Creativity, Innovation & 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.

People with power 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.

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.

€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’ section on our website for eligibility criteria.

The deadline for applications is 12pm 20th November 2023. 

 

This course is open for applications through the HEA Springboard+ website. Visit the How To Apply section below to begin your application. If you require more information, please register your interest on our website 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 minimum of an Undergraduate Honours Bachelor's Degree (NFQ Level 8). If you previously studied at UCD, please provide your UCD student number on a Word document/PDF.

3. Applicants who do not have a level 8 qualification can apply through Recognition of Prior Learning.

 

Under UCD's Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy, consideration will be given on a case by case basis to applicants who do not hold a primary degree but who can demonstrate extensive professional experience. Typically, such applicants would have five years or more experience where their role includes managing teams, leading projects, programmes or business units.

 

If you are applying under RPL, please review your CV to ensure that it clearly demonstrates the following-

a. Any experience of leadership and self-direction

b. Any experience of management or entrepreneurship

c. A description of employee, budget and client responsibilities

 

RPL applicants should also upload two recently dated professional/employment references. These should be on headed paper or from an official email address and including the referees name, role and email address.

 

1. 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. 

 

Visit our FAQs here. 

 

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No

Perfect for lifelong learners if you are keen to change direction and reinvent yourself and your career.

You might be;

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  unemployed or formerly self-employed,

  
  


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  a carer or returner to work, a career changer,

  
  


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  an aspiring entrepreneur or intrapreneur or,

  
  


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  someone keen to take a more innovative approach to the workplace.

  
  

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes

International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No