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UCC Adult courses

Offshore Renewable Energy - PG Cert

Course Fact File
CodePCORE
DurationSeptember to May
Teaching ModePart-Time
QualificationsPG Cert
NFQ LevelLevel 9
NFQ Award TitlePostgraduate Certificate
Fees€5,000 Springboard funding available See Fees and Costs for full details.
Closing Date29 August 2025
Next IntakeSeptember 2025
Start Date8 September 2025

Course Outline

The Postgraduate Certificate in Offshore Renewable Energy is a part-time Level 9 course that provides the knowledge-base required for engineers and engineering practitioners to develop their skills in the area of offshore renewable energy, with a particular focus on offshore wind. The programme content covers cutting edge technologies in the renewable energy sector, as well as instructing students in the underpinning theory. There is a strong industry focus throughout the course, in the form of industry-informed content, and direct access via guest lectures.  Graduates will thus emerge from the course up to date with the status of the offshore wind and renewable energy sector and the skills to make a successful entry and contribution to the industry.

The programme is part-time, and delivered in a blended format across two Semesters: September to December, and January to May. Students have the option of attending in-person lectures which will be recorded or doing the course entirely online in their own time. The objective of the programme is to provide a suitable route for engineering practitioners  (non-engineers undertaking engineering roles), either in full-time employment or jobseeking, to transition to the offshore wind and renewable energy sector.

Course Practicalities

The course will be delivered using a blended model: modules where lectures are delivered in-person will be recorded, and the recordings uploaded onto Canvas, the learning platform used across UCC, where they can be watched asynchronously by the students. The students thus have the option of either an in-person experience, a fully online experience or a combination of the two (blended). In-person attendance is only mandatory for formal written exams at the end of each semester.

Why Choose This Course

This course is aimed at engineers or engineering practitioners of all types who want to gain skills and employment in the offshore renewable energy sector. Students will benefit from up-to-date content, industry-relevant assessments and guest lectures from experts in the energy sector. 

Skills and Careers Information

By doing this course, students gain employer exposure through UCC-organised recruitment fairs and employer-led events. Our graduates have gone on to avail of local, national and international opportunities in renewable energy project development, engineering consultancy, resource analysis, project financing, operations and management, surveying, and energy policy development. 

Requirements

The academic entry requirements are:

  • A minimum Second Class Honours Grade II (or equivalent) in a primary honours degree in any discipline of Engineering (NFQ - level 8);
  • or A minimum Second Class Honours Grade II (or equivalent) in a honours degree (NFQ - level 8) in areas of science that included mathematical subjects deemed equivalent to those of engineering (e.g. Physics, Mathematical Sciences, some Computing Science degrees), pending assessment by Programme Director via Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL);
  • or A pass in any accredited level 8 Engineering degree followed by professional experience deemed of sufficient added value, pending assessment by Programme Director via Recognition of Prior Learning.

Candidates will be required to provide evidence of meeting the academic entry requirements in addition to the University English language entry requirements (see https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/comparison/english/postgraduate/ for details). 

RPL candidates will be assessed on previous experience as detailed in their application, CV and personal statement. RPL candidate suitability will be scored on a matrix, and an offer will be made to those who meet the minimum required RPL score. Where demand is high, unemployed candidates and returners will be prioritised.

Fees and Costs

€5,000

 

Springboard+ 

There are a limited number of places available on this programme funded by Springboard+. 

  • Those in employment can avail of a 90% fee subsidy  
  • Those unemployed/returners can avail of a 100% fee subsidy 

Those applying for Springboard+ funding may check their eligibility HERE 

You should apply for this programme via the Springboard+ website HERE 

How To Apply

You should apply for this programme via the Springboard+ website HERE 

Year 1 Modules

Year 2 Modules

Year 3 Modules

Year 4 Modules

For queries regarding course content or timetables please contact

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