Can the future be foretold? No, but the long-term outcomes of present-day actions can be foreseen — and, as the 2008 economic crisis showed us, lack of foresight can have grave implications.Using a technique called scenario planning, students consider the present and future ramifications of knotty, large-scale problems related to the evolution of the internet and other aspects of the telecommunications infrastructure. In exploring this, we touch upon the global economy, demographics, international politics, environmental concerns, and other large-scale issues. Scenario planning is a rigorous but highly engaging technique, in which people share information and judgment to create a picture of the future larger than any individual could produce alone. The technique has been used since the mid-1950s decades to distinguish certainties from uncertainties, and to learn to be prepared for multiple eventualities. Students will conduct original research on significant trends, use those trends to develop compelling, plausible stories about possible futures, and present the futures – and the strategies they suggest – to a public audience. As part of the process that we co-develop, the class explores theories about system dynamics, organizational and societal change, the causes of economic failure and success, and the nature of technology.

Interactive Telecommunications (Graduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2021)

ITPG-GT 2297-000 (23975)
09/02/2021 – 12/14/2021 Fri
12:00 AM – 2:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Brooklyn Campus
Instructed by