We are for the pathfinders, the inquisitive, and those who want to make our complex world better.
CHRIS SPEED
[Director of Edinburgh Futures Institute]
a warm welcome to all

Welcome to the Edinburgh Futures Institute, an astonishing project that has taken many years to develop and is now delivering one of the most exciting curriculums, research cultures and innovation spaces across the UK and Europe.
Bringing together 21 schools across the University of Edinburgh and putting them into one space; one global space where we have online activity as well as in this extraordinary new building, the conversion of the Royal Infirmary right in the middle of Edinburgh.
Alongside the students are researchers, research centres, all collaborating through interdisciplinary lenses to produce an astonishing series of projects that address many of the social, environmental and economic concerns of the day.
Inside the building we’ll host tenants who we collaborate with from civic, social, as well as commercial organisations, all wanting to work together to understand how best to address the big problems of our time, really addressing collaboratively the ideas of what it means to think about futures. So welcome to the Futures Institute and come and join us.
Study
Futures-focused undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education
Latest news and thinking
Upcoming events

“The production and intellectual content of your recent events has been fantastic! Thank you for the opportunity to attend and learn. This is probably the best event I have been to all year.”
Event attendee, Love Machine Spring 2023
We’re moving into our new home
The Edinburgh Futures Institute will begin a phased opening of doors to its iconic new building, a major restoration of the old Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, from Autumn 2023.
New tenancy opportunities for organisations and businesses coming 2024/25.

“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
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