Innovation for Sustainability

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.

This is a Level 9 Professional Diploma (20 ECTS)

€3,750 (EU) or €3,750 (Non-EU)

This programme is funded through the Higher Education Authority Springboard+ Initiative, with 90 – 100% funding available to eligible applicants.

See the Springboard eligibility criteria here.

• FREE for eligible jobseekers receiving DEASP Payments
• FREE for returners to work and carers
• 90% subsidised (student pays €375) eligible individuals in employment or self-employment, and formerly self-employed

This course is open for initial applications through the HEA's Springboard+ website. If you are seeking Springboard funding, please apply on Springboard first - you will be instructed when you should apply to the course on this UCD page to finalise your enrollment on the programme. If you require more information, please register your interest on our website or book a call with our team 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. Please read on for further information regarding the application procedures and funding eligibility for this course. These are subject to change.

How To Apply

This programme is funded through the Higher Education Authority Springboard+ Initiative, with 90 – 100% funding available to eligible applicants, for full-time residents in the Republic of Ireland. See the Springboard eligibility criteria here.

If you are an international student or ineligible for Springboard funding, please contact a member of our recruitment team at innovation.academy@ucd.ie for assistance before proceeding with direct application to the course. There is no alternative funding available for applicants who are ineligible for Springboard funding and are applying directly for this programme.

You must submit the following initial supporting documents on your Springboard application:

A) Current CV

B) Letter of Motivation (one page), addressing the following:

• Why you want to do the course at this time
• What you hope to achieve from doing this course
• What you can contribute to this course

C) A copy of your academic transcript to show that you have a minimum of an Undergraduate Honours Bachelor’s Degree (NFQ Level 8, 3-4 years of study). This is required for admission to a UCD Level 9 programme. If you previously studied at UCD, please provide your UCD student number on a Word document/PDF. Please note a degree certificate/parchment unaccompanied by a transcript will not suffice. You need to upload your academic transcript or diploma supplement.

D) Applicants who do not have a level 8 qualification can apply through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Full details of minimum requirements and the RPL policy are available here. You are strongly advised to get in touch with UCD Innovation Academy for further guidance. before commencing an RPL application.

E) If English is not your first language, an English language qualification is required. Click here for full English Language Requirements for UCD.

If you are successful following review of these initial documents, you will be offered a provisional offer on Springboard. You should then make your application here on UCD to formally enroll on the programme.

Following provisional offers, UCD Innovation Academy will request evidence of eligibility in respect of holding a valid PPSN; Nationality; Current Residency in Ireland; 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: No

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