Engineering for Climate Action

This course is comprised of seven modules, totalling 60 ECTS. This is delivered over an 8-month (September-April) period across two-semesters, in 1 year (full-time) or 2 years (part-time). All modules are taken in the full-time Diploma, with the following structure for the part-time pathway.

Year 1 Modules (if taking part-time PG.Cert. pathway)

• Sem 1: The Sustainable Green Organisation
• Sem 1: Entrepreneurship for Climate Action
• Sem 1&2: Introduction to Engineering for Climate Action
• Sem 2: Life Cycle Assessment for Engineering Practice
• Sem 2: Engineering for the Environment

Year 2 (if taking part-time PG.Dip add-on pathway)

• Sem 1&2: Engineering for Climate Action: Mitigation & Adaptation
• Sem 1&2: Energy Management and Efficiency

It will be delivered by academic and industry experts from engineering, business and psychology. It aims to attract talented students and mobilise sustainability leaders to action within both the private and public sector, in Ireland and abroad, to deliver a low-carbon and resource-efficient society.

The course schedule and blended-learning format of this course will provide flexibility for students to participate in the course out of standard working hours (a combination of week-day evenings and Saturday mornings) and through an in-person or virtual learning environment.

Admission to the course is competitive. Applicants will be expected to have an Honours Bachelor’s degree at 2.1 or above, in a STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics), architecture, or a related cognate discipline.

Well-qualified candidates or industry professionals from other numerate disciplines who have sufficient knowledge of engineering or science, may also be considered for admissions purposes subject to the decision of the Dean of Graduate Studies.

As part of this programme, you will take a range of module and undertake a range of assessments to develop new skills that will support your capacity to develop and implement climate action plans. These include:

• Developing an Climate Action Plan for your Organisation;
• Evaluate a Sustainable Initative within a Company;
• Analyse Energy Profiles of Personal and Building Consumption;
• Apply Qualitative and/or Quantitative Methods in Stakeholder Engagement;
• Evaluate the Environmental & Economic Performance of a Product/System/Service;
• Undertake a Life Cycle Assessment of a Product/System/Service;
• Carry out a Systematic Review/Mapping of Research Literature to Synthesise Existing Knowledge;
• Perform a Critical Evaluation of an Environmental Impact Assessment Report.

Five of the seven modules, worth 40 of the 60 ECTS, will be assessed solely through coursework. The remaining module (Energy Management & Efficiency, 20 ECTS) will be examined with a combination of coursework (33%) and a sit-down examination (67%).

A range of different forms of coursework will be applied across all modules: individual or group assignments, oral presentations, quizzes, and essays/reports. Interactive tools will serve as options for raising questions to gain clarification of coursework issues throughout the programme.

On successful completion of this Postgraduate Diploma students will have attained the following course learning outcomes* (CLOs) should be able to:

• CLO1. Perform detailed analysis, interpretation and design of a novel engineering system.
• CLO2. Work effectively as an individual, in teams and in multidisciplinary settings, together with the capacity to undertake lifelong learning addressing all facets of climate action.
• CLO3. Rationalise the need for high ethical standards in the practice of engineering, including the responsibilities of the engineering profession towards people and the environment.
• CLO4. Design and conduct experiments (quantitative or qualitative) and apply a range of standard and specialised research techniques.
• CLO5. Develop an advanced knowledge and understanding of the multidisciplinary skills required to design, develop and implement climate action measures.
• CLO6. Identify, formulate, analyse and solve complex engineering problems to support sustainability in the context of the climate change - circular economy nexus.
• CLO7. Appraise the opportunities for organisational growth through the delivery of climate action measures.
• CLO8. Develop capacity to evaluate the drivers of different organisational stakeholders and how they interact to support strategic planning of pathways towards climate action.
• CLO9. Describe complex engineering activities with the engineering community and with society at large.
• CLO10. Undertake independent, original and professional project that integrates their knowledge and understanding of climate action.

* CLO 1-10 will be attained by completing the 1-year full time PG.Dip. award. CLO 1-8 will be attained by completing the part-time PG.Cert Year 1 award, and CLO 3-10 will be attained by completing the PG.Dip top-up Year 2 award.

The postgraduate diploma will be open to those with:

• Level 8 honours degree (180 ECTs) in a STEM, architecture, or cognate discipline;
• An existing position or aspiration to pursue a role in sustainability and climate action;
• 2-page Curriculum Vitae (CV);
• 1-page letter of motivation;
• Two references.

This recording of our information session provides additional details of what to expect from this programme. Please note the new part-time offering is a new addition to the programme for 2022/23 and one pre-existing module (Climate Action Project) has been split in two to allow for this revised structure.