In a world defined by rapid change, innovation waits for no one. Navigating Disruptions and Emerging Technologies helps you understand, anticipate, and lead through transformation.
Explore how technologies like AI, immersive computing, and probabilistic forecasting are reshaping industries—and learn how to think like a futurist. You’ll master frameworks for evaluating innovation, apply data-driven foresight to complex decisions, and build essential human skills in critical thinking, communication, and ethical leadership.
Whether you’re a professional, entrepreneur, or educator, this course will help you move beyond reacting to disruption—to shaping the future with confidence and purpose.
Welcome to Module 1—the foundation for understanding how innovation and disruption reshape industries, organizations, and society. In this module, you’ll explore what makes a technology emerging, what turns it into a disruption, and how individuals and businesses can adapt and learn from these rapid changes.
Emerging Technology and Disruption: An Overview•6 minutes
Disruptive Technology Showcase•5 minutes
A Proactive Approach to Finding and Understanding Disruptive Technology•6 minutes
Evaluating Disruptive Technology Through the Gartner Hype Cycle•6 minutes
Decoding AI Technology Through the 2025 Gartner Hype Cycle: A Case Study•10 minutes
How Non-Technology Disruptions Drive Emerging Technology Opportunities•6 minutes
Navigating Non-Technology Disruptions in Business and Industries•12 minutes
The Theory of Disruptive Innovation•6 minutes
Differentiating Disruptive Innovation From General Disruption•6 minutes
The Disruptive Nature of AI•9 minutes
Learning From Disruption at Individual and Organizational Levels•6 minutes
After Action Review: A Tool for Learning From Disruption•5 minutes
After Action Review in Action•9 minutes
8 readings•Total 80 minutes
Syllabus•10 minutes
Coursera Coach•10 minutes
About the Discussion Forums•10 minutes
Online Education at Gies College of Business•10 minutes
Updating Your Profile•10 minutes
Module 1 Overview•10 minutes
Module 1 Readings•10 minutes
Module 1 Glossary•10 minutes
7 assignments•Total 90 minutes
Graded Quiz: Emerging Technology and Disruption•30 minutes
Orientation Quiz•10 minutes
Lesson Quiz: An Overview of Emerging Technology and Disruption•10 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Understanding and Evaluating Disruptive Technology Through Gartner Hype Cycle•10 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Non-Technology Disruption•10 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Disruptive Innovation•10 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Learning From Disruption•10 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
Getting to Know Your Classmates•10 minutes
1 plugin•Total 15 minutes
Welcome! Please Tell Us About Yourself•15 minutes
Module 2: Futurism, Scenario Planning, and Science Driven Decision Making
4 hours to complete
Module details
Welcome to Module 2—where we’ll explore how to think like a futurist and make informed, evidence-based decisions in an uncertain world. In this module, you’ll learn how scientific reasoning, probability, and AI can help us anticipate disruptions and plan strategically for the future.
What's included
15 videos3 readings6 assignments
Show info about module content
15 videos•Total 101 minutes
Introduction to Futurism•7 minutes
A Scientific Approach to Futurism•6 minutes
AI as a Futurist’s Partner: From Signals to Scenarios•10 minutes
Introduction to Scenario Planning•6 minutes
Scenario Planning in Detail•6 minutes
AI as a Partner in Scenario Planning•7 minutes
Understanding Chance: A Gentle Introduction to Probability•8 minutes
From Data to Probability•9 minutes
Scenario Thinking with Probability: Conditional Events and Strategic Planning•8 minutes
Decision-Making Under Uncertainty•4 minutes
Expected Value vs. Expected Utility•5 minutes
AI-Assisted Expected Utility: Smarter Decisions for Uncertain Futures•7 minutes
Premortem Technique: A Scientific Approach to Decision-Making•6 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Decision-Making Under Uncertainty•10 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Scientific Approach to Decision-Making and Premortem Technique•10 minutes
Module 3: Mastering the Foundational Skills for Navigating Disruption
3 hours to complete
Module details
Welcome to Module 3—where we’ll develop the mindsets and foundational skills needed to think critically, communicate effectively, and create meaningful impact in an era of rapid technological change.
In this module, you’ll explore how to adopt a scientific mindset, evaluate information credibility, navigate difficult conversations, and communicate ideas through storytelling and speculative design. These core skills form the foundation for thriving in a world shaped by emerging technologies and continuous disruption.
