Edinburgh Futures Institute

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

Join our Prospective Student Information Session ONLINE

Find out more about postgraduate study and hear from our current students. 21st January 2-3pm.

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

A warm welcome to all
Kev Dhaliwal, Interim Director of Edinburgh Futures Institute

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 News

Research Cluster joins project bridging Performing Art, AI and Entrepreneurship

Creative Industries | Data & AI ethics
A drawing depicts a figure balancing on a tightrope against a backdrop of abstract mountains. The figure is holding the rope with both hands, surrounded by swirling lines, creating a sense of movement and tension.

The “Creativity, AI, and the Human” at Edinburgh Futures Institute joins a new collaborative project exploring the intersections of performing art, AI, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Featured News

Data for Children Collaborative develops Travel Time maps from open data

Data & AI ethics
A colorful world map is displayed on a wall above a cluttered desk. The desk holds an open book, papers, a small framed botanical illustration, and art supplies. The background has a rustic, textured wall.

The Data for Children Collaborative team has developed a scalable solution for generating travel time maps that uses open data.

Events

Upcoming

We’ve moved into our new home

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

New tenancy opportunities for organisations and businesses coming 2024/25.

Brick clocktower and front entrance of EFI building.

Our sectors in focus

A DJ standing over his decks, red tint over image.

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

people experimenting with virtual reality headsets

Explore our ecosystem

Close up of lamppost with various stickers on it, orange tint on image.

Learn about our approach

headshot of katherine trebek

Meet our writer-at-large

A group of undergraduate students outside a building, green tint over image.

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