Foresight Academy

The Foresight Academy is a cross-industry platform focused on future-oriented work and customer foresight expertise. It unites companies from ten different industries to imagine possible future scenarios and gain reliable insights into the desires of future consumers. Rooted in Europe with a global perspective, the Foresight Academy conducts research across four continents, integrating business, science, and design to create tangible results and narratives for building desirable futures.

The Foresight Academy was initiated by Audi / Audi Business Innovation GmbH and is realised by Foresight Academy GmbH. It was established as a collaborative platform where researchers, strategists, and forward-thinking professionals from global brands come together. The Academy's mission is to understand the needs, dreams, and fears of individuals to better predict how people will want to live in the future.

The primary goal of the Foresight Academy is to identify signals of change and distinguish meaningful trends from noise. The Academy does not seek to provide concrete answers to single questions but aims to create a different understanding of the future by developing stories and scenarios for a desirable future. The methodology involves defining research boundaries, scanning for signals of change, hypothesising, gathering new data, synthesising information, and transferring knowledge within organisations. The Foresight Academy emphasises the importance of integrating international perspectives and speculative design to visualise research outcomes.

The Foresight Academy has significantly impacted various industries by providing insights that shape strategic decisions. Partnering with prominent companies such as Adidas, Allianz, Audi, Deutsche Bank, Eon, Ferrero, Hornbach, Infineon, McDonald's, Novartis, PepsiCo, Porsche, SAP, Sonova, SwissRe, and Telekom, the Academy has facilitated a deeper understanding of future market potentials and customer expectations. Through its Trend Receiver research, the Academy has incorporated diverse international perspectives, ensuring that even weaker signals are identified and explored. By using speculative design, the Academy presents its research outcomes in a way that encourages individual interpretation and fosters innovative thinking. The Foresight Academy continues to be a leading force in helping businesses navigate the complexities of future consumer behaviour and market trends.