Dr. Iris Pinto is a Futures Researcher focusing on Education and Employment. She sees Futures Studies as an essential tool for keeping education and the world of work relevant in a fast‑changing, complex, and disruptive reality. Her vision is to make Future Studies skills a standard practice in any environment, organization, or community that aims to shape a “Preferred Future.”

Since 2023, Iris has served as the Head of the Research Unit at the Institute for Futures Studies in Education, within the R&D, Innovation and Technology Division at the Ministry of Education. In this role, she leads the development of knowledge and strategic insights that support decision‑making and system‑level preparation for the future. She joined the team in 2016, helping establish the unit and implement methods for trend scanning, identifying challenges and opportunities, and designing multiple Future Scenarios for Education in Israel.

In the past, Iris supported public, business, and security organizations in Futures Studies processes — from analyzing global trends (STEEP), to creating future scenarios, to developing tools for decision‑making under uncertainty (VUCA). This included workshops and courses to promote 21st‑century skills. She taught and facilitated programs in the IDF, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Economy, Universities, and Innovation Centers in China.

Iris’s professional background combines significant technological and managerial experience in the High‑Tech industry. Until 2009, she worked at Intel in a variety of management positions — including leading technological teams in manufacturing, HR development, Internal Communication, and large‑scale recruiting and training processes. Before that, she managed a staffing company and specialized in leading organizational change processes.

Iris holds a PhD from Bar‑Ilan University, where she developed "A Cognitive Model for Dealing with Information Overload to Improve Complex Problem‑Solving. She also holds an MBA in Business Administration with a specialization in Technology and Information Systems Management from Tel Aviv University, and a BA in International Relations from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In addition, she studied Jewelry Design at Bezalel — a combination that reflects her belief that futures thinking is grounded in precision, creativity, and action.