Futures expert Joanna Feeley is founder and CEO of trend forecasting agency TrendBible. She advises retailers, brands, charities, investors and governments all over the world to help them understand the demand from future consumers.

With over 25 years’ experience in trend forecasting, Joanna provides advice to companies on how they should view and respond to trends, moving beyond mass-consumption toward sustainability. She regularly speaks at international events and her insights have been published in news outlets such as The Independent, Entrepreneur Magazine and BBC Radio 4.

Ana Osorio Benitez, a current Newcastle University MBA student, who attended the session said: “It was inspiring to receive candid, brilliant advice from leaders shaping the future. My key takeaway: in ambiguous times, leadership must evolve, adaptability is essential now and for what’s ahead.”

Q&A

We sat down with Joanna to discuss her experience of engaging with our Newcastle University MBA students.

How did you find delivering a session to our MBA students?

I loved it. The engagement from the students was just magic — really lovely. The quality of their questions showed that they’d taken in all the content and were putting their own spin and perspective on things. It was a nice, engaged group — very switched on.

Why do you think it’s important for you and your company to engage with the Business School and the MBA learners?

We work with lots of universities at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, but I think MBA students are quite different. They’re much more tuned in to the world of work and business, and they can take very practical insights from a session like that — especially around future trends.

They’re likely to be applying what they learn now or within the next 18 months, so I see them as a group that’s very close to the professional world. For me, it’s like speaking to 20 or 30 future businesses all at once. That’s what makes it so valuable.

It’s quite different from talking to undergraduates, where there’s usually a longer lead time before they enter the workforce, and the learning can feel more conceptual. With MBA students, it’s much more applied. You can tell from their questions — they want to know, “How would I use this? If someone asked me about this tomorrow, what would I say?”

That’s what makes engaging with them so worthwhile. They’re a very specific demographic and a really valuable audience for businesses to connect with.

What benefits do you see for your organisation in developing this relationship?

Well, aside from the fact that it’s another 20 or 30 business contacts — people who now know about us, and we know a little about them — I think it’s just a good thing to be part of.

As a local North East–based business operating in quite a niche area — we’re the only trend agency in the North of England — it’s important for us to stay connected with the Business School and the MBA students who are right on our doorstep. We’re part of the same community and ecosystem, so it feels like a very natural fit.

I also know that those students will have tens, if not hundreds, of professional connections that I don’t have, often at a senior level in the organisations they go on to work in. There’s definite value in that network.

And beyond that, I get the opportunity to test new ideas and concepts with them that haven’t really been shared widely yet. For example, today I talked about concepts from my book that I’ve only presented three times before. It’s a great audience for that — I get high-quality questions and insights in a local setting that help me understand how people are engaging with the material.

Interested in engaging with our MBA students?

Whether through guest talks, organisation visits or hosting student projects, there are lots of opportunities to get involved.

To learn more, please email us at external.engagement@newcastle.ac.uk