Sara Talebian is a Research Associate at SEI Headquarters. She is an expert on futures studies, with an emphasis on exploratory scenarios, horizon scanning, and decision making under uncertainty.
Sara works on developing foresight methodologies for application across a range of SEI projects. Her current research focuses on participatory scenario planning and co-production processes for designing climate change adaptation. Her recent work has addressed the application of multi-scale socioeconomic scenarios in assessing future cross-border climate impacts and transnational adaptation planning.
Prior to joining SEI, Sara was part of an Iranian research institute, called “Ayandeban”. In her role as a research fellow at Ayandeban, she designed and executed several foresight projects, assisting national organizations and corporate clients to explore and prepare for future developments through future thinking, action learning and strategic planning. Sara worked with Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC) on research projects investigating the socioeconomic aspects of upscaling clean energy production. She also has over 7 years of experience working as a journalist, and a political reporter in Iranian press and news agencies.
Sara holds a MSc in Media and Global Communication from the University of Helsinki and a degree in Futures Studies from Turku School of Economics, Finland. Sara also received a BSc in Media Studies and Communication Technologies and a MA in Mass Communications from Allameh-Tabataba’i University, Iran.