This document summarizes foresight education approaches in Russia. It discusses 4 cases of educational projects: 1) a course to teach foresight thinking skills to future innovators, 2) development of long-term roadmaps by experts, 3) thematic foresight games to explore future scenarios, and 4) a media platform discussing futurology and science fiction. The goal is to develop foresight thinking capabilities in various groups to help shape desirable futures and support innovation in Russia. Key organizations highlighted are Open University Skolkovo, the Future Designing Research Group, and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.

1. Foresight thinking
as a part of
an innovator’s
education
Elena Diryugina,
program director,
Open University Skolkovo,
Moscow, Russia
San Francisco, 2015

2. Innovation system in Russia
4 approaches to foresight education
4 cases of educational projects in
foresight
Foresight community in Russia: usage
instructions
For whom:
 Development institutions,
 Innovation infrastructure,
 Innovators,
 Educators

3. 2014: Russian venture market – the 3 place in Europe
SKOLKOVO FOUNDATION (2010, 1000+ projects)
FASIE (1994, 8000 projects)
VEB innovation
(2011, 18 projects)
RVC (2006)
FIEP (2011, 360 projects)
RUSNANO
(2007, 100+ projects)
INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS
R&D
COMMERCI
ALIZATION SCALE
TECH.
TRANSFER
INCUBATION

4. Open University Skolkovo
(OpUS) is a Skolkovo
Foundation program designed
to attract talented young
people skilled in science and
technology and displaying
entrepreneurial talent, recruit
them and allow them to
develop within the innovation
ecosystem in Russia.

5. INNOVATION
DEVELOPMENT
INSTITUTIONS
INNOVATION
CENTERS
IN UNIVERSITIES
GLOBAL
CORPORATIONS
EDUCATIONAL
COMPANIES,
BUSINESS
INCUBATORS

6. FORESIGHT THINKING?
Foresight is not only
a research technology,
but also
a management technology

7. Startups
Research groups
Financial aid
Federal programs, Development Institutions
STRATEGY 2020: Sci&Tech Priorities
Government
Analytical Foresight
Economic Development Ministry (2006), Higher School of Economics (2011)

8. Financial aid to startups
Federal programs, Development Institutions
Strategy and SciTech Priorities
Government
National Technological Initiative
Agency of strategic initiatives, Russian venture company
Foresight & Initiatives
Research groups, innovators, businessmen, investors

9. The Future is coming.
It will be different from the present.
There are several scenarios of the futures.
The Actors determine, which scenario is the basic one.

10. TO ACCEPT THE FORECAST
.
. 1. The ability to use the
techniques of mid- and long-
term foresight and to choose
the basic scenario.
2. The ability to generate the
projects and initiatives
enhancing the chosen scenario.
TO FORM THE FORECAST
1. Understanding of short-
term and long-term trends
and the basic scenario.
2. The ability to evaluate the
perspectives of a research/
engineering / technological
project.

11. POTENTIAL INNOVATORS
(HAVE NO PROJECT YET)
METHOD
From general to particular
TIME RESOURCES
Available
AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL APPLICANTS
Many ( > 100 000)
MOTIVATION
A search for perspective idea, curiosity
RISKS
To become a futurist
BEGINNERS
[HAVE PROJECTS ALREADY)
METHOD
From particular to general, then back
TIME RESOURCES
Minimum
AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL APPLICANTS
Not many ( < 10 000)
MOTIVATION
Benefits to the projects
RISKS
Reduction of foresight to negotiations

12. PROACTIVE / ELITE
PASSIVE, RECEIVING / MASS
LONG-TERM
STRATEGY
SHORT-TERM
STRATEGY
Education
via research
Education via
decision-making
situation
Education via
transmission
Education via
project ideas
generation /
discussion

13. WHOM TO EDUCATE?
Everyone Nobody
Someone
Egalitarian Elite

14. WHAT TO STUDY?
Everything Nothing Something
General special

15. HOW LONG?
Determined periods of time
Life-long learning
Short irregular periods of time

16. HOW? (INSTRUMENTS)
to READ, to LISTEN,
to DISCUSS, to PLAY, to WRITE,
to INVESTIGATE, to CREATE,
WHO EDUCATES?

17. PROACTIVE / ELITE
PASSIVE, RECEIVING / MASS
LONG-TERM
STRATEGY
SHORT-TERM
STRATEGY
Educational
Course in
Foresight

18. The Think Foresight course is aimed to give students not
only advanced methods of foresight practice but also a wide
range of knowledge – an ontological basis – that is the
foundation of efficient thinking about the future.
The audience:
Future technological and business elite -
several hundreds of the best students and PhD students
from the best technological universities
The duration: a year

