ANR-Lab x Horizon Summer School: Introduction to Trend Analysis and Future Vision Technologies

ANR-Lab is the largest center in Russia for developing and testing new methods of network data analysis and their application in various scientific and applied fields. "Gorizont" is a consulting agency that creates solutions for tomorrow and forms a culture of strategic thinking: it teaches how to work with the future, implements research and audits, holds team sessions, and prepares strategies for business.

The school program is designed to introduce participants to the evolution and current state of the field of trend analysis and future vision formation in Russia. Participants will learn to collect and analyze data, build models, and formulate research hypotheses in 4 areas: bibliometric analysis, trend watching, forecasting, and foresight.

Leading experts in these fields will hold lectures and practical seminars. The mastered approaches and tools can be applied both in academic and applied research, and in strategic planning, development of educational and cultural initiatives, analytics in business and government projects. Participants will gain an understanding of how forecasting and trend analysis technologies are used to identify new development directions, assess risks and build reasonable scenarios for the future.

Topic areas:

• Bibliometric analysis
  A method of analyzing publications to identify key topics, authors, and connections between them. Network analysis helps to see the structure of knowledge, and large language models help to interpret the content and find hidden meanings.
• Trendwatching
  The practice of tracking and analyzing new and emerging phenomena in society, technology, and culture. Generative models allow you to quickly dive into new topics and categories and identify trends.
• Forecasting
  Methods for constructing well-founded ideas about the future based on current data and expert assessments.
• Foresight
  A toolkit for long-term thinking aimed at identifying possible images of the future and forming scenarios and strategic guidelines. It is used to support decisions in politics, business, science, and education.

Over the course of five days, participants will not only master analysis methods, but also develop their own project using the knowledge they have gained under the guidance of experts!

The summer school will be useful for researchers, teachers, analysts, data scientists, as well as students and applicants to master's programs interested in up-to-date analysis and forecasting tools.

Summer school program:
Day 1: Summer school opening. Introduction to trends and the image of the future as a subject of systematic research.
Day 2: Bibliometric analysis: cases, methodology and practical work with software.
Day 3: Trendwatching: cases, methodology and formation of trend reports.
Day 4: Forecasting: cases, methodology of expert forecasting and forecasting based on mathematical models.
Day 5: Foresight: cases and methodology. Development and presentation of final projects.

Dates: August 19–23, 2025
Format: Offline in Russian, evening classes from 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and full day on August 23
Venue: HSE University campus on Pokrovsky Boulevard

School Teachers
Experts and practitioners who will immerse participants in 4 thematic areas and provide support in developing independent projects.

Area "Bibliometric Analysis"
Daria Maltseva, Ph.D. in Sociology, Head of the Laboratory of Applied Network Analysis, HSE Irina Pavlova, Ph.D. in Economics, Deputy Head of the Laboratory of Applied Network Analysis, HSE.  

Area "Trendwatching"
Stanislav Moiseev, Ph.D. in Sociology, partner of the consulting agency "Gorizont"
Yuri Voynilov, partner of the consulting agency "Gorizont".  

Area "Forecasting"
Nikolay Belotelov, Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics, Associate Professor, Senior Researcher, Federal Research Center for Informatics and Control, Russian Academy of Sciences.  

Area “Foresight”
Lyubov Matich, CEO of Smoothie Consulting LLC, research fellow at IMEMO RAS, Ex-executive director of Sber, Technology Block.  

Participation in the school is free, but the number of places is limited! The selection will be based on motivation letters. To apply for participation in the school, fill out the registration form. Applications will be accepted until July 27 inclusive.