apply. We reserve the right to make changes. In case of doubt, the wording of the official BFH regulations are binding. 

General Terms and Conditions for continuing education courses at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (in German) (PDF, 411 KB)
Implementing Regulations General Terms and Conditions (in German) (PDF, 107 KB)

Advice + information events

Study Counselling

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Course coordinator

Administration

Information events

Due to the COVID-19 situation, we offer you our personal advice in addition to the information events.  By telephone or online via MS Teams.

Please contact us!

E-mail: weiterbildung.wirtschaft@bfh.ch 
Phone: 031 848 34 02

Location + facilities

Bern Schwarztorstrasse 48