Key facts
Qualification
5 ECTS per module
*NB Registration for Trimester 1 taught modules is open from Monday 2nd September at 10am until Sunday 22nd September. See here for more information
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
Autumn Module dates
See ‘Overview’ below for detailed module information and dates for the 2024/25 academic year.
Below is a brief summary of Autumn Trimester 1 modules available, registration opens on Sept 2nd 2024.
Spring Trimester 2025:
- IA50000 Communicating for Impact (In Person) Block Week, 26 – 30 May 2025
- IA50004 Creative Thinking & Innovation (In Person) Block Week, May: 26 – 30 2025
- IA50003 Design Thinking for Innovation(In Person) 5 days in May: 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 2025
- IA50002 Entrepreneurship Application and Mindset (In Person) 5 Days in June 11, 12, 13, 19, 20 2025
- IA50007 Design Your Life (In Person) Block Week: June 11, July, 1, 2, 3, 4 2025
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 and Masters 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.
Listed below is a selection of UCD Academy’s module choices for 2024/25. Please click on the module titles to find out more or email innovation.academy@ucd.ie.
Spring Trimester 2025:
IA50000 Communicating for Impact
Learn to effectively communicate your ideas, projects, or research through storytelling and pitching. Develop skills to engage diverse audiences and create impactful presentations, both in person and online.
Format: In-person
Dates: Block Week, 26 – 30 May 2025
Registration Deadline: Mon 19 May
IA50004 Creative Thinking & Innovation
Develop creative confidence and learn how to generate innovative ideas and concepts, individually and in a team environment.
Format: In-person
Dates: Block Week, May: 26 – 30 2025
Registration Deadline: Mon 19 May
IA50003 Design Thinking for Innovation
A human-centred approach to design new products, services, and more. The learner will be introduced to the key theories and concepts of Design Thinking and then work in a team to address a real-world challenge.
Format: In-person, 10am – 1pm
Dates: 5 days in May: 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 2025
Registration Deadline: Thurs 8 May
IA50002 Entrepreneurship Application and Mindset
Cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset to navigate dynamic challenges, foster innovation, and lead initiatives. Develop skills in problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity to drive change.
Format: In-person
Dates: 5 Days in June 11, 12, 13, 19, 20 2025
Registration Deadline: Weds 4 June
What’s next? A plan and toolkit for important life decisions. Spend a week with experts considering your priorities, your purpose and mapping a way ahead. The aim of this module is to enable students to plan and reflect upon their learning, career and life goals using a Design Thinking approach.
Format: In-person
Dates: Block Week: June 11, July, 1, 2, 3, 4 2025
Registration Deadline: Weds 4 June
Who is it for?
These modules are open to all eligible UCD PhD and Masters students who can take a 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 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 and Masters 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.
- Communicating for Impact (IA50000) – Beyond the journal: identifying & communicating value in your research. To take independent ideas from the point of ignition to the creation of value, not only requires the appropriate recognition for the potential of the original idea, but also a combination of skill sets to develop and communicate the idea in such a way as to secure the necessary support and resources. The aim of this module is to help participants to start to develop their thinking around this process and to experience the range of possible communication tools and techniques available to them. Each student presents the output at a plenary seminar, “The Researcher Video Pitch”.
- Creative Thinking and Innovation (IA50004) – Learn how to develop innovative ideas and concepts. The aim of this module is to help PhD students to access their innate ability for independent creative thinking and innovation in its broadest sense and to help them discover the potential for the development of their new ideas in a multidisciplinary team environment.
- Exploring Intellectual Property (IA50001) – Learn what aspects of your research you can protect and how from practitioners in the field. Novelty, copyright and intellectual property introduces students to the issues and actions associated with quality, early identification and protection of intellectual property. These include an exploration of copyright, patenting, trademarks, industrial design and know-how, as well as ways of how to derive value from the ‘protectable’ and the ‘unprotectable’. Through real-life challenges, students will be given the opportunity to learn from and interact with a range of IP experts as the course will be delivered by a variety of experts and practitioners.
Please note that some Masters and 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.
Registration for Trimester 1 taught modules is open from Monday 2nd September 2024 at 10am until Sunday 22nd September 2024. Details on how to register to follow in late 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.
Registration will open again in January 2025
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.
Full participation and engagement throughout the course is essential.
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.
As the course involves continuous assessment, participants must attend all class sessions.
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.
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.
