Overview
UCD Innovation Academy’s suite of Educator Professional Certificates are designed for educators, learning professionals, and changemakers who want to transform how they teach, lead, and innovate in education.
Professional Certificate in Creative & Innovative Problem Solving for Educators NFQ Level 9 | 5 ECTS | 8 Weeks | Online | Part-time
Educators at every level face increasing pressure to adapt and respond to complex, shifting challenges, yet few are formally equipped with the creative problem-solving tools, collaborative practices, and design-led approaches to meet these demands with confidence. This Professional Certificate offers educators an accessible, practice-based route into creative and design thinking that fits around the realities of professional life.
Delivered fully online over 8 weeks, the programme combines facilitated workshops, collaborative ideation exercises, design thinking sprints, and applied project work. Psychological safety and creative confidence-building are central to the learning environment, alongside structured peer learning and reflection. Assessment is project-based, centred on applied creative outputs and reflective commentary.
Graduates leave with demonstrated competencies in creative thinking, design thinking, collaborative facilitation, and reflective practice, as well as the confidence and practical toolkit to bring creative problem-solving approaches into their own professional contexts from day one.
Professional Certificate in Entrepreneurial Mindset and Application for Educators NFQ Level 9 | 5 ECTS | 8 Weeks | Online | Part-time
This Professional Certificate offers a focused, practice-oriented introduction to entrepreneurial mindset in education. Grounded in over 15 years of UCD Innovation Academy experience, the programme equips educators to understand and apply entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial thinking within their own professional contexts, designing engaging, real-world learning experiences while driving positive change from within their institutions and organisations.
Delivered fully online over 8 weeks, the programme combines facilitated workshops, collaborative ideation exercises, and challenge-based project work. Psychological safety and mindset development are central to the learning environment, supported by structured peer learning and reflection. Assessment is project-based, centred on applied outputs and reflective commentary that evidences the development of entrepreneurial mindset in a professional educational context.
Graduates leave with the frameworks, tools, and confidence to recognise opportunities, reframe problems, iterate solutions, and lead innovation within their own educational settings.
Professional Certificate in Applied Action Learning for Educators NFQ Level 9 | 10 ECTS | 16 Weeks | Online | Part-time
This practice-based Professional Certificate offers educators a flexible, project-based route to develop and apply creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial thinking within their own organisations and communities.
Delivered fully online over 16 weeks, the programme combines independent project work, facilitated peer sessions, and action learning groups to support participants in moving from learning to leading. The programme is structured around a real, self-defined professional challenge: participants design, test, and iterate innovative solutions within their own environment, developing the applied capability that classroom-based instruction alone cannot build.
Assessment is project-based, centred on an applied professional project and reflective commentary that evidences growth in creative leadership and entrepreneurial practice. Action learning groups provide a sustained space for peer inquiry, challenge, and support as participants navigate their projects over the full programme duration.
Graduates leave with demonstrated competencies in creative and entrepreneurial problem-solving, evidence-based professional judgement, collaborative leadership, and independent inquiry-driven learning, all identified as priority capabilities for educators and L&D professionals operating in conditions of ongoing change.
Key facts
Qualification
UCD Innovation Academy offer three Professional Certificate programmes in our Educators suite of programmes. Learners can take one, two or all three programmes.
Learners who take all three programmes are eligible for a Professional Diploma qualification.
For learners who wish to combine all three Professional Certificates to lead to a Professional Diploma qualification, we recommend you take each certificate in the order below.
- Professional Certificate in Creative and Innovative Problem Solving for Educators: 5 ECTS
- Professional Certificate in Entrepreneurial Mindset and Application for Educators: 5 ECTS
- Professional Certificate in Applied Action Learning for Educators: 10 ECTS
Duration and Delivery
- Professional Certificate in Creative and Innovative Problem Solving for Educators: 6 weeks, Online, Part-time
- Professional Certificate in Entrepreneurial Mindset and Application for Educators: 6 weeks, Online, Part-time
- Professional Certificate in Applied Action Learning for Educators: 16 weeks, Online, Part-time
Participants are expected to engage in directed self-led learning throughout the duration of the course.
Professional Diploma
Participants may enrol in individual Professional Certificate programmes or choose to take all three Professional Certificate programmes and build towards a Professional Diploma qualification.
Fees and Funding
- Professional Certificate in Creative and Innovative Problem Solving for Educators: €900 (EU and Non-EU)
- Professional Certificate in Entrepreneurial Mindset and Application for Educators: €900 (EU and Non-EU)
- Professional Certificate in Applied Action Learning for Educators: €1500 (EU and Non-EU)
Deadlines to Apply
TBC.
Information Events & FAQs
You may contact us at innovation.academy@ucd.ie
Graduate outcomes
Our learners come from diverse professional backgrounds, but many share a common goal: to grow and create greater impact in their careers. Graduates of our certificates and diplomas have gone on to secure promotions, transition into new industries, launch ventures, and take on innovation and leadership roles across education, business, technology, sustainability, and beyond.
Who is it for?
These Professional Certificates are designed for professionals who want to lead innovation, foster creativity, and create meaningful impact through learning and education.
Whether you work in formal education, workplace learning, or community-based learning environments, these programmes are built to help you think differently, lead confidently, and apply practical innovation skills in real-world contexts.
