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Work in progress for mapping project on affordable housing. Photo by Greg Van Alstyne.
Gain design thinking and foresight skills to enhance business success, positively impact society and manage organizational change.

We're excited to announce that SFI will be delivered fully online to part-time students who start the program in fall 2024 and beyond!

The new online part-time offering responds to a need expressed by working professionals who face challenges in balancing work and family responsibilities or in taking time off work to study. Classes will be offered in the evening in Eastern Standard Time (ET).

Read more about how this program can impact your career: SFI ONLINE PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT

Learn more about the program: Watch a recording of the SFI (Online) Part-time Open House.

Embark on a path as a new kind of designer. Become a strategist who sees the world from a human perspective and re-think what is possible.

You’ll learn complex problem finding, framing and solving to create sustainable futures. Lead innovation alongside a diverse cohort of peers including entrepreneurs, social scientists, artists, designers and engineers to imagine, plan and develop a better world. This program prepares you to think holistically - exploring, challenging and finding meaning in order to re-frame and guide both present and future actions.

Delivery Method

The MDes in Strategic Foresight and Innovation is offered as two options:

  1. an online, part-time, three-year program
  2. an in-person, full-time, two-year program

In the SFI program, you will develop design-thinking skills that include analysis, synthesis and strategic and creative thinking. These skills are critical for professionals in the public and private sectors. This program will develop your expertise in foresight (for example, identifying future problems) and research methodologies. These skills will help you create innovative and future-enhancing solutions in your final research project.

The program will enable you to:

  • Explore and test innovative methods of organization, creation and production from a human perspective
  • Develop strategic, innovative and anticipatory solutions (strategic foresight) and implementation plans for design, business or policy innovations, or for organizational or infrastructural change
  • Navigate complex problems and find solutions that will lead to the development of new and sustainable futures

Check out the course calendar here for current courses offered.

In this program, your learning environment includes:

  • a diverse student body with access to outstanding faculty and industry experts
  • working in collaborative trans-disciplinary teams through core classes and many projects
  • an advisory committee of faculty and, in the case of real-world projects, public or private sector professionals will support and guide your major project
  • guest lectures and critiques from professional strategists and foresight experts
people sitting down near table with assorted laptop computers

Strategic Foresight & Innovation Forum

Discover the students of the SFI program and read more about their Graduate Major Research Projects.
Group of graduate students laughing at table

2024 SFI Part-time Online Open House

Join us for an in-depth view of the program and community at the School of Graduate Studies at OCAD U.
VIEW RECORDING
Program
Strategic Foresight and Innovation
Degree earned
Master of Design (MDes)
Format
Full-time/Part-time
Mode of Delivery
In-person (Full-time) / Online (Part-time)
Duration
2 years

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