What's included
15 videos3 readings6 assignments
Show info about module content
15 videos•Total 76 minutes
Cultivating the Right Mindset for Emerging Technologies•5 minutes
Four Modes of Thinking About New Challenges•4 minutes
The Scientific Mode of Thinking•4 minutes
Source Credibility•3 minutes
Assessing Credibility•6 minutes
AI as a Tool for Source Credibility•9 minutes
Navigating Difficult Conversations Part 1•4 minutes
Navigating Difficult Conversations Part 2•5 minutes
Navigating Difficult Conversations Part 3•4 minutes
Storytelling: A Powerful Tool for Communicating Disruptive Impacts•5 minutes
Storytelling for Making and Sharing Predictions•4 minutes
AI as a Storytelling Partner•8 minutes
Overcoming the Failure To Imagine via Science Fiction•3 minutes
Speculative Design as a Tool To Envision the Future•3 minutes
AI as a Tool for Speculative Design•8 minutes
3 readings•Total 30 minutes
Module 3 Overview•10 minutes
Module 3 Readings•10 minutes
Module 3 Glossary•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 80 minutes
Graded Quiz: Mastering the Foundational Skills for Navigating Disruption•30 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Scientific Mode of Thinking•10 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Scientific Fiction and Speculative Design•10 minutes
Module 4: Immersive Technologies and Extended Reality (XR)
6 hours to complete
Module details
Welcome to Module 4—where we’ll explore how the physical and digital worlds are converging through spatial computing. This module connects the scientific, creative, and ethical skills you’ve developed so far to the next generation of immersive technologies shaping business, work, and society.
Spatial computing represents a major platform shift. Instead of interacting with data through flat screens, we now engage with information that understands space—content that knows where it is, how it relates to its surroundings, and how it can respond to us. This module will help you understand the technologies behind this transformation and how to use them responsibly and strategically.
What's included
17 videos5 readings6 assignments1 plugin
Show info about module content
17 videos•Total 125 minutes
Understanding the Spatial Computing Landscape•8 minutes
Foundational Technologies for Immersive and Spatial Experiences•7 minutes
The Evolution of Immersive Technology•9 minutes
XR for Workforce Empowerment•8 minutes
XR, Digital Twins, and Spatial Data in Design, Manufacturing, and Operations•8 minutes
Immersive Commerce and Customer Engagement•8 minutes
Haptics, Olfaction, and Full-Body Immersion in Spatial Computing•9 minutes
The Promise of Holography and Volumetric Video•8 minutes
AI’s Crucial Role in Next-Gen XR and Spatial Computing•8 minutes
Premortem for Immersive Deployment•8 minutes
Scenario Planning and Futurism for a Spatial Computing-Driven World•8 minutes
Probabilistic Forecasting for XR and Spatial Computing•8 minutes
Building Trust, Ensuring Credibility, and Establishing Ethical Frameworks in Persistent Digital Worlds•8 minutes
Responsible Innovation in Immersive and Spatial Computing•8 minutes
Cultivating the Strategic Mindset and Vision for XR and Spatial Computing•8 minutes
Course Conclusion•3 minutes
Learn on Your Terms•1 minute
5 readings•Total 50 minutes
Module 4 Overview•10 minutes
Module 4 Readings•10 minutes
Module 4 Glossary•10 minutes
Congratulations on completing the course!•10 minutes
Get Your Course Certificate•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 180 minutes
Graded Quiz: Immersive Technologies and Extended Reality (XR)•30 minutes
Practice Quiz: Understanding the Spatial Computing Landscape•30 minutes
Lesson Quiz: XR and Spatial Computing in Action•30 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Advanced XR and Spatial Computing Concepts•30 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Strategic Foresight for Immersive Deployment•30 minutes
Lesson Quiz: Ethics, Leadership, and the Future of Spatial Computing•30 minutes
1 plugin•Total 15 minutes
How Was the Course?•15 minutes
Build toward a degree
This course is part of the following degree program(s) offered by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. If you are admitted and enroll, your completed coursework may count toward your degree learning and your progress can transfer with you.¹
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Build toward a degree
This course is part of the following degree program(s) offered by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. If you are admitted and enroll, your completed coursework may count toward your degree learning and your progress can transfer with you.¹
¹Successful application and enrollment are required. Eligibility requirements apply. Each institution determines the number of credits recognized by completing this content that may count towards degree requirements, considering any existing credits you may have. Click on a specific course for more information.
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