Design & Innovation - Galway

This part-time, blended delivery, masters programme is designed to develop key skills in innovation, design, management and leadership.

Why Study Design and Innovation?
Expertise developed through the programme will develop critical innovation, design & leadership skills which are relevant and necessary across fields from public services through to small businesses and high-tech multi-nationals. Skills valuable to those in technical posts as well as those in service, business and customer facing roles.

This Masters programme is ideal if you want to:
- Upskill for leadership roles
- Enhance your organisation’s capacity to innovate in products, services, or processes.
- Collaborate with peers from a range of professional experiences and backgrounds
- Future-proof your career and your organisation

The course content has been inspired by the Stanford d. School's Design Thinking philosophy and is universally applicable.

Semester 1:
• Applied Design Thinking (10 ECTS)
This module will develop core skills in problem solving using design thinking processes, with an emphasis on empathetic and human-centred design, concept generation and prototyping, testing and implementation.

• Product and Service Processes (10 ECTS)
Learners completing this module will participate in a team project to develop a solution to a design brief that will result in: a product design, a service design and/or a product-service system (PSS)

Semester 2 & 3:
• Research Methods (10 ECTS)
This module will provide students with the theoretical foundations of research, research methodologies and methods of data collection to support their design and innovation decisions. A particular focus will be action-oriented research methodologies to support the subsequent dissertation.

• Design Innovation Project (30 ECTS)
The module will provide learners with the mindset, solutions, and tools to build teams that will drive design and innovation in their organisations. The module team project will encompass the entire design and innovation development process, from vision and formation, through to test and validation of new business opportunities. This module is modelled on the Stanford ME310 Module which is now delivered in a growing number of third-level Institutes and Universities across the world.

Semester 3 & 4 :
• Dissertation in Design & Innovation (30 ECTS)
This module provides students with an opportunity to conduct research in Design and Innovation and associated organisational realignment that is relevant and applicable to their place of work. Participants will have previously chosen a research topic in the Research Methods module with the purpose of applying Design and Innovation to a specified situation within their work environment.

Entry Requirements
This course is open to applicants with a Level 8 degree, 2.2 or higher, in any discipline. Applicants with other qualifications and with relevant work experience may also be considered through ATU’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process.

Applications for programmes commencing in September 2024 are NOW OPEN.
Click on "Application Weblink" above.

2 year part-time. Blended learning.

Applications are now open for September 2024.

Career Opportunities
The course has been designed to meet national and international needs. Therefore, opportunities exist in:
• Leadership Roles in Design and Innovation
• New Product or Service Introduction Management
• Product/Service/Process Management
• Project Management in Product and Service sectors
• Strategic Marketing and Market Research
• Innovation Management
• Research & Development Management