Professional Learning

Explore education opportunities to help professionals navigate an era of climate uncertainty.

Futures Masterclass 2026: Preparing for the Next Big Dry

Mode	In-person only
Dates	UPDATED DATES: 20 - 24 July 2026 (Monday afternoon - Friday lunchtime)
Location	Australian National University, Canberra, ACT
Investment	$3,990
Register

The ANU Institute for Water Futures (IWF) is excited to offer an executive education program like no other. An immersive learning experience, the Futures Masterclass is designed to help professionals build the skills and capabilities needed to plan for - and respond to - an era of water and climate uncertainty.

At the heart of the program is a speculative drought scenario: “The Next Big Dry”, which challenges participants to explore the systemic impacts of extreme weather on their organisations, industries, and communities, all while navigating shifting policy, social, and environmental landscapes. The scenario is fictional but realistic, providing a focus for learning and a practical ‘rehearsal space’ where participants can use their professional skills to explore new possibilities for planning and action.

The program aims to develop and enhance participants’ futures literacy - the ability to think in anticipatory, speculative, and predictive ways - by blending expert-led modules with practical tools and methods, designed to build confidence and capability in working within our increasingly uncertain climate. Participants will learn to map, assess, and make sense of complex, interdependent risks while taking a futures-oriented view of climate change and its possible impacts on water stress and water security.

Photo by Mark Vegera

Why Now?

Drought is a defining feature of the Australian landscape - and it is becoming more frequent and more extreme. Nationwide, Bureau of Meteorology data shows below-average cool-season rainfall in 24 of the past 30 years. Our capabilities to respond to these tangible climate risks must also consider increased global uncertainty, tumultuous geopolitics, and institutional shifts. Conventional actions tend to be reactive, rather than proactive. By investing in skills and capabilities now, we can prepare for climate risks and extremes with foresight, rather than scrambling for short-term fixes.

Who Should Attend?

The IWF Futures Masterclass 2026 is designed to elevate the skills and knowledge of mid-career professionals from government, industry and the not-for-profit sector working in areas such as:

•    Natural resource management
•    Agriculture
•    Environment
•    Emergency management
•    Public policy
•    Water resources
•    Climate risk

Participants will have the opportunity to learn and practice futuring approaches and techniques using a realistic scenario developed around a future Australian drought.

Program overview

Monday	Welcome Begin the afternoon on Country and explore historical and Indigenous perspectives on droughts, on the banks of nearby waterways. Set the context for considering the many roles of water within complex systems.
Tuesday	Speculative Futures Discover the narrative that will shape your application of futuring techniques. Explore the drought scenario through an introduction to futuring, including speculative methods, storytelling, and backcasting.
Wednesday	Predictive Futures Explore what historical droughts can teach us. Take a deep dive into data, modelling, and socio-economic insights to examine how these approaches can help transform historical drought information into lessons for navigating uncertainty within the scenario and beyond.
Thursday	Anticipatory Futures Use simulation methods to put learning into practice and build strategies for acting in uncertainty and near future adaptation. Focus on collaborative opportunities to build strategies suited across participants’ workplaces or professional contexts.
Friday	Reflections & Showcase Consolidate lessons, reflections, and map next steps. Showcase plans and strategies to guests, and enjoy a celebratory networking lunch. Use your free afternoon to travel home or revisit Country equipped with new approaches to envisioning water futures.

Outcomes

On completion of the Masterclass, participants will:

Understand how a scenario acts as a tool to envision the future and apply advanced techniques to interrogate it: you’ll consider specifically how the “next big dry” could unfold and how you might respond to its impacts, while learning transferable skills.
Use scenario planning as a heuristic to evaluate institutional strengths and gaps for responding to climate stress.
Identify diverse skills and resources for better preparedness.
Reflect on personal agency in facing future challenges.
Build futures literacy to balance different ways of thinking ahead.
Join a professional network for collaborative resilience.

Facilitation team

Professor Lorrae van Kerkhoff

Lorrae is the Director of the ANU Institute for Water Futures and a world-renowned expert on transdisciplinary research approaches.

Her research focuses on understanding the role of science in decision-making for complex environmental issues, especially about preparing for uncertain but different futures.

A former Fulbright Fellow, she has published extensively on integrative and transdisciplinary research concepts and methods, knowledge governance and ‘future-oriented’ approaches to conservation.

Both in Australia and internationally, Lorrae works collaboratively with stakeholders to generate innovative pathways for transition and transformation.

Dr Hannah Feldman

Hannah is an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist, with a focus on building equitable futures via participatory and creative experiences.

She currently researches and develops tools to engage diverse audiences in building sustainable futures in the age of AI, with a focus on steering and working with complex human and environmental systems.

An experienced facilitator, Hannah’s background in education and science communication research combine for inclusive and impactful learning experiences. She enjoys and regularly appears on radio, video, and in print.

Dr Jason Alexandra

Jason is a senior research fellow who works on climate adaptation and adaptive water governance.

His research focuses on understanding transformative, adaptive and equitable water governance in urban and rural systems, across multiple scales. Jason collaborates with diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, farmer groups, traditional owners, and academics.

In the past, Jason held senior roles in government including as a Senior Executive at the Murray Darling Basin Commission and Murray Darling Basin Authority where he had responsibility for natural resource management programs, risk assessment and climate R&D.

An experienced and engaging presenter, Jason regularly provides expert commentary in the media as well as a keynote speaker and facilitator.

How to participate?

We welcome government agencies, industry partners and civil society organisations to express their interest through the following options:

Enrolling individual staff members, teams, or small groups
Sponsoring scholarship placements to support community members and key stakeholders.

Investment

The fee for this program is $3990 per person with potential concessions available for group bookings, students and community organisations.

What's included

Four days of applied learning with global experts (across five in-person days)
Networking with a diverse cohort of water professionals.
Morning and afternoon tea, lunch, and refreshments daily.

Registration

Participation in this program is targeted towards professionals interested in furthering their understanding of futures thinking, particularly applied to water and climate challenges.

There are limited places available for each organisation to ensure a diversity of perspectives and backgrounds in the room.

Register now to secure a place for yourself, staff or team.

Learn more

For more information or to discuss opportunities to participate, please contact us at Waterfutures@anu.edu.au