Key facts
Qualification
5 ECTS per module
*NB Registration for Trimester 1 taught modules opens on Friday, 29th August 2025 and closes on Friday, 19th September 2025.
Delivery & Assessment
Delivery
In-person at UCD Innovation Academy or live online.
Assessment
All our elective modules are assessed as pass or fail, they are GPA Neutral. This means that you can enjoy participating in class and take risks, without the pressure of an end of trimester exam or essay. As the elective modules involve continuous assessment, students must attend all class sessions.
Duration
Block Week: 5 days intensive week per module
or
Weekly: 3 hour classes for up to seven weeks
Module Dates
Autumn Trimester 2025:
- IA 50006 Creative Thinking & Innovation (Online) Block Week, Dec: 1 – 5
- IA50000 Communicating for Impact. (In Person) Block Week, Dec: 1 – 5
Spring Trimester 2026
- IA 50005 Design Your Life (Online) Block Week: January: 26 – 30
- IA50004 Creative Thinking & Innovation (In Person) Block Week, Feb: 9 – 13
- IA50003 Design Thinking (In Person) Block Week, Feb: 23 – 27
- IA50007 Design Your Life (In Person) Block Week: April: 13 – 17
Summer Trimester 2026
- IA50004 Creative Thinking & Innovation (In Person) Block Week, May: 25 – 29
- IA50000 Communicating for Impact. (In Person) Block Week, May: 25 – 29
- IA50002 Entrepreneurship Application and Mindset (In Person) June: 15 – 19
- IA50007 Design Your Life (In Person) Block Week: 29 June – 3 July
The Student Experience
Information Events
Online Information Session – Coming Soon
Register your interest above to keep up to date with UCD Innovation Academy Postgraduate events, workshops and more!
See ‘How to Register‘ further below for detailed instructions and registration dates.
Overview
The Innovation Academy offers UCD PhD students an opportunity to broaden your skills in a dynamic, multidisciplinary learning environment.
A course from the Innovation Academy will allow you to step away from your discipline and experience learning from a completely different perspective.
We offer a range of Level 5 modules designed to enhance your creative confidence and help you to think entrepreneurially. You will have an opportunity to work with your peers on real-world innovation problems facing industry & society.
Our educators will help you to look at some of the world’s toughest challenges from different perspectives. And you’ll gain valuable experience engaging with others and sharing your ideas, building confidence you can carry with you into interviews and presentations.
Who is it for?
These modules are open to all eligible UCD PhD students who can take an elective module as part of their course. For full registration details please visit taught modules for research students.
You’ll join fellow students from across all disciplines at UCD, to collaborate on real-world problems. With these modules you will leave UCD a more rounded graduate, armed with the skills you’ll need in the world of work.
So what are you waiting for?
Course structure
These courses are delivered in person or online, typically in block weeks over five days, 9:30am – 4:30pm.
During this fully immersive learning experience, you’ll focus on learning by doing, through a combination of live workshops, as well as activities, tasks, and individual or team project work.
- Why choose us?
- Learning outcomes & modules
- 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.
When you choose a module with the Academy, you’re opening your mind to new ways of thinking. You’ll collaborate with students from right across the university, giving you the chance to explore different ways of looking at the world.
Taking a module with the Innovation Academy will differentiate you from other PhD graduates and give you the skills to hit the ground running in the world of work. 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 is the place where our innovators go to bring their ideas to life.
Here at the Innovation Academy we have everything you need for a learning experience you’ll never forget.
Each of these courses is designed to arm participants with a more innovative mindset. You’ll join a growing community of students around the world who are discovering their true potential.
Each of our courses explores a different dimension, so combine two or more to give yourself a more rounded learning experience.
Please note that some PhD students will see these modules on SISweb, other students will need to talk to their supervisor/Programme Office to be enrolled on the modules.
Details on how to register usually come out in August. For full registration details please visit taught modules for research students.
After this point, if students wish to register they can Secure their place by emailing innovation.academy@ucd.ie with permission from your school/supervisor.
Note: Enrolment on an Innovation Academy module means a commitment to active participation and engagement, which necessitates attendance at all scheduled classes. Please note that auditing Innovation Academy modules is not possible.
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. You’ll be continually assessed throughout the course, as well as delivering team presentations and reflecting on what you have learned.
There are no exams. All of these courses are assessed as pass or fail, and they are GPA Neutral. This means that you can enjoy participating in class and take risks, without the pressure of an exam at the end.
Full participation and engagement throughout the programme is essential.
All modules 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.
These modules add a further dimension to your learning, helping you to gain skills like teamwork, communication and creative problem solving that are transferable to the workplace. These skills can set you apart from other candidates as you enter the world of work.
The innovative, collaborative approach fostered on these modules will help you to become a more rounded graduate and help you to address problems differently.
