Key facts
Qualification
Level 9 Professional Diploma (20 ECTS)
Applications are now closed. Register your interest above to be notified when the course re-opens for applications this summer.
ONLINE INFORMATION SESSION
Missed our recent online information session? You can learn more about UCD’s Professional Diploma in Innovation for Sustainability and hear from Thomas Macagno, Programme Director and Entrepreneurial Innovation Lead – Sustainability and UCD Innovation Academy’s Recruitment team via the recording below.
WATCH HERE (Passcode: 1sQ8$kEe)
Course dates
Module 1 Creative Thinking & Innovation
Monday, 29th January 2024 – Friday, 2nd February 2024.
Live online classes from 9.30am to 1.30pm each day with self directed learning in the afternoon.
Module 2 Sustainability: Environmental Drivers Of Innovation
Every Thurs: 8th Feb – 2nd of March 2024. Live online classes.
8th Feb, 15th Feb, 22nd Feb, and 29th Feb 2024 – all Thursday evenings. And Saturday 2nd of March 2024.
Thursday evenings from 6 – 9pm with a final class on a Saturday from 9.30am -1.30pm.
Module 3 Sustainability: Human Drivers in Innovation
April 11th, April 15th, April 18th, April 25th and April 27th.
Live online all evenings from 6 – 9pm with a final class on Saturday from 9.30 -1.30pm.
Module 4 Innovation for Sustainability Solutions
Thursdays, 30th May, 20th June, 11th of July, 1st August, and 29th August.
Live online classes from 9.30 – 1.30pm plus external project work culminating in Action Learning Project presentations on Thursday 29th August 2024.
Note on Action Learning Projects: Students undertake a project related to their own context and agreed with their facilitator. Projects can be individual or group projects.
As the programme involves continuous assessment, students must attend all class sessions.
How it's delivered
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.
Fees and Funding
€2,600 (EU) or €2,600 (Non-EU)
100% or 90% funded for eligible applicants through the HEA Springboard+ Initiative.
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 the formerly self-employed.
See https://springboardcourses.ie/eligibility for eligibility criteria.
What Industry Says
“We need to educate and arm our frontline people. Our marketing team now lead on sustainable packaging, our trading team on supply chain impact, energy usage is a key metric for our store development team.” – John Curran, Head of Sustainability, Musgraves
“Innovation and Sustainability go hand in hand.” – Cormac Madden, Environment and Sustainability Manager, ESB
Deadline
This course is now closed for applications. Register your interest to be notified when the course re-opens for applications this summer.
Places are offered on a rolling basis. We encourage you to apply early to secure a place on the programme.
Overview
This course is ideal for mid to senior managers across all sectors, wanting, or already with responsibility for sustainability within their team, department, organisation but without a background in innovation or sustainability.
The opportunity to work on real world projects gives a chance to up-skill and incorporates relevant workplace projects. This course gives students the knowledge, skills and mindset to translate sustainability challenges into opportunities using innovation. It runs live online over eight months and students will gain a range of career skills including:
Key Highlights:
- An introduction to key sustainability concepts, terms, models and policy within an Irish context;
- Applied sustainability skills (Carbon Footprinting, Climate Adaptation Planning, Sustainability Reporting);
- Innovation and Design Thinking;
- Transversal skills: Creativity, teamwork, communications, learning agility;
- A capstone two and a half month Innovation for Sustainability project in the workplace/community.
A key focus of this programme is to enable students to help organisations (enterprise and non-profit) integrate sustainability into their strategy, operations and governance, ensuring that sustainability will be grounded as a source of innovation for organisations driving social and economic change.
For example, the module Sustainability: Human Drivers of Innovation looks at the societal drivers for sustainability. Students will learn about the changes in policy, EU regulation and societal values that are requiring organisations to respond to calls to act on climate change, gender equality, diversity, poverty, and other issues. Through the programme students will learn to apply design thinking methodology to sustainability, to achieve innovation in products, processes and behaviour-changes.
Students will gain a holistic view of sustainability which includes the three pillars People, Planet, and Prosperity – to innovate in organisations and enable sustainable development
Our funders
Who is it for?
This course is ideal for mid to senior managers across all sectors, wanting, or already with responsibility for sustainability within their team/department/organisation but without a background in innovation or sustainability.
