ع

Technology

Foresight

Signup Now

Overview

This 3-day intensive course equips professionals in government, innovation, and strategy with the skills and tools to anticipate technological disruption, navigate uncertainty, and translate foresight into concrete decisions for policy, regulation, and innovation investment.

Facilitator

Dr. Modafar Shaker Akhoirshieda
Foresight and Innovation Expert

Dr. Modafar Akhoirshieda is a seasoned strategist and innovation leader with over 20 years of experience driving transformative projects. Renowned for his analytical thinking, he collaborates with senior leaders to identify opportunities, shape decisions, and deliver impactful results.

Dr. Modafar’s passion for future foresight led him to establish the Future Shaping Center for a leading UAE entity. The center adopts global best practices in foresight, including trend monitoring, scenario development, and exploring long-term growth opportunities. Under his leadership, it empowers organizations to integrate foresight into operations, fostering a future-ready mindset.

As the founder of emkan-futures, Dr. Modafar advances futures studies in the MENA region and enriches Arabic resources in this field. Emkan helps clients anticipate and prepare for emerging challenges and opportunities through tailored foresight strategies.

A frequent keynote speaker and panelist, Dr. Modafar is also the host of the emkan-podcast, where he explores foresight and innovation with leading experts. Currently pursuing a doctorate in future thinking and innovation management, Modafar contributes cutting-edge insights to strategic foresight. With an M.Sc. in Wireless Communication Engineering and extensive professional accreditations, his work reflects a commitment to shaping a sustainable and prosperous future regionally and globally.

Course Details

Dates
12 – 14 May 2026
Time
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location
Emirates Towers, 3D Office
Delivery Format
Physical
Language
Arabic
Pre-requisites
No Prerequisites

Target Audience

Policymakers, technology and innovation leaders, strategic planners, public sector professionals, and foresight practitioners.
4,127.18
AED
Fees
Enroll in This Course

Outline

Eight interconnected topics spanning 3 intensive days of hands-on learning and strategic application.
01
Understanding how to think systematically about long-term technological change and uncertainty.
02
Identifying the major global forces and megatrends reshaping technology, economies, and societies.
03
Detecting and assessing emerging and disruptive technologies before they reach scale.
04
Scanning the environment for trends, weak signals, and early indicators of change.
05
Making sense of uncertainty by identifying critical drivers and alternative future pathways.
06
Exploring plausible future scenarios to challenge assumptions and stress-test strategies.
07
Translating future insights into strategic implications, priorities, and policy choices.
08
Converting foresight into action through Three Horizons thinking, roadmaps, and innovation portfolios.

Objectives

By the end of the module, the candidates will be able to:
→
Understand and apply technology foresight methodologies
→
Scan for emerging technologies and interpret megatrends
→
Design future scenarios and use the Three Horizons framework
→
Develop technology roadmaps and foresight-aligned innovation portfolios
→
Embed foresight into strategy, governance, and innovation systems

Outcomes

At the end of the course, the participant will be able to:
→
Conduct structured horizon scanning for emerging technologies
→
Scan for emerging technologies and interpret megatrends
→
Design scenario narratives and implication maps
→
Apply Three Horizons to technology and innovation planning
→
Develop a scenario-robust technology roadmap
→
Construct a balanced innovation portfolio (core, adjacent, transformational)

Agenda

9:00 – 9:30
Opening & Orientation
9:30 – 10:30
Introduction to technology foresight, foresight vs forecasting
10:30–10:45
Coffee break
10:45–12:00
Global megatrends (Demographic, tech, geo-economic shifts), trend clustering
12:00–13:00
Emerging technologies landscape (AI, biotech, climate, quantum, spatial), impact × uncertainty matrix
13:00–14:00
Lunch
14:00–15:00
Technology ethics & governance (Bias, risk, regulation lag)
15:00–15:15
Break
15:15–16:30
Trends vs weak signals (early detection skills), signal spotting sprint
16:30–17:00
Reflection & synthesis, what surprised us?
9:00 – 9:30
Recap & framing, from signals to futures
09:30–10:45
Horizon scanning deep dive (STEEP+V domains)
10:45–11:00
Break
11:00–12:30
Technology radar building, radar workshop
12:30–13:30
Lunch
13:00–14:00
Critical uncertainties, what we don’t know
14:30–15:45
Scenario design and plausible futures
15:45–16:00
Break
16:00–16:45
Delphi (lightweight) – Expert sense-making (Iterative polling)
16:45–17:30
Implication mapping, so what? Implication wheels
9:00 – 9:30
Futures to action – Bridging foresight & strategy
09:30–10:45
Three Horizons Framework (H1–H2–H3 logic), mapping exercise
10:45–11:00
Break
11:00–12:00
Technology deep dives: priority technologies
12:00–13:00
Technology roadmapping (Time × capability)
13:00–14:00
Lunch
14:00–15:00
Innovation portfolio design (Core–Adjacent–Transformational), portfolio balancing
15:00–15:15
Break
15:15–16:15
Embedding foresight (Operating model design)
16:15–17:00
Final presentations