Ateneo de Manila Higher Education prepares for 2025 and beyond through Futures Thinking and Strategic Foresight

At the invitation of the Office of the Vice President for Higher Education (OVPHE), the Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design’s (GBSEALD’s) Research Institute for the Futures of Education (Ateneo RIFE) conducted a Futures Thinking and Strategic Foresight Workshop on 5 December 2024 for School Deans and heads of offices in Ateneo de Manila Higher Education.

The day opened with remarks from Dr Ma Regina Hechanova-Alampay, Professor at the Department of Psychology, who has been overseeing the strategic planning process for the OVPHE. Dr Maria Luz C Vilches, Vice President for Higher Education, followed with a review of the developments and a celebration of the many success stories in Higher Education the past year.

To explain the rationale of the workshop, Fr Johnny C Go SJ, Dean of GBSEALD, discussed the potential of Futures Thinking in shaping better policies and programs for the university as well as the broader Philippine education sector. Ms Marite P Irvine, Executive Director of Ateneo RIFE, followed with a brief introduction of the practice of futures thinking and strategic foresight as well as the key concepts and tools in the field.

The day began immersively with a walk-through of a timeline of significant developments and changes in education in the last six decades, vividly demonstrating the increasing rate of educational transformation. The focal question explored throughout the day was: “What might Higher Education, including Ateneo de Manila University Higher Education, look like in 30 years?”

The participants were guided through a review of key trends and challenges facing learners and educators, inviting them to reflect on their concerns about the future. 

The participants were then guided to imagine and build various education futures—ranging from the best to the worst-case scenarios—from which a range of narratives emerged: from the role of Higher Education Institutions amidst shifting values and needs, ethical approaches to AI and emerging technologies, to the demands of a future workforce equipped with technical and whole-person formation, and Ateneo’s role in shaping a thriving future for all.

The workshop provoked the participants to confront what the future might demand of Ateneo Higher Education. Many emphasized the need, more than ever, for the university to strengthen its radar to the many rapid developments in education. 

At the end of the workshop, the participants expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to discuss their hopes and anxieties about the future through the scenario-building exercise. The process provided them the space to think creatively and to dream courageously about the future, enabling them both to express their hopes and confront their fears about the future, as well as to learn from their ideas about the future, and to begin discussing ways to shape it. 

As the day closed, the group felt that the twin graces they had prayed for were granted: not only a sense of urgency but just as importantly, a sense of agency as well. The participants felt cautious yet hopeful about the future, with a renewed sense of responsibility to prepare for the changes and the uncertainties that Ateneo Higher Education will be facing over the next 30 years. Many noted how the Futures Thinking and Strategic Foresight Workshop stretched their imagination and stimulated their creative thinking about the future, encouraged them to think beyond traditional frameworks and time horizons in planning, and heightened their awareness of trends and patterns in the university’s environment. Most importantly, the process harvested new insights and actionable ideas that can be used for subsequent planning to future-ready Higher Education at Ateneo.