You might be:
- Working in a large corporate or an SME
- Making the leap into leadership
- Unemployed or formerly self-employed
- A carer or returner to work
- A career changer
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
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 4 modules, totalling 20 ECTS –
Learners develop their innovation skills and creative mindset. They learn and apply the five stages of Design Thinking (empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping and testing) to create innovative services and products for a real-world organisation.
Monday, 29th January 2024 – Friday, 2nd February 2024.
Live online classes from 9.30am to 1.30pm each day with self directed learning in the afternoon.
Module 2 – Sustainability: Environmental Drivers Of Innovation
Learners gain a broad overview of sustainability (terms, climate models, frameworks, SDGs) and explore how major environmental and social issues are shaping products and services and changing how organisations operate to create value.
Every Thurs: 8th Feb – 2nd of March 2024. Live online classes.
8th Feb, 15th Feb, 22nd Feb, and 29th Feb 2024 – all Thursday evenings. And Saturday 2nd of March 2024.
Thursday evenings from 6 – 9pm with a final class on a Saturday from 9.30am -1.30pm.
Module 3 – Sustainability: Human Drivers in Innovation
Learners explore how the demands of key stakeholders (communities, customers, employees, investors, government) drive innovation for sustainability and gain skills to translate insights to outcomes (inc the principles of sustainability reporting).
Thursdays, April, 11th, Monday, April 15th, Thursday, April 18th, Thursday, April 25th and Saturday, April 27th.
Live online all evenings from 6 – 9pm with a final class on a Saturday from 9.30 -1.30pm.
Module 4 – Innovation for Sustainability Solutions
Learners develop job-ready skills in sustainability and innovation and benefit their organisation or community by tackling real-world sustainability problems identified by their employer or host company and mentored ‘on the job’ learning.
Thursdays, 30th May, 20th June, 11th of July, 1st August and 29th August.
Live online classes from 9.30am – 1.30pm plus external project work culminating in Action Learning Project presentations on Thursday 29th August 2024.
The first module is delivered completely in a five-day block from 9.30 to 1.30pm with self directed learning in the afternoon.
Modules two and three are run weekly in the evenings with a final class on a Saturday.
Module 4 runs over 4 months. It combines external project work culminating in the Action Learning Project presentations. Students undertake a project related to their own context and agreed with your facilitator.
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.
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 Professional Diploma in Innovation for Sustainability, you will:
- Know key sustainability concepts, terms, models and policy within an Irish context;
- Know applied green skills including Carbon Footprinting, Climate Adaptation Planning, Sustainability Reporting;
- Put Innovation and Design Thinking into practice;
- Develop transversal skills including creativity, teamwork, communications, learning agility;
- Gain an innovator’s mindset;
- Build creative confidence via practical challenges;
- Build your CV with a substantial innovation project module;
- 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.
*APPLICATION DEADLINE* 12pm, Friday, 19th January 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.
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.
- 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
- 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 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.
ONLINE INFORMATION SESSION
Missed our recent online information session? You can learn more about UCD’s Professional Diploma in Innovation for Sustainability and hear from Thomas Macagno, Programme Director and Entrepreneurial Innovation Lead – Sustainability and UCD Innovation Academy’s Recruitment team via the recording below.
WATCH HERE (Passcode: 1sQ8$kEe)
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.
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.
Demand for green skills is already outstripping supply.
This course will teach you the skills you need to become your organisation’s champion in innovation for sustainability.
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.
Real world relevance, including relevance for your career, is an integral part of this programme, supported through applied real world learning including enterprise challenges from real organisations, ongoing engagement with the world of work through external enterprise speakers, a teaching team who all bring substantial enterprise experience and a programme director with over 20 years experience in sustainability across education and enterprise.
This entire course is designed to equip participants with the job-ready skills that will help them manage innovation for sustainability with an SME, start-up, or large enterprise.
The real-world challenges that participants encounter during this course are designed to be applied to their current or future work environment, working in multi-disciplinary teams, with limited resources to prototype solutions and pitch them to senior decision-makers. If you’re in employment, this is ensures real time impact for your organisation from the programme.
The development of transversal skills is a vital part of the job readiness component of this programme: creativity, teamwork, communication skills and learning agility are threaded throughout the programme.
