Combining Futures Thinking + Life Design in a Finnish Business School
At Hanken School of Economics we decided to introduce life design capabilities for all of our first-year students.
We did this by combing futures thinking and tools from the Institute of the Future (www.iftf.org) and life design principles and practices from Stanford Life Design Lab. The project was done in collaboration with the Subject Entrepreneurship, Management and Organization at Hanken and Hanken Business Lab.
The resulting teaching modules included introducing our students to futures thinking involving trends, scenarios, signals and more with regards to specific industries and our societies at large. Based on an increased sensitivity of the external world and various societal developments the students were introduced to life design skills and capabilities.
Building on the teaching modules the students were asked to write an essay on the topic of “Mastering the job markets of the future”. For this they were asked to select an industry of choice (Banking, Retail, IT etc.) to research and write about the outlook of the particular industry. They were further asked to select three established companies and three start-ups in the chosen industry and reflect upon the strengths and challenges with regards to designing a life involving working in and with these companies.
The feed-back from the teaching modules and student assignments exceeded our expectations. The students seemed to embrace and develop a curiosity for both the new tools for thinking about the future and designing their own lives. We were in particular surprised by the students’ positive feedback in identifying new possible professional careers and pathways for themselves. Altogether, the modules and assignment seemed to serve our students with the relevant tools for more independent and responsible thinking with regards to their own alternative futures.
Our hope for going forward is to continue developing our modules in co-operation with the communities of futures and design thinking professionals. In addition, we look forward to continuing to develop and share the strength and capabilities of these tools and practices for the benefit of all students and teachers involved.
If you’re curious to learn more, we created a series of videos on entrepreneurship and futures thinking including an interview with Stanford’s Life Design Lab!
Markus Wartiovaara / Tom Lahti / Catarina Ahlvik
Hanken School of Economics