The Karen Toffler Charitable Trust believes that the most important breakthroughs don’t happen in isolation. They emerge when people connect ideas, perspectives, and disciplines in ways others might not see.

This year, we are introducing something new and exciting at our annual Exeloop Scholar Event.

We are pleased to launch the Future Shock Collaboration Award honoring the legacy of Alvin Toffler and Heidi Toffler, whose work emphasized the power of connection, pattern recognition, and interdisciplinary thinking to shape the future.

The award recognizes and accelerates novel collaborations among early-career researchers and supports ideas that have the potential to grow into future research programs and funding opportunities.

KTCT will encourage Scholars to form collaborations with one or two fellow Toffler Scholars, ideally spanning institutions and disciplines. During the event, each team will present a five-minute pitch for a collaborative idea they want to pursue. At the conclusion of the Exeloop event, KTCT will award a prize to support the most promising proposal.

We are creating this award because we believe that some of the most important ideas remain unformed and often begin with a conversation, a shared curiosity, or an unexpected connection. We look forward to seeing what our Scholars create together.