Overview
Industries everywhere are under pressure. AI adoption, rapid tech shifts, changing customer expectations, and global uncertainty are daily challenges. The question isn’t how to future-proof your career or your industry—it’s how to help your organization adapt, stay resilient, and thrive when change is constant.
This 4-course, non-credit Futures Leadership program brings together four in-demand skill sets:
- Futures Thinking – Learn to spot early signals like current events, trends, or products that hint at potentially larger, disruptive changes or opportunities on the horizon. Then, map possibilities and guide long-term strategy.
- Adaptive Leadership – Lead through complex challenges when clear answers don’t exist and bring clarity to your team.
- Design Thinking – Turn insights into human-centered solutions that work in practice.
- Introduction to AI – Understand core AI concepts/terms, real-world applications, and how to responsibly use AI in your field.
By the end of this program, you’ll be able to:
- Identify signals of change and translate them into opportunities.
- Lead conversations about uncertainty with confidence and clarity.
- Apply design and AI frameworks to improve real-world processes by rethinking them not just speeding them up.
Bring resilience, adaptability, and foresight to your industry or organization.
“The more you think about the long-term future, the more creative people become, and they also have a better sense of agency.”
—Maricel Lawrence, Ed.D., Futures Consultant & Practitioner
Here’s what makes this certificate stand out
Peer Discussions with Other Course Members
Peer interaction is one reason over 100k+ students worldwide have advanced their education and career with UVM.
Practical Tools, Not Just Theory
From futures wheels to backcasting and AI prompts, you’ll leave each module with frameworks you can immediately apply in your organization.
Learn from Experts in Adaptation & Innovation
Learn directly from thought leaders in futures thinking, adaptive leadership, design, and AI — a rare combination of skills brought together in one certificate.
Here’s what makes this certificate stand out
Peer Discussions with Other Course Members
Peer interaction is one reason over 100k+ students worldwide have advanced their education and career with UVM.
Practical Tools, Not Just Theory
From futures wheels to backcasting and AI prompts, you’ll leave each module with frameworks you can immediately apply in your organization.
Learn from Experts in Adaptation & Innovation
Learn directly from thought leaders in futures thinking, adaptive leadership, design, and AI — a rare combination of skills brought together in one certificate.
How one company increased productivity by 40% with AI
A small, family-run company making industrial drill bits for Boeing and Caterpillar used UVM Futures Leadership instructor Alec Newcomb’s approach to rethink scheduling with AI. Instead of typing data into spreadsheets, they used cameras and AI to track machine utilization and automatically enter data, resulting in:
- ~40% savings in labor costs and efficiency gains
“We could have sped up every step, but it’s easier to train it from part zero…let AI understand the machine and fill out the spreadsheet for you.”
—Alec Newcomb, ’95, AI Instructor
Admissions
This program is designed for professionals who are ready to:
- Expand their leadership mindset: moving beyond technical skills to guiding teams through complexity and uncertainty.
- Build adaptability and foresight: shifting from short-term problem solving to long-term, strategic thinking.
- Apply new tools immediately: from scenario planning to AI frameworks, with direct impact in their organization.
- Collaborate with peers across industries: learning in a community of professionals who share the goal of leading change.
Whether you’re working in tech, data, marketing, policy, or organizational leadership, if you want to strengthen your ability to navigate disruption and drive innovation, this program is for you.
“AI isn’t just another tool—it’s a utility, like electricity or the internet. And its impact will be even bigger than the internet on our lives and especially our kid’s lives.”
—Alec Newcomb, ’95, AI Instructor
Why future-focused leadership?
Futures practice has been shown to build agency and confidence in navigating uncertainty. Here’s why that matters:
-
95% of current corporate AI initiatives are unprofitable
The courses in this program show you how to be in the other 5%. (MIT study) -
23% of Harvard’s 2024 MBAs graduated without jobs
This is proof that disruption is real, and adaptability is critical (Wall Street Journal).
“There’s always a percentage of uncertainty. You can’t think about every single possibility. But you can work with uncertainty, and that is more important than trying to be certain about what the future’s going to look like. Ultimately, the goal of futures thinking is to help somebody have a better sense of the possibilities.”
—Maricel Lawrence, Ed.D., Futures Consultant & Practitioner
Curriculum
This 4-course certificate is fully online and designed to be completed in 16 weeks.
Save your spot in all four courses and earn the complete credential.
Prefer a smaller commitment? You can also register for individual courses below based on your interests. Single courses do not need to be taken in a particular order.
