The following evidence-based courses are offered at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA USA.

Personal Design Futures

Going on a lifelong journey without a plan or map isn’t easy. In the “Personal Design Futures” mini-course, students take on the most critical design project: their own life. Students explore who they are, where they come from, and where they hope to go. They describe their core values, what makes their life meaningful, and whom they wish to become in their futures. While life choices are personal, we use time-tested methods to explore potential futures. We explore how your futures connect to the larger context from three perspectives: (a) Personal Futures, (b) Life Design, and (c) Ontological Design. By the end of the mini-course, each student will have planned their future. They will be able to explain what matters to them and have charted paths forward. Most importantly, they will know how to rechart their life plans as unexpected events require them to adapt.

Offered at Carnegie Mellon University

51.150 – 51.750 Personal Design Futures Fall semester 2025

• (mini 1) Tuesday 1pm-1:50pm Eastern Time Room MM107
• (mini 2) Thursday 1pm-1:50pm Eastern Time Room MM107

Dexign Futures

The Dexign Futures course focuses on aligning near-term design actions with long-term vision goals. We introduce the students to “Dexign Futures” methods. Dexign is defined as “an experimental type of design that merges Futures Thinking with Design Thinking.” A distinguishing feature of dexign in our usage is the focus on aligning current action with long-term sustainability goals. The course covers different approaches to interpreting futures: from the extrapolations of trend forecasting, through the risk assessments of scenario planning, to attempts to steering the present through backcasting. Students explore the future through utopian and dystopian fictions that are created by authors, filmmakers, and themselves. Students also evaluate their design futures in terms of their long-term values and consequences.

Executive Education courses are available. Past executive education courses were taught private sector, non-profit sector, and government officials. Please contact Prof. Peter Scupelli to discuss what might be of interest to your executives and organizations.

Workshops for different-aged learners are available as well. Past workshops were taught for university professors and students at Tsinghua University and Politecnico di Milano. Please contact Prof. Peter Scupelli to discuss what might be of interest to your team.

Open-Access Courses for past versions of courses are available. Please contact Prof. Peter Scupelli to discuss what might be of interest to you.