19. Advanced practices of thinking, understanding and
self-reflection.
Techniques of collective creative work.
Psychological and thinking methods necessary for
thinking about future.
Practical skills in setting and solving tasks and
problems of future designing in various scales:
world, macro-region, country, region, and even
personality.
Sufficient knowledge in academic areas necessary
for theoretic and practical thinking about future

20.  a model of historical phases;
 a model of sociosystem;
 a model of knowledge
focuses;
 strategy analytics;
 a concept «Inevitable
future»-
scenario-building methodology.

21. The Future Designing Research Group is an
independent non-profit public think-tank, located in
St.Petersburg.
Focus on long-term forecasts and foresights for
state and private bodies.
Persons: Elena and Sergei Pereslegin,
Ekaterina and Nikolay Yutanov, and others
Main organizer: Open University Skolkovo

22. • Lectures,
• practical skills
in scenarios building,
• brainstorming with
Knowledge Reactor
method,
• social role-play
modelling games,
• scenario engineering
analytics.

23. PROACTIVE / ELITE
PASSIVE, RECEIVING / MASS
LONG-TERM
STRATEGY
SHORT-TERM
STRATEGY
High-level
Road map
development

24. 2015:
Road Maps development:
how to find perspective
markets and create
successful technological
companies – national champions
till 2035 .
Annual, since 2012

25. The audience:
600+ participants, after a strict selection process:
entrepreneurs, venture investors, researchers,
educators, non-governmental organizations, the
leaders of enterprises of the real sector of the
economy, representatives of government.
Main organizers: Agency for strategic initiatives,
Russian Venture Company
The duration: 5 days

26. Rapid foresight methodology –
how to communicate about the future.
Foresight fleet features:
smart active people, limited time, closed space,
even without the Internet 

27. PROACTIVE / ELITE
PASSIVE, RECEIVING / MASS
LONG-TERM
STRATEGY
SHORT-TERM
STRATEGY
Thematic
Foresight-games
/ project
sessions

28. Participants become ‘a working body’ of the
foresight-session.

29. Who plays a role of a teacher?
- facilitators, gamemasters,
session analysts
How to become a facilitator:
Foresight School (ASI)
Gamemasters School (OpUS)
others.

30. The main Formats:
• brainstorming with
Knowledge
Reactor method,
• social role-play
modelling games,
• Rapid Foresight
The duration: short (1-7 days) irregular sessions

31. PROACTIVE / ELITE
PASSIVE, RECEIVING / MASS
LONG-TERM
STRATEGY
SHORT-TERM
STRATEGY
Media

32. No future without science
fiction and futurology!
To get innovation economy,
breakthrough discoveries, global
competitiveness, as well as the
future itself, we need to have
youth with great imagination
resources.
Science Fiction inspires
Futurology, Futurology enhances
Sci-Fi, and all together they take
us to the future.

33. 33
«IF» Futurology and Sci-Fi,
future markets analysis
Partnership with
development institutions
Partnership with think-
tanks
The order to writers in the
context of critical issues of
development
audience
Professionals in
the field of
innovations
Futurists
Sci-Fi fandom
Youth
Multi-Format platform for communication about the
Future

34. 34
Futurology
Practice
Sci-Fi
 Paper journal
 Interactive e-journal
 Apps for cellphones
 Network community
Sponsored by RVC
www.esli.ru
u

35. 1
Open University Skolkovo
Sk.ru/opus
2
The Future Designing Research Group
Future-designing.org
3
Agency for strategic initiatives
asi.ru
4
Higher School of Economics, International
research and educational Foresight centre
issek.hse.ru/en/dep_foresight
5
The Fund "Center for strategic research"
csr.ru

36. Elena Diryugina,
Program director
Open University Skolkovo
EDiryugina@sk.ru
facebook.com/elena.diryugina
Thank you for your attention! !