Key facts
Qualification
Level 9 Professional Diploma (20 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.
Module 1 – Creative Thinking
Live Online Classes take place from 9.30am to 1.30pm each day
Afternoons 2:30pm – 4.30pm will be a mixture of self-directed learning, reflective learning and group or individual work.
Module 2 – Leadership Development
Live Online Classes take place from 9.30am to 1.30pm each day
Afternoons 2:30pm – 4.30pm will be a mixture of self-directed learning, reflective learning and group or individual work.
Module 3 – Professional Practice (Action Learning Project – Innovation in the Workplace)
There are no classes during this module.
This module is a combination of:
1. External project work and
2. Three mentoring sessions over the course of the module.
3. Presentations – The final action learning project presentations will take place over two days.
The first two modules of this course are delivered in five-day blocks. Classes run from 9.30am to 4.30pm each day and as the programme involves continuous assessment, participants must attend all class sessions. Mornings will be live online sessions and the afternoons will be a mixture of self-directed learning, reflective learning and group or individual work.
Module 3 runs over three months and there are no classes during this module. It is a combination of external project work along with three mentoring sessions with one of your facilitators, culminating in the Action Learning Project presentations.
How it's delivered
Combination of live online classes (Modules 1 & 2) including dynamic, online collaborative tools and platforms and self-guided project work (Module 3).
Modules 1 and 2 are delivered completely in 5 days blocks, about 4 weeks apart, 9.30-4.30 each day.
Module 3 runs over 3 months. It combines external project work and three mentoring sessions with one of your facilitators culminating in the Action Learning Project presentations. Students undertake a project related to their own context and agreed with your facilitator. There are no classes during this module.
See Course Structure below for more details.
Fees and Funding
€2,600 (EU) or €2,600 (Non-EU)
100% or 90% funded for eligible applicants through the HEA Springboard+ Initiative. See https://springboardcourses.ie/eligibility for eligibility criteria.
FREE for eligible jobseekers: those who have received eligible DEASP Payments.
FREE for returners to work and carers.
90% subsidised (student pays €260) eligible individuals in employment or self-employment, and formerly self-employed.
What Our Students Say
“The programme provided me with the mindset shift I needed at just the right moment in my career.” Vinny Lannigan
“It’s reignited a spark, a passion for being innovative.” Nikki O’Hanlon
“(Since the course) our projects are running smoother. Our solutions are better.” Colin Guilfoyle
“It has certainly given me an increased confidence in trying new things.” Fiona O’Brien
Hear more from our students by clicking here.
Deadline
Deadline for applications has now closed.
Overview
This exceptional learning experience will open your mind to a more creative and innovative way of thinking. By the end, you’ll be ready to take the lead for intrapreneurship within your organisation, in your current role or the next.
The most successful leaders are those who adapt and respond well to change. With advancing technology and shifting challenges such as Covid-19 and Brexit, organisations are looking for talented people to drive creative innovation.
This course will help you master the mindset, skills, and tools to cultivate an innovative environment within your organisation. You’ll develop the skills to influence others and harness the energy of a team to solve challenges together. And you’ll apply these skills to a real innovation project – for your organisation or a community project of your own – for an outstanding upgrade to your CV.
Wherever you are in your career, this diploma course will reignite your spark and give you the confidence to present your ideas and lead from the front.
Our funders
Who is it for?
This course is perfect for anyone looking for their next step in their career. You’ll learn the skills and confidence to become an innovation champion and take your career to the next level.
You might be:
- Unemployed or formerly self-employed
- A carer or returner to work
- A career changer
- Working in a large corporate or an SME
- Making the leap into leadership
You’ll need a minimum honours degree (Level 8) qualification.
OR applicants with 5+ years of relevant employment history can apply under UCD’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy.
Springboard+ eligibility requirements.
English language requirements.
Keen to start seeing the world differently?
Course structure
Course delivery and timings
This fully immersive learning experience is delivered remotely through a combination of live online sessions, self-directed and reflective learning, project work and mentoring sessions.
You’ll learn from Innovation Academy’s inspiring educators and leading industry guest speakers from the comfort of your home or office. Nevertheless, this is a very social course, and you’ll collaborate with your fellow innovators on practical team challenges and projects.
The course is split into 3 core modules, totalling 20 ECTS –
IA40310: Creative Thinking and Innovation (5 ECTS)
Learn more
IA40340: Leadership for Innovation and Creativity (5 ECTS)
Learn more
IA40210: Professional Practice (10 ECTS)
Learn more
The first two modules are delivered completely in five-day blocks, delivered about a month apart.
Classes run from 9.30 – 16.30 each day. Mornings are live online sessions. Afternoons are a mixture of self-directed learning, reflective learning, and group or individual work.
Module 3 runs over 3 months. It combines external project work and three mentoring sessions with one of your facilitators culminating in the Action Learning Project presentations. Students undertake a project related to their own context and agreed with your facilitator. There are no classes during this module.
The course culminates in Action Learning Project presentations at the end of Module 3.
As the programme involves continuous assessment, students must attend all class sessions.
- 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 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. 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 Professional Diploma in Creativity, Innovation and Leadership, you will:
- Be inspired
- Gain an innovator’s mindset.
- Build creative confidence via practical challenges.
- Build your CV with a substantial innovation project module.
- Develop your leadership skills to engage others.
- Build a peer network of friends, contacts and collaborators.
- Leave ready to apply your new skills to progress your career.
- Have a Level 9 qualification from UCD.
This course is open for applications on the Springboard+ website.
The full document requirements are on Springboard+. Please read them carefully.
Supporting documents
You will need to upload some supporting documents in the first step 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.
Funding
FREE for eligible jobseekers: those who have received eligible DEASP Payments.
FREE for returners to work and carers.
90% subsidised (student pays €260) for eligible individuals in employment or self-employment, and the formerly self-employed.
As the course involves continuous assessment, students must attend all class sessions.
The rest of the course is assessed through a combination of individual and team assignments, project reports and presentations.
IA40110:
- 30% Participation on online and offline challenges and exercises
- 40% Active participation and engagement
- 30% End of module reflection report
IA40260:
- 20% Presentation pitching your action learning project
- 40% Active participation and engagement
- 40% End of module reflection report
IA40500:
- 70% Project report and presentation
- 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.
In an IBM study of 1,500 CEOs, creativity came out as the most important leadership quality.
This course will teach you the skills you need to become your organisation’s champion for creativity and innovation.
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.
You’ll explore how innovation can solve some of the most challenging issues facing Irish businesses – Covid-19, automation, disruption – and equip you to face whatever’s next.
Employers are looking for people who can think their way around these problems. If you’re looking for your next job, having this Diploma on your CV will be sure to make you stand out from the crowd.
If you’re already in work, you’ll be primed to take on new responsibilities and step into more senior roles. Expect your employer to get you working more closely with senior management, running business-critical projects, and to put you top of the list for promotion.
