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.

*Deadline for applications: 12pm, Monday 12th February 2024.

This course is open for applications through the HEA Springboard+ website and you can begin your application here. If you require more information, please register your interest and we will be in contact with you shortly.

Applications will be reviewed and places offered on a rolling basis until the course is full.

Below is a summary of the application procedures and funding eligibility for this course. These are subject to change. 

The full document requirements are on Springboard+. Please read them carefully. 

Initial supporting documents

You will need to upload some supporting documents as part of your application:

1. Current CV and Letter of Motivation. 
2. A copy of your academic transcript to show that you have a level 8 qualification. (If you are a graduate of UCD, please include a Word document or PDF with your name and UCD student number). Alternatively, you can apply through Recognition of Prior Learning. Please note that a parchment will not meet the requirements
3. If English is not your first language an English language qualification is required. Click HERE for full English Language Requirements for UCD.

Concluding steps

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. 

ONLINE INFORMATION SESSION

Our next information session for this programme will take take place on Tuesday, 23rd January from 12 – 12:30pm.

Register your attendance here.

Funding

FREE for eligible jobseekers: those who are currently receiving eligible DEASP Payments. 

FREE for returners to work and carers. 

90% subsidised (student pays €400) eligible individuals in employment or self-employment, and the formerly self-employed. 

For full or part-funded places, we will need to see proof of your relevant employment status as outlined in Springboard+ Eligibility Guidelines.

In order to pass the course, you must participate and engage actively throughout. Attendance counts for 40% of the total mark, with a minimum of 80% attendance required for a Pass. 

The rest of the course is assessed through a combination of individual and team assignments, project reports and presentations.

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.