Edinburgh Futures Institute

A new futures-focused space for learning, research, and innovation at the University of Edinburgh.

New
Futures Conversations podcast
EPISODE 4 - Sean Smith: Future Infrastructure

How do we future-proof our infrastructure? Professor Sean Smith outlines the unique expertise that pioneering research can bring to the design and construction of buildings that enable us to reduce our environment footprint.

We are for the pathfinders, the inquisitive, and those who want to make our complex world better.

Study

Futures-focused undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education

Research

Support for interdisciplinary, data-driven research innovation

Engage & Innovate

Collaboration and innovation opportunities for people and organisations

Latest news and thinking

Featured Thinking

Industry Voice: Shaping a collaborative future

Financial Services & FinTech | Tourism & Festivals
A graphic with the text “Joshua Ryan-Saha & Tobi Schneider” and “The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Futures Institute” over a large letter “V,” with an illustrated cityscape and two people walking under a red umbrella.

In the second of a two-part examination of a new social contract for travel insurance, Joshua Ryan-Saha, Director of Travel, Tourism and Festivals, and Tobi Schneider, Sector Engagement Lead, Financial Services and Fintech, explain how the industry can work towards a resilient and equitable travel future.

Featured Thinking

“Radical interdisciplinarity” and the necessity of marrying culture and science

A woman holding a book and a man in a lab coat holding a clipboard face each other by train tracks, with a city skyline and large gears in the background.

Professor Marion Thain on why understanding culture and the humanities is crucial for tackling today’s scientific, technological, and social challenges.

Industry Voice: Travel insurance in a volatile world

Financial Services & FinTech | Tourism & Festivals

Calmer waters downstream 

Wellbeing economy

Art shows celebrate fresh dimensions of AI

Data & AI ethics
More news and thinking

Join the conversation

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Upcoming events









We’ve moved into our new home

Edinburgh Futures Institute has moved into its stunning new home at the Old Royal Infirmary.

Brick clocktower and front entrance of EFI building.

Co-location opportunities

Find out more about co-location opportunities at The University of Edinburgh’s data-driven innovation hubs.

Co-location spaces at Edinburgh Futures Institute are focused on our four key sectors; creative industries, financial services and fintech, public services and tourism, travel and festivals.

Our sectors in focus

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Creative
industries

Financial Services
& FinTech

Public
Services

tourism, Travel
& festivals

“With a philosophy of delivering challenge-led, transdisciplinary, multi-sector collaborations that innovate responsibly, the Data for Children Collaborative, is a living and breathing example of what Edinburgh Futures Institute is all about – using novel approaches to build better futures.”

Alex Hutchison, Programme Director, Data for Children Collaborative

Discover more at Edinburgh Futures Institute

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Explore our ecosystem

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Learn about our approach

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Meet our writer-at-large

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Support the future


Follow us @uoe_efi

“The Edinburgh Futures Institute is an integral part of the University of Edinburgh and our future. It is an integral part of our commitment to the local communities in which we operate and for our place in the world. Recognising that the biggest challenges facing society are complex and multi-layered, and that insight and innovation often comes from bringing together expertise across different disciplines, the Futures Institute is creating a new environment for learning, teaching, research and engagement. It is doing so side-by-side with communities, business and industry and governments.”

Professor Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh

Join us to challenge, create, and make change happen.

#ChallengeCreateChange