Human Futures Horizon Scanning Events

Overview

What does the future look like to you?  

At Innovate UK, we’re interested to hear about what you imagine lies ahead. Because how we shape the future starts with how we think about it today. Our Horizon Scanning team is proud to introduce the 2026/27 Human Futures series. We are shifting our lens to take a deeper, sociological look at the technologies of tomorrow and the societal challenges they’re meant to address.  

As society continues to evolve, we ponder how people will live, work, and connect in the decades ahead. What innovations, policies, and new ways of thinking will enable us to support healthier ageing, strengthen wellbeing, and help people navigate changing notions of identity, community, and purpose?  

To explore these thought-provoking questions, we are inviting innovation and technology experts and specialists for fireside chat conversations. Together, we will deliberate how future change (across economic, social, artistic, cultural, and psychological areas) will shape human experience. 

After these explorative conversations, we welcome participants to share their own viewpoints in roundtable discussions and creative workshop sessions. 

About the Event

What innovations, policies, and new ways of thinking will enable humanity to continue to evolve, live, work, and connect in the decades ahead? Join experts to discuss the future of education, travel and hybrid societies in this exciting series of events.

Who should attend?

To complement these future shaping discussions, we’re looking for curious, creative, and collaborative people who have technology and social science backgrounds. 

What should you expect?

Each event offers participants the chance to work in groups to reflect on the insights shared and collectively imagine future artifacts. By collaborating on innovative concepts or solutions, we hope to create opportunities that would help to address societal challenges that humans could face in the future.

Please note that this event will not be recorded but insights may be transcribed for notetaking purposes. Instead, attendees will receive an anonymised summary of the discussions afterwards, a small token of our appreciation for contributing to this future-facing dialogue.

What you will learn

Designed both for topic experts who are keen to share their views on the potential future of humanity, this series of events will enable you to:

• gain valuable insights into how certain aspects of we might evolve and develop
• contribute your own hopes, concerns, expectations, and ideas
• explore the opportunities that may be available in the years to come

If you are interested in other future-focused conversations, then please also explore our upcoming online Technical Deep Dive Series.

Event details

WHEN

18 November 2026,

10 February and 4 March 2027

12:00 - 17:00

WHERE

PLANNER