Course Schedule
| Course | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 |
| Futures Thinking | 2/9/2026 | TBD |
| Adaptive Leadership | 3/9/2026 | TBD |
| Design Thinking | 4/6/2026 | TBD |
| Introduction to AI | 5/4/2026 | TBD |
Course Descriptions & Registration
Upcoming dates: 2/9/2026
Instructor: Maricel Lawrence
Learn to navigate uncertainty and plan strategically for what’s next. This course introduces practical tools and mindsets to explore future trends, build scenarios, and shape better outcomes. Ideal for professionals across sectors, you’ll gain skills to think long-term, spot emerging change, and lead with foresight in a rapidly evolving world.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand core concepts and frameworks of strategic foresight
- Identify weak signals and drivers of change
- Construct and use scenarios to explore possible futures
- Apply futures thinking to your own organization or context
Upcoming dates: 3/9/2026
Instructor: Maricel Lawrence
In times of change and uncertainty, adaptive leaders don’t rely on quick fixes—they guide people through complexity. This course introduces practical tools to lead through tough challenges, build trust, and mobilize others toward meaningful progress. Ideal for professionals in any sector seeking to lead with purpose and resilience.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand the Adaptive Leadership framework
- Identify and navigate adaptive challenges
- Build capacity to lead without formal authority
Upcoming dates: 4/6/2026
Instructor: Lynessa Rico
Solve complex problems with creativity and empathy. This course introduces the Design Thinking process—a hands-on, human-centered approach to innovation. Learn to understand user needs, generate fresh ideas, and rapidly prototype solutions that make a real-world impact.
Takeaways:
- Understand and apply the Design Thinking process
- Cultivate empathy to better understand user needs
- Generate and test creative solutions quickly
- Apply design methods to drive innovation and change
Upcoming dates: 5/4/2026
Instructor: Alec Newcomb
AI is reshaping the world—are you ready? This course offers a practical, non-technical introduction to Artificial Intelligence, including how it works, where it’s used, and what it means for your field. Gain the knowledge and confidence to understand AI’s potential and its responsible use.
Takeaways:
- Understand core AI concepts and terminology
- Explore how AI is being applied across industries
- Evaluate ethical, social, and organizational implications
- Build confidence in engaging with AI tools and trends
Career Outlook
The skills you gain here apply across industries and strengthen your job security in a world where disruption is accelerating.
Example roles that benefit from this program include:
- Innovation Manager
- Data & AI Manager or Specialist
- Executive Leadership (C-suite, VP, Director)
- Organizational Development Consultant
- Product or Brand Manager
- Policy Analyst / Policymaker
- Urban or Regional Planner
- Sustainability or Climate Adaptation Specialist
- Strategy Lead / Corporate Strategist
- Resilience & Risk Manager
- Nonprofit or Program Director
Employers are increasingly expecting leaders who can anticipate change—before it disrupts operations.
Many governments have formal foresight units, and global organizations now benchmark “future fitness” as a core competency.
Risk grows for those who wait.
The WEF Global Risks Report 2025 highlights accelerating threats such as ecosystem collapse, conflict, misinformation, and extreme weather.
Individuals that lack futures thinking are more exposed, while those with foresight skills are positioned to adapt, innovate, and lead.
Resources
Explore tools and discussions about future leadership.
Why strategic foresight ensures your organization is ready for the future
This World Economic Forum overview shares why strategic foresight is no longer a “nice-to-have” for businesses but an essential asset.
How AI may shape college selection: future scenarios
A blog by UVM instructor and futures thinking expert Maricel Lawrence on applying foresight to the college selection process.
Futures wheel: a tool to explore possible implications
A step-by-step guide to one of the most widely used foresight methods.
Free Download: AI Prompt Template
Free Download: AI Prompt Template
Free Download: AI Prompt Template
Free Download: AI Prompt Template
From AI instructor Alec Newcomb: a practical framework to help you get better results from AI by using the prompts effectively.
FAQs
Professionals who want to broaden their skills in the areas of futures thinking, AI, design-thinking and more. Learners may be in the areas of computer occupations, software developers, data scientists and analysts, sales and marketing managers, etc.
No, this is a professional certificate so anyone can take the certificate, or you can sign up for the individual courses.
8-10 hours per week
No, these cover separate topics and are not set up to be taken in any type of order.
Brightspace Learning Management System will be used for each course.
You will receive a UVM digital badge from Credly for each completed course and if you successfully complete the Certificate you will also receive a digital UVM Professional Certificate of Completion that can be printed or shared digitally from Credly.
Advising and Student Support
You have the goal; we’ll help you achieve it
We are dedicated to helping you access UVM. It is our role to get to know your experience and goals, assist you in choosing courses, guide you through registration, and serve as your resource throughout your time at UVM.
Curious if your past college credits apply at UVM? Want to understand where a program will take you after completion? Looking for resources for financial aid, tutors, or UVM policies? We’re here to help.
