Advance HE Leadership Insights: A Morning with Richard Watson, the Futurist
Overview Strategic planning in an uncertain world presents challenges for even the most experienced of higher education leaders. We may be able to predict with some accuracy what is likely to happen in the higher education sector over the next five years but what about the next 15? How can we anticipate future shocks in the wider world and their impact on our institutions? The rational being does not believe in soothsayers and fortune cookies and yet there are people who seem to be able to read the runes accurately to foresee cataclysmic events. One of them is Richard Watson, the futurist in residence at Imperial College, London’s Tech Foresight Practice. Author of five best-selling books –the latest Digital v Human – he predicted both the credit crunch and the disintegration of Europe. A morning with Richard Watson, futurist, was hosted by the former Leadership Foundation for Higher Education to give higher education leaders the opportunity to explore “blue-sky” thinking about the future and how to detect important trends and where they might lead. Post the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit decision, this was a chance to go through the risks and opportunities, moving beyond the emotional outpourings, blame and counter-blame to develop rational and appropriate future scenarios.