These courses are ideal for:
- Educators and teachers across primary, secondary, and higher education
- Learning & Development (L&D) professionals
- Instructional designers and curriculum developers
- Academic leaders and education managers
- Trainers, facilitators, and coaches
- Professionals leading organisational learning initiatives
- People working in informal or community-based education settings.
Course structure
Programmes take place online with self directed learning outside of class time.
Full participation is required.
We’ll post the full timetables once the schedule for each course has been confirmed.
- Why choose us?
- Learning outcomes
- How to apply
- Assessment
- Who leads this course?
- Career opportunities
UCD Innovation Academy sits at the cutting-edge of education in Ireland, and the world.
We’ve been challenging students to see the world differently since 2010, when we became one of the first universities to offer experiential learning experiences.
Our team has been innovating ever since, shaping and refining our courses with input from some of the world’s best. Thousands of students have passed through the Academy, and each one has played their part in making our courses better and better. We have countless examples of our alumni accelerating their careers and changing the world from within organisations or as entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs.
UCD Innovation Academy sits at the cutting-edge of education in Ireland, and the world.
We’ve been challenging students to see the world differently since 2010, when we became one of the first universities to offer experiential learning experiences.
Our team has been innovating ever since, shaping and refining our courses with input from some of the world’s best. Thousands of students have passed through the Academy, and each one has played their part in making our courses better and better. We have countless examples of our alumni accelerating their careers and changing the world from within organisations or as entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs.
UCD is ranked among the top 1% of higher education institutions in the world. We’re Ireland’s global university and ranked Ireland’s best for graduate employability.
Here at the Innovation Academy we have everything you need for a learning experience you’ll never forget.
Through these educator-focused programmes, participants will develop the practical skills, creative confidence, and entrepreneurial mindset needed to lead innovation in teaching, learning, and professional practice.
Grounded in applied learning and collaboration, the programmes are designed to help educators create more engaging, inclusive, and future-focused learning environments.
Participants will learn how to:
- Apply Design Thinking and creative problem-solving approaches within educational settings
- Develop entrepreneurial and innovation mindsets to support learning transformation
- Design and facilitate collaborative, learner-centred experiences
- Foster psychologically safe environments that encourage creativity and participation
- Lead innovation projects and implement change within professional or educational contexts
- Use reflective practice to strengthen leadership and professional development
- Navigate uncertainty, resistance, and complexity with greater confidence
- Develop and test new ideas through iterative and practice-based methodologies
- Strengthen facilitation, communication, and peer-learning skills
- Build capacity to drive meaningful impact across formal, informal, and workplace learning environments
- Translate innovation methodologies into practical strategies for teaching, learning, and leadership
How To Apply
We are currently accepting registrations of interest for the programmes listed above.
You can apply to just one or all three of the microcredentials.
Requirements
Applicants must have a level 8 qualification and provide a relevant transcript when applying.
Applicants who do not have a level 8 qualification can apply through Recognition of Prior Learning.
Under UCD’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy, consideration will be given on a case by case basis to applicants who do not hold a Level 8 primary degree (Honours Bachelor’s Degree) but who fulfil either of the following criteria:
Holding a Level 7 primary degree (Pass/Ordinary Bachelor’s Degree): upload your academic transcript of your Level 7 and demonstrate min. 2 years work experience on your CV. Professional references may be required.
No Level 7/8 degree: min. 5 years work experience and 2 recently dated professional/employment references required. These should be on headed paper or from an official email address and including the referees name, role and email address.
Please review your CV to ensure that it clearly demonstrates the following:
a. Any experience of leadership and self-direction;
b. Any experience of management or entrepreneurship;
c. A description of any responsibilities that demonstrate accountability, resource management, or client engagement (if applicable).
E) If English is not your first language, an English language qualification is required. Click HERE for full English Language Requirements for UCD.
UCD Innovation Academy’s programmes operate a Pass/Fail grading system rather than a traditional grading system.
We do this for a number of reasons:
Focus on mastery rather than competition: Pass/fail systems encourage students to master the content rather than compete with peers for ranking positions or worry about minor grade differences.
Promotes exploration and risk-taking: Students often feel more comfortable taking trying new approaches, an essential component of innovation, when they are not worried about specific grades.
Reduced stress and anxiety: When students don’t have to worry about achieving specific grade thresholds, they can focus more on learning the material thoroughly rather than strategizing to maximize points or grades.
The programme operates a robust continuous assessment process.
Full participation and engagement throughout the programme is essential.
All courses at the Innovation Academy are developed and facilitated by our exceptional team of educators.
The team boasts a wealth of experience from a wide variety of backgrounds. They are international entrepreneurs, academics, robotics experts, storytellers, conservationists, campaigners, and creatives.
What they all have in common is their love of the innovative, learning-by-doing approach to learning and their devotion to delivering a world-class student experience.
These Professional Certificates are designed to help educators and learning professionals grow as creative leaders, innovators, and changemakers within their organisations and communities. Participants develop practical, future-focused skills that can support career progression into leadership, curriculum design, innovation, facilitation, and organisational learning roles.
Many learners use these programmes to strengthen their professional practice, lead new initiatives, introduce more innovative approaches to teaching and learning, or transition into roles focused on strategy, creativity, and transformation.
The applied and collaborative nature of the courses also helps participants build confidence, expand professional networks, and develop a stronger capacity to navigate change in rapidly evolving educational and workplace environments.
Watch the testimonials of our Lifelong Learners here:
