Key facts
Qualification
Level 9 Graduate Certificate (35 ECTS)
Course Dates
We are now accepting registrations of interest for the Autumn ’23 intake of this programme; please register your interest via the link above
- IA40110: Creative Thinking and Innovation (10 ECTS)
Learn more - IA40260: Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovation (15 ECTS)
Learn more - IA40500: Entrepreneurial Career Plan (10 ECTS)
Learn more
How it's delivered
Each module begins with an in-person kick-off day – an opportunity to meet and connect with fellow classmates in person and take a tour of UCD Innovation Academy’s unique learning space. These take place on Saturdays as noted above (10am -2.30pm).
The rest of the module is delivered live online two mornings (Tues & Weds) per week (9.30am-1.30pm), alongside self-guided project work.
An average of 20 additional hours per week is required for self-directed learning, reflective learning, and group or individual work.
See Course Structure below for more details.
Fees and Funding
€4,000 (EU) or €4,000 (Non-EU)
This fee is 100% or 90% funded for eligible applicants through the HEA Springboard+ Initiative.
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.
See How to Apply for eligibility criteria.
What Our Students Say
“The Innovation Academy gave me the tools to unlock this idea and launch my social enterprise.” Shane Cogan
“The Innovation Academy provided me with the tools and techniques to pursue my business ideas, but also allowed me to learn about myself and what I am capable of.” Sharon Keegan
“The four and a half months at the Academy fundamentally changed my mindset in terms of my career goals and gave me confidence.” Shane Reilly
Hear more from our students by clicking here.
Deadline
Applications are now closed.
Overview
The world needs people who think differently.
More and more, organisations around the globe have to embrace new ways of working. This course will help you to develop the skills employers are looking for in these turbulent times: creative problem solving, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking.
Through the Academy’s high-energy, immersive online learning environment, you’ll learn to disrupt and innovate what you see around you, recognise emerging opportunities, and communicate your vision.
You’ll hear what it’s really like to run your own venture, and discover how to make the most of your unique skills. Our educators will challenge you, nurture you, guide and inspire you. And we’ll help you to relaunch your career by exploring the entrepreneurial mindset, so that you can embark on the next stage of your journey with a sense of purpose.
You’ll leave feeling confident and with a new way of looking at the world, with the skills to grab the opportunities on offer – or create your own.
Our funders
Who is it for?
Perfect for lifelong learners if you are keen to change direction and reinvent yourself and your career.
You might be;
- unemployed or formerly self-employed,
- a carer or returner to work, a career changer,
- an aspiring entrepreneur or intrapreneur or,
- someone keen to take a more innovative approach to the workplace.
Keen to start seeing the world differently?
See How to Apply for a summary of the application procedures and funding eligibility for this course.
These are subject to change.
Course structure
You’ll learn from the Innovation Academy’s inspiring educators and leading industry guest speakers and you’ll collaborate with your fellow innovators on practical team challenges and projects.
Course delivery and timings
This course is delivered through a combination of three in-person Saturday classes (10am – 2.30pm) and weekly live online classes held on Tuesday and Wednesday (9.30am-1.30pm). Following completion of the course, there will be an optional programme close out event on Saturday, July 1st.
In-person dates to note (10am – 2.30pm):
Saturday 18th February
Saturday 1st April
Saturday 3rd June
Saturday 1st July (Programme close out event, optional)
*There will be no live classes between April 3rd-14th, however two days are required for specified project work. Dates/times can be agreed with your team members.
An average of 20 additional hours per week is required for self-directed learning, reflective learning, and group or individual work.
The course is split into 3 core modules, totalling 35 ECTS.
- IA40110: Creative Thinking and Innovation (10 ECTS)
Learn more - IA40260: Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovation (15 ECTS)
Learn more - IA40500: Entrepreneurial Career Plan (10 ECTS)
Learn more
- 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.
Students at the Academy also have access to the latest technology to support their creativity. The IA MakerSpace provides a playground for innovation, testing, and prototyping to bring your ideas to life.
As if that wasn’t enough, we’re a part of UCD, 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. And we currently have Professor Sir Mark Welland, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge acting as our External Examiner.
Here at the Innovation Academy we have everything you need for a learning experience you’ll never forget.
By the end of the Graduate Certificate in Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, you will:
- Be inspired.
- 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 friends, 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.
This course is open for applications.
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:
- Current CV and Letter of Motivation.
- Your academic transcript or parchment to show you have a level 8 qualification. Alternatively, you can apply through Recognition of Prior Learning. See ‘Entry Requirements’ for full details.
- 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.
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.
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.
UCD Innovation Academy is delighted to partner with Accredible in the provision of digital credentials across all of our programmes. We believe lifelong learning should be encouraged and celebrated, and digital credentials will allow you to share your accomplishments on LinkedIn and other online platforms to promote among your network.
Students who successfully complete and pass this programme will receive a digital certificate of completion. The certificate is issued online once the UCD Exam Board sits and approves your grade. UCD Exam Board sits three times a year (Autumn, Spring, Summer trimester) and approval times vary depending on the Exam Board calendar. The certificate of completion is separate to the official parchment, which arrives in hard copy at a later date.
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.