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At SURF, in my role as Lead Futurist, I support education and research to reflect not just on what is emerging, but what could emerge under different assumptions. Our SURF Tech Trends reports are one example: they do more than report what\u2019s already here. They scan, explore (weak) signals, and explore potential impact on education and research. The SURF Tech Trends reports are not a prediction but serve as a conversation starter. Therefore, we combine and expand our work with whitepapers on emerging concepts, various workshops and seminars and explore different formats to make futures thinking and complex topics more accessible.
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The SURF Tech Trends 2026 is released this month (Oct \u201925) can be accessed here<\/a> In mid-2024, I was approached by EDEH about a new squad on futuring. After a few online sessions in which we discussed the why, what and how, the squad got formed quite quickly as we asked: \u201cWhat could digital education in 2040 look like?\u201d.<\/em> With various voices, we have been exploring dimensions such as emerging learning modalities, tomorrow\u2019s infrastructure, changing student and educator roles, ethics and regulation, global vs local pressures, and more. Eventually, four alternative scenarios are delivered to demonstrate and challenge current assumptions about the future of education. \u201cWhat will education look like in 2040?\u201d. In my presentation at OEB 2025, \u201cReimagining Education: Scenarios for a Digital Future<\/em>\u201d. I will present four alternative scenarios from the \u201cFuture Learner: (Digital) Education Reimagined for 2040\u201d <\/em>report. The scenarios help illuminate how decisions we make today (about policy, about investment, about pedagogy, ethics, and infrastructure) ripple outward. A common fallacy is people thinking they can\u2019t influence future directions. But all the decisions, big or small, we make individually and collectively already influence how and which future unfolds. In just four alternative futures where technology, policy, society, and the values we hold intersect, we can spark discussions about our decisions to make. These scenarios are not predictions; they are tools for exploring possibilities, for exposing tensions, for surfacing choices. What if regulation tightens? What if technology advances unbounded? What if economic constraints intensify? What if societal values shift in ways we do not yet fully imagine? The goal: providing insights to leaders, educators, and institutions to navigate uncertainty. Download report <\/a> A common pitfall I encounter with organisations relates to strategy documents and institutional plans. Often, strategies are designed and developed with (hidden) assumptions made by individuals who are part of the writing process. Having said this, I would like to invite you all to look at your organisation\u2019s strategy and ask yourself: which future does my organisation envision? Which future does this strategy enable? What happens if an alternative future unfolds, and will this strategy still hold? An ambition I have in my role as lead Futurist is to dive into collective decision-making for the long term. So far, we have enabled discussions and facilitated dialogue, but to get through the digital transformation, we need a shared vision and to align the strategic objectives supported by futuring. Aligning voices, values, and agendas is next level, but once we realise our common goal, we can use our differences to enrich the dialogues for a greater cause: education for all. If you are attending OEB, I invite you to join me in exploring these scenarios, not as spectators, but as collaborators. Feel free to reach out at any given moment to me or my co-authors to share your views, ask questions or engage with us. Through our values, our constraints, our technologies, and our choices, we shape collectively the future of education not only in our own countries but also in Europe (and beyond). And whether or not you come to the OEB session, consider engaging with EDEH by joining a squad or engaging with other like-minded educational professionals.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nApplying futuring to the European Digital Education Hub (EDEH)<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nConnecting the Dots: From scenarios to strategy<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s build futures together<\/strong>
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Written for OEB 2025<\/a> by G\u00fcl Akcaova<\/a>
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