
Introduction
While the arrival of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines buoyed optimism, the rise of variants poses further uncertainties to the volatile business landscape. In addition, other factors such as the evolving climate crisis and political tensions cause wide-ranging economic impacts.
- How do business leaders prepare for what lies ahead?
- How do innovation decision makers do in order to plan, decide and act to optimise opportunities and overcome challenges?
- Is your firm, organisation or enterprise anticipating inbound and outbound changes?
- What are the implications for boardrooms to consider while developing their 21st century leadership strategies and capabilities?
The PolyU Design Masterclass course Strategic Leadership – with emphasis on Foresight, Creativity & Decision-making is designed for business leaders to respond to changes through strategic foresight as a complement to traditional, extrapolative forecasting, and strategic design as the systemic version of the more tactical product-service innovation process.
Our Instructor

- Assistant Professor, School of Design, PolyU
- Programme Director, PolyU Design - Masterclass Professional Development Series
Our Guest Speakers

Dr. Evangelos Avramakis
- Head Digital Ecosystems R&D, Swiss Re Institute
- Recognised Thought Leader and Advisor in the Insurance Industry

Dr. Mika Aaltonen
- Adjunct Professor (Foresight & Complexity)
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
- Author of 16 Books and over 100 Articles
- Founder of The Proteus Solution

Participant Profiles
Join us if you are:
Senior Executives |
||
…who are responsible to reframe challenges and opportunities, such as responding to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and thus needing to reply on early warning and anticipatory systems to reduce risk and avail of new opportunities. | ||
Decision Makers |
||
…who plan, decide, and act to influence strategic organisational change, and needing to rely on a creative approach to the future in the increasingly turbulent environments they face today. | ||
Policy Makers |
||
…who must meet present and future multiple economic, political, social, and environmental or climate change challenges, and needing to identify emerging issues, articulate scenarios, and develop a common vision of the desired future. | ||
Innovative Leaders |
||
…who rely on processes of exploring emerging issues and trends and developing them into potential strategic scenarios of alternative futures leading to innovative solutions. | ||
Design Leaders / Chief Design Officers |
||
…who lead the design function and strategic management of design in organisations for growth and in building organisations competitive, sustainable, and human-centered advantage. |

Benefits for You and Your Organisation
The benefits of the PolyU Design Masterclass Course - Strategic Leadership:
- Access the evolving practices and insights derived from foresight and design as strategic decision-making devices
- Learn new techniques and strategies of value to the individual as well as the organization
- Experience creative approaches to anticipating change, and thinking about the future
- Collaborate with others in cross-disciplinary fields of practice and applications

What participants will learn?
Upon completion, participants will be able to:
- Describe the various approaches to the future
- Explain why foresight and creativity (design) can complement each other to improve longer-term forecasting and inform strategic decision-making
- Conduct a process for anticipating futures that cannot be predicted
- Apply those results to a specific enterprise
- Begin to understand the process of creating change by influencing the future through scenario building, creativity, and visualization techniques

The Learning Experience
The Masterclass course is designed for participants to take part in dynamic lectures, group discussions, experimentations, and demonstrations led by PolyU Design faculty, and instructors with rich industry experiences. To enhance the learning experience, participants will be part of small peer groups to stimulate discussions, test new ideas, and to broaden the individual’s perspective. The learning format is both in-person, while being supported with virtual access to relevant materials

Course Structure
- 2 days (12 hours) per course
- 6 hours per day
- AM Session 09:30 - 12:30
- PM Session 14:30 - 17:30
- Refreshment & lunch breaks
- Group lunch at additional costs (optional). It will be organised at the start of the course.
2-day Schedule
The PolyU Design Masterclass Course - Strategic Leadership will be delivered in two days.
- Introduction to strategic leadership with emphasis on foresight, strategic design, and the impact on anticipating change in a VUCA world in decision-making
- Introduction to the SD Design Foresight framework
- Creative Leadership Goal – Embracing systematic future thinking / Challenging the Assumptions
IAEE reserves the right to fine-tune the outline of the module without prior notice.
Masterclass Themes
The PolyU Design Masterclass Professional Development Series is comprised of different independent theme-based courses. See below courses.
For Masterclass details, please contact Karen on +852 3400 2773 or iaee.enquiry@polyu.edu.hk.