UCD Graduate Certificate in Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

By the end of the Graduate Certificate in Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, you will:

• Acquire a toolkit that helps you to validate and execute new ideas using key frameworks and methodologies.
• Cultivate a personal brand identity and build your creative confidence. 
• Develop and understand the entrepreneurial mindset that enables you to realise your career aspirations.
• Use prototyping and pitching skills to solve real-world problems.
• Apply learning to be able to develop business models for new ventures.

• Build a peer network of contacts and collaborators who have the skills to lead change in organisations and start new ones.
• Develop a skill set that entrepreneurs need and employers value including creative thinking, collaborative problem solving, communication & presentation skills, team working & networking skills.
• Collaborate effectively and gain exposure to new perspectives and alternative skill sets.
• Gain knowledge through informative online fireside chats with external speakers.
• Leave with a clear action plan to reimagine and relaunch your career.
• Gain a joint Level 9 qualification awarded by University College Dublin.

How To Apply

This programme is funded through the Higher Education Authority Springboard+ Initiative, with 90 – 100% funding available to eligible applicants, for full-time residents in the Republic of Ireland.

See the Springboard eligibility criteria here.

• FREE for eligible jobseekers receiving DEASP Payments
• FREE for returners to work and carers
• 90% subsidised (student pays €260) eligible individuals in employment or self-employment, and the formerly self-employed

If you are an international student or ineligible for Springboard funding, please contact a member of our recruitment team at innovation.academy@ucd.ie for assistance with direct application to the course. There is no alternative funding available for applicants who are ineligible for Springboard funding and are applying directly for this programme.

Please follow the steps below to apply for a Springboard funded place.

Step 1)

Please apply to only one of our available programme intakes below. 

• Apply for the in person September intake on Springboard for 90 – 100% funding
• Apply for the online October  intake on Springboard for 90 – 100% funding

Step 2)

Upload the required documents listed below:

A) Current CV

B) Letter of Motivation (one page), addressing the following:

• Why you want to do the course at this time
• What you hope to achieve from doing this course
• What you can contribute to this course

C) A copy of your academic transcript to show that you have a minimum of an Undergraduate Honours Bachelor’s Degree (NFQ Level 8, 3-4 years of study). If you previously studied at UCD, please provide your UCD student   number on a Word document/PDF. Please note a degree certificate/parchment unaccompanied by a transcript will not suffice. You need to upload your academic transcript or diploma supplement.

D) 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.

Step 3)

If you are successful, you will be offered a provisional offer.

Following provisional offers, UCD Innovation Academy will request evidence of eligibility in respect of holding a valid PPSN; Nationality; Current Residency; 3 of 5 Years EU/EEA residency; and current Employment Status between six weeks and two weeks from the stated course start date.

It is only at this point that eligibility for funding through the HEA Springboard initiative can be ascertained.

Visit our FAQs here.

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.

IA40110: Creative Thinking and Innovation (10 ECTS)

• 20% Innovation sprint team report and poster
• 20% Innovation sprint team pitch
• 20% End of module reflection report

IA40260: Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovation

• 20% Project report
• 20% Project presentation 
• 20% End of module reflection report

IA40500: Entrepreneurial Career Plan (10 ECTS)

• 30% Presentation of demonstrated actions and plan
• 30% End of module reflection report

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, doctors (both medical and academic), 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. 

Read more about the people behind this course.

• Dr Lollie (Lorraine) Mancey Course Director and Entrepreneurial Specialist
• Rachel Murphy Facilitation Specialist

People with soft skills in creative problem solving, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking are in high demand right now. 

Whether you see yourself as an entrepreneur at the head of a new venture, or bringing more creative ways of working to an existing employer, you’ll develop serious skills in a creative way. 

You’ll leave the course feeling inspired and perfectly positioned to grab emerging opportunities, or create your own.

We’ve developed this course in collaboration with employers, to address emerging trends in industry and support job creation and expansion. 

Graduates of this course have gone on to establish exciting new business ventures like Fiid and Peachy Lean. Others have launched award-winning social enterprises like Buddy Bench, Streetsmart Ireland, and The Upcycle Movement. 

As one of our exclusive club of graduates you’ll have the qualities employers are looking for. Our graduates have applied what they’ve learned to change careers, working with organisations from Accenture to The Department of An Taoiseach, and even here at the Innovation Academy.