How can higher education institutions prepare their students for a future characterized by uncertainty, complexity, and profound change? With FuturesComp, Austria now has its first practice-oriented reference framework addressing this very challenge.
Commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research (BMFWF), the UNESCO Chair in Futures Capability for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® developed FuturesComp in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair at PH NÖ. The framework is designed to support higher education institutions in systematically embedding “Futures Literacy” into teaching and curricula.
Futures Literacy refers to the ability to actively engage with possible future scenarios (“POLY futures”), anticipate change, and design practical solutions – recognized by UNESCO as one of the key competencies of the 21st century. FuturesComp offers a novel, practice-oriented approach and, according to the BMFWF, serves as a normative and conceptual foundation for integrating Futures Literacy into higher education teaching as well as for advancing curricula and course design.
At the core of the framework are five key competencies: exploration, shared responsibility, shaping, self-development, and participation in relation to poly-futures. These competencies are complemented by learning objectives, intended learning outcomes, practical guidelines, and next-practice examples for higher education teaching. The development of the framework was based on systematic literature reviews, interviews, and focus group workshops involving national and international experts.
Beyond its application in teaching, FuturesComp also provides an important impetus for education policy. It highlights how higher education institutions can empower students not only to analyze the future, but to actively, reflectively, and responsibly shape it. In doing so, MCI makes a significant contribution to future-ready higher education in Austria.
Eva-Maria Holzleitner, Federal Minister for Women, Science and Research, emphasizes: “The Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research regards the promotion of Futures Literacy as a key component of future-ready higher education. We thank all contributors to this project and invite all stakeholders in the higher education sector to use FuturesComp as a catalyst for innovative and responsible teaching and development.”
Antje Bierwisch, Chairholder of the MCI UNESCO Chair in Futures Capability for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and project lead of FuturesComp, states: “Futures Literacy is more than a competency for higher education – it is a societal resource. Learning to deal with uncertainty in a reflective way, to imagine alternative futures, and to take responsibility for shaping them strengthens exactly those capabilities we need for social cohesion, innovation, and transformation.”
Carmen Sippl, Chairholder of the PH NÖ UNESCO Chair in Learning and Teaching Futures Literacy in the Anthropocene, adds: “FuturesComp provides a strong impulse for innovation in higher education didactics: enabling the creation of future visions establishes a vital connection to learners’ real-life contexts – across all disciplines. It can be applied in a truly transdisciplinary way.”
MCI Rector Andreas Altmann concludes: “As the Entrepreneurial School®, we see it as our mission not only to provide students with academic excellence, but also to empower them to actively shape the future. This requires precisely the competencies described in FuturesComp: the ability to navigate uncertainty, recognize opportunities in open future spaces, and take responsibility for societal development.”
FuturesComp authors of the MCI UNESCO Chair, from left to right: Oliver Som, Julia Vögele, Antje Bierwisch, Juliana Pattermann-Gunsch ©MCI/Hanna Amplatz
Discover the program that suits you.