Our programmes

Are you looking for a programme to make your organisation future-proof? A training session for your entire team? Or do you want to integrate the Responsible Futuring approach into your own learning offer? Explore the programmes of Designlab Academy.

The programmes range from an inspiring session on strategy development for the management team, a customised retreat day for the entire department, a two-day masterclass to include in your own training offer, or a multi-day training spread over a longer period, as part of a post-master programme.

Specific topics require specialists. That's why we utilise the broad network of DesignLab University of Twente in designing these in-company programmes: from researchers to industry experts, from topic experts to practitioners. This also applies to setting learning objectives for professionals participating in this program, which focuses on lifelong learning.

Responsible Futuring Taster Workshop:

A 1.5-hour creative and interactive workshop where you will be introduced to the Responsible Futuring approach. Participants will take a short journey into the future. In groups of 4-6 people, you will work on a societal challenge relevant to your organisation. Using design methodologies, you will map out different perspectives to the challenge, explore possible futures, and make them tangible. We will conclude the workshop with "Tips from the Future": insights from the future exploration for actions today.

Responsible Futuring in One Day:

Discover in just one day how to shape sustainable futures for better strategic choices today. This interactive workshop is packed with inspiration and practical tools that teach you how to look into the future and provide insights that your organisation can act on now. From role-playing to explore different perspectives on a societal issue relevant to your organisation, to speculative design and a future exhibition to explore what the future could look like, your future capabilities will be thoroughly developed. You will learn to translate the insights the future offers into strategies and actions for today.

Two-Day Masterclass Responsible Futuring:

Let’s create future music together! In two days, learn how to navigate, connect, and innovate towards desired futures. This collaborative and invigorating learning experience leaves a lasting impression. Over two days, you will go through all the steps of Responsible Futuring. The masterclass highlights scientific and technological developments in relation to the selected challenge of your choice. Practical and creative exercises are combined with reflective activities to provide a complete and in-depth learning experience. Discover how to view challenges differently, enrich your perspective, and learn to think and act as a speculative designer to develop and steer inspiring alternative futures. After this masterclass, participants will be able to apply the Responsible Futuring approach in their own organisation.

Tailor-Made Trajectories:

In our tailor-made programmes, we design a suitable trajectory together with you for your organisation. This can vary from an inspiration session on strategy development for the management team, a retreat day for the entire department, online learning modules to incorporate into your own training offerings, or a multi-day training over a longer period. Everything is negotiable. Specific topics call for specialists. That’s why we leverage the broad network of DesignLab University of Twente when designing these in-company tailor-made programmes: from researchers to subject matter experts, from topic specialists to practitioners. This also applies to setting learning objectives for professionals participating in this programme, where lifelong learning is central.

These trajectories have been offered previously:

We have experience designing tailored programmes with challenges that are relevant to your organisation:

Digital Design & Architecture Course (June 2024): DesignLab Academy organised a two-day bootcamp on Responsible Futuring for digital architects from Dutch governmental organisations. The bootcamp is part of the two-year part-time programme in Digital Design & Architecture at the University of Twente. The participants focused on mobility, transparent governance, and data management, identifying their challenges by mapping perspectives at the micro, meso, and macro levels. After receiving feedback from colleagues, they speculated about possible futures and created provocative prototypes (“provotypes”) to think critically about socio-technical developments. The participants set up a lively and thought-provoking future exhibition, sparking meaningful debates about their topics. The bootcamp concluded with reflections on the role of a top-level digital architect in shaping responsible digital infrastructures. Read more about this unique collaboration here.
Responsible Futuring Taster Workshop (Nov 2023 - Jan 2024): Various students, administrators, researchers, and staff exchanged perspectives on climate resilience, the fourth-generation university, and planetary health during the three-hour introductory Responsible Futuring workshops.
Technology in the Region (Sept 2023): Over 50 experts from the Province of Overijssel explored together with researchers how new technologies can play a role in the future of your work or challenges in the region.
Climate Resilience (Aug 2023): Students from James Madison University (US) participated in a 2-day masterclass Responsible Futuring as part of their trip to learn more about circularity. What does this mean for the fashion industry, food waste, and our resilience to disasters?
Responsible Futuring crash courses: Various students, administrators, researchers, and staff learned from each other's perspectives on climate resilience, the fourth-generation university, and planetary health during the 3-hour Responsible Futuring crash course.
Digital Transformation (May 2022 & June 2022): Making responsible choices in a developing digital world. Fifteen professionals from Achmea and the Dutch Tax Authority learned together which scenarios could have positive or negative consequences. The 4-day Responsible Futuring masterclass was a collaboration with PLD University of Twente, Achmea, and the Tax Authorities within the Apeldoorn Leergang.

Testimonials

“Our programme introduced students to the idea of circular economy, a practice and approach to sustainability that has not yet gained significant traction in the US. The two-day Responsible Futuring workshop we undertook at the University of Twente provided students with a rich and useful way to design future-oriented circular economy projects in the US. The workshop enabled students to explore and embrace multiple perspectives that inform a complex societal challenge. It also provided them with the tools to design tangible projects that were both rigorous and playful. I cannot imagine a more practical and imaginative way to scaffold student learning in an intensive, high-impact program that is designed to open up students’ understanding of how to respond to the planet’s most pressing challenges.”

“It's a very vibrant approach. Actively engaging with the group and working on out-of-the-box solutions without it feeling forced is a lot of fun. The methodologies brought me to a point in a creative process where I genuinely surprised myself and others. Especially when you step back gradually to the present, you suddenly see that you have a realistic plan to start with. It almost seemed like magic.
The Responsible Futuring approach helps to look from the present towards a future-proof solution for a problem. The fun part is that the approach takes into account a large group of diverse stakeholders. The more, the better. It gives you a well-defined problem statement AND a concrete plan with action points for the short, medium, and long term.”