Environmental Sustainability

Sustainability is on the agenda for many sectors. All sectors are responding to sustainability goals, with many organisations setting targets to be achieved by 2030 for compliance, consumer or market retention purposes. Consultation with a range of industry stakeholders has identified that there is a deficit of expertise in the market to address the implementation of sustainability agendas, however the scale and speed of the change required is urgent. Drivers of this demand are the National Sectoral Emissions Ceilings, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (2021) Act, Future Jobs initiative 'Transition to low carbon economy', Ireland's National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility, and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions reporting).

This full-time Level 9 Graduate Diploma equips students with the core skills to quantify the sustainability of a product, process or system, identify areas for improvement and devise and manage measures for implementation to improve sustainability.

The Graduate Diploma in Environmental Sustainability Implementation comprises 60 credits of Modules (10 modules). These modules are offered across the Spring and Autumn Trimesters.
All lectures and tutorials occur during weekdays.
It will be possible for students to complete the programme almost entirely online, there will be a need to attend campus for a number of scheduled workshops (maximum 3 per trimester). However, for those who want to attend campus, students enrolled in the programme are free to attend timetabled face-to-face lectures and practicals on campus if they wish.
The programme is designed to be suitable for people working in any sector in Ireland. It will be possible for students to complete the programme almost entirely online as the majority (97%) of lectures will be recorded. One module will require attendance on campus for four 2-hour sessions in Trimester 2 (Spring 2024). There will be a need to attend campus for a number of scheduled workshops (maximum 2 per trimester). However, for those who want to attend campus, students enrolled in the programme are free to attend timetabled face-to-face lectures and practicals on campus if they wish.

Funding: This programme is eligible for springboard funding, if you believe you are eligible please apply first on www.springboardcourses.ie

Pathway: This 60 ECTS Graduate Diploma is a Pathway programmes that can build to a Masters degree award. Students who complete the Graduate Diploma have the option of completing a 30 ECTS project which builds to a Masters degree award. The fee for the additional 30 ECTS project is 3000 euro.'

Who should apply?

Full Time option suitable for:

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

The target market are candidates who are recent graduates, jobseekers or are in full time employment, with a Level 8 Honours degree with minimum 2:1 award (NFQ level 8) or international equivalence in disciplines which include strong mathematical, technological and analytical skills. Examples of acceptable disciplines are engineering, physical science, geography and planning, architecture and environmental related degrees. Those without a Level 8 honours degree in a relevant subject but with >5 years relevant professional experience in a relevant field will be considered.

Life Cycle AssessmentBSEN30360
Green Technologies ProjectBSEN40210
Sustainable Energy & EnvironmentBSEN40480
Biorefinery Process & Tech O/LBSEN40620
Bioeconomy Policy & Social O/LBSEN40630
Carbon & SustainabilityBSEN40720
GHG AccountingBSEN40810
Carbon FootprintingBSEN40820
Renew Energy Syst Analysis O/LBSEN40890
Project ManagementMEEN40310

1 Year Full Time Blended

Next Intake: 2024/2025 September.

There is very significant industry demand for engineers and scientists with knowledge on methods to quantify sustainability for internal benchmarking, process improvement, and reporting purposes.

In January 2023 there were over 2000 sustainability-related jobs advertised in Ireland (based on data from LinkedIn). Upon completion of this Graduate Diploma, graduates will have the skills needed to lead the sustainability agenda for a company either individually or as part of a team.

There is very significant industry demand for engineers and scientists with knowledge on methods to quantify sustainability for internal benchmarking, process improvement, and reporting purposes. In January 2023 there were >2000 sustainability-related jobs advertised in Ireland (based on data from LinkedIn). Upon completion of this Graduate Diploma, graduates will have the skills needed to lead the sustainability agenda for a company either individually or as part of a team.