Strategic Foresight Graduate Profiles

Joshua Floyd - Graduate
Sustainability Strategy Analyst

I wanted to study in an area that was as contextually broad as possible, in terms of looking at long term thinking in relation to global sustainability, and I also wanted this 'meta' insight to be grounded in ways that would make it immediately valuable and useful for real orgainsations in the present.

I chose Swinburne University because of its unique course offering in Strategic Foresight, which is the only one of its nature in Australia. I found the quality of the teaching and the facilities to be first-rate, and I felt both challenged and supported all the way through. The depth provided by the program's block mode teaching format was a particular highlight. This is a highly innovative program in a university that clearly sees the benefits of leading the way in new areas.

I commenced my study as part of a transition from my earlier engineering career. Since mid-way through the first unit in this program, I have been able to directly relate my work to my study; I could not imagine a better outcome from the point of view of career relevance. During my period of study at Swinburne, awareness of global sustainability challenges, and commitment to responding to these within organisations, has gone through a major transition. The Strategic Foresight Program at Swinburne offers a genuinely excellent pathway for preparing leaders to address these challenges at their roots. I would highly recommend this program to anyone who hopes to contribute building better orgainsations while also addressing the complex economic, social and environmental situations with which we all face.

Serafino De Simone - Graduate
Director
MicroHelp

After 20 years establishing and growing a successful IT company, whilst learning on the fly and completing what felt like an "MBA" by experimentation, I was looking for something "higher-level" and rewarding to study. From the moment I read the literature about the Strategic Foresight program at the AGSE I knew I had found such a learning opportunity.

The course provided an environment where existing skills and approaches were both challenged and enriched. I have developed an understanding of a number of underlying foresight approaches and methodologies that allow for exploration of any topic or issue in new and meaningful ways. This thinking, that has application in everyday life, allows for breakthroughs to situations where the next steps seem crystal clear and obvious as well as those where feelings of hopelessness may have normally come to the fore.

Fiona Ingram - Graduate
Customer Experience Consultant

After completing a Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the last thing I thought I would be doing was undertaking further study. After coming across the Strategic Foresight program and talking with staff and students, I was intrigued enough to enrol. It became clear that what I would gain from Foresight was much more than further knowledge; I would learn a new way of thinking about myself, the organisations I worked with and the society I lived in.

Studying at the AGSE has provided a rich and vibrant network of people and thought which has opened up new possibilities and opportunities. It is a stimulating and enjoyable course that encourages participants to think well beyond the present and meet the challenges of complexity and change that face us daily. Attending the Strategic Foresight course has been a life changing event. The models, methods, and tools presented have opened up so many new avenues in my life, and in what I can offer others. The greatest difference between this course and other studies I have done, is the diversity of topics that can be easily folded in - whatever interest I have had in my life during each semester, a dramatic development of understanding became available to me through the use of the course's deceptively simple content.

Neil Houghton - Graduate
Environmental Research Coordinator

My focus is on the interface between consciousness, sustainability and the creation of better futures. Sustainability is a compelling idea that demands compelling practice. Over a number of years I have been involved in the exploration of long term futures relating to the environment, sustainable transport, climate change and the interactions between research, policy, strategy and practice. These challenges involve uncertainty, differing perspectives and limited knowledge on which to base action.

The Strategic Foresight program has provided a rich picture of theory, frameworks, transdisciplinary models and practical experiences that engage the imagination and add practical insight into the exploration of possible, plausible and preferred futures. Through the course I have developed a clearer and deeper understanding of the links between psychology, organisation, strategy, thinking and action.

The Strategic Foresight program has provided exposure to a comprehensive range of emerging ideas that are sure to arise within the strategic fabric of organisations of the future. The course has enabled a way forward - a way to approach global challenges with hope through intentional action.

Marjorie Cornelius - Graduate
Information Technologist

I work full-time in the large information technology area of a corporate communications business. My previous training is in physics, education and IT. I decided to take on part time study again after vowing never to return to traditional formal university courses; MBAs had no appeal to me at all. I'd completed some very innovative corporate leadership training and I was looking for a more satisfying lifestyle - aligned to fresher ways of thinking and looking at the future, and to my diverse range of interests.

By tremendous good luck, a work colleague, who had also done the leadership training, mentioned that he was completing the MSc in Strategic Foresight. What was 'strategic foresight'? Where do you 'do it'? What's involved? After brief investigation I knew this was what I wanted to do, and my experience of the Strategic Foresight course has more than lived up to expectations . This course is a fulfilling journey that must be undertaken with integrity. It will 'get you in' and you will love the effort spent in learning how to think, not what to think. This will flow on to those around you - your family, friends, and those who work with you. Your future and theirs will benefit.