Exploring tomorrow: Mega-trends and Global problem-solving/7-day course
As schools face rapid global change, preparing for the future is essential. Exploring Tomorrow: Mega-trends and Global Problem-solving is a five-day course designed for educators to develop a deeper understanding of the forces shaping tomorrow and to learn practical strategies for addressing global challenges in educational settings. Through exploring mega-trends, future research, and innovative problem-solving methods, you will gain insights into fostering resilience and collaboration in your school community. This course emphasizes skills for constructive dialogue, sustainable problem-solving, and building a mindset that sees challenges as opportunities for growth and learning. By applying these strategies, you will bring relevant, future-ready practices into your school environment, supporting students to navigate and contribute to an evolving world.
What You’ll Learn:
This course focuses on building foundational knowledge and actionable skills for educators to handle complex global challenges. Beginning with an overview of future research and mega-trend analysis, you will learn how to identify major global issues and understand their implications for education. Practical sessions cover innovative approaches to problem-solving, with a day dedicated to negotiation techniques and conflict resolution based on Finnish peace-building methods. The final day brings a collaborative problem-solving workshop, where real issues are explored, analyzed, and addressed with expert support.
- Understand the fundamentals of future research and how to identify global issues using mega-trends.
- Explore creative problem-solving techniques that foster resilience in students.
- Gain skills in conversational and negotiation methods that support peaceful conflict resolution.
- Participate in a problem-solving workshop focused on “hacking” school-related challenges.
- Learn strategies to incorporate these skills into classroom settings for future-oriented learning.
Course Highlights:
- Mega-trend Analysis for Education: Explore major trends in society, environment, and technology, learning how to use them as tools to frame global challenges in educational contexts.
- Conflict Resolution Methods: Practice approaches to constructive dialogue and peace-building, including the Erätauko and Ahtisaari methods, which encourage listening, understanding, and collaborative solutions to conflicts.
- Collaborative “Hack” Day: Join peers and experts in a hands-on problem-solving session where real challenges from school settings are tackled through structured, innovative approaches.
- Creative and Practical Solutions: Engage in exercises designed to expand thinking and develop alternative solutions to common and complex issues faced by educators.
- Future-focused Teaching Strategies: Create actionable plans to integrate global awareness and future skills into your curriculum, supporting students in becoming informed, resilient thinkers.
These sessions combine theory with interactive activities, helping you gain skills that make a lasting impact on teaching and learning. Our experienced trainers provide ongoing support throughout the week, with guidance available even after the course to help you implement your learning.
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Tickets
All tickets includes:
- Event materials
- Certificate of attendance
- School visits
- Admission to all sessions
Standard price
For standard registrations
Group price
Discounted price forgroups of 5 or more
By the end of this course, you will have a clearer perspective on global trends and problem-solving strategies, giving you tools to foster a forward-thinking approach in your school. You’ll leave with practical resources for building a curriculum that supports resilience and collaboration in tackling today’s challenges.
- Analyze mega-trends and relate them to educational contexts.
- Apply creative and critical thinking to address school-based challenges.
- Use conversation and negotiation techniques to support a positive learning environment.
- Develop classroom activities that build students’ skills in future-oriented problem-solving.
- Plan curriculum enhancements that promote engagement with global issues.
This course is designed for teachers, school leaders, and educational staff involved in curriculum development, school leadership, or professional training. It benefits those in school, adult, and vocational education by providing insights that prepare students for complex, real-world challenges.
Tuovi Ronkainen
A former principal of Akaa Secondary School, she is currently studying futures studies at the University of Turku and works as a future coach. With experience as a biology and geography teacher, she has coordinated Comenius and Erasmus+ projects in various schools and served as the network coordinator for the Baltic Sea Project under the National Board of Education. As a Project Ambassador for the European School Heads Association (ESHA), she has been actively involved in ecological projects nationally and internationally, focusing on future education and equipping students with skills to address complex challenges like climate change.
This is a provisional programme, the finalized program will be shared with participants prior to the course.
Day 1, Sunday
15:00 Welcome and getting to know the surroundings and timetables and practices.
- cultural walk in Helsinki
- presenting the program briefly
- setting the course objectives and outcomes
- getting to know each other and your personal story.
- coffee and discussions
Day 2, Monday
9:12 Trip to Kirkkonummi by U-train
9:55 walk to Jokirinne learning centre
10:30 Visit to Jokirinne learning centre: How do the modern premises look like and
how they promote learning and welfare.
12:00 Walk to Fyyri library and lunch break
13:00 Introduction to Fyyri library : How does a modern library function and how does it support the wellbeing and learning of all ages.
14:00 What is the world where the schools are working like now? Futures sciences
and megatrends
- workshop: Megatrends, a game with the megatrend-cards
16:00 Trip back to Helsinki
Day 3, Tuesday
9:12 Trip to Kirkkonummi and walk to the library or the venue is in Helsinki
10:15 Future skills
- workshop: future “camp”
13:30 Workshop: different exercises promoting creativity.
15:07 Trip back to Helsinki
Day 4, Wednesday
9:00 Trip to Haltia and Nuuksio nature park
10:00 Exploring the exhibition about Finnish nature and lunch break (restaurant and café upstairs)
12:30 Workshop: Timeout method for fruitful discussions
14:30 Hiking in Nuuksio national park
16:00 Trip back to Helsinki
Day 5, Thursday
10:15 Trip to Kirkkonummi and walk to the library.
10:15 Workshop: warming up session. How to break the taboos and how to solve problems with creativity.
- presenting and choosing the problems to be solved
- workshop: hacking the problems
12:30 Hacking continues
- workshop: presenting the solutions, how to get forward
- 5 days participants’ outputs and thoughts during the week
- Identification of common project topics and the formation of cooperation networks,
feedback
- 5 days certificates
15:00 Trip back to Helsinki
Day 6, Friday
9:00 Trip to Kirkkonummi
10:00 Visit to the Porkkala Upper Secondary School in Kirkkonummi specializing in future education
12:00 Lunch break
13:00 Digitalization and the use of AI in teaching and learning with NinjaSomersalmi responsible expert for the digitalization in Kirkkonummi
15:30 Trip back to Helsinki
Day 7, Saturday
9:00 Meeting in Oodi-library and tour in the library and evaluation
10:00 What If- method, hope for the better future.
11:00 Certificates
