This course is for people who wish to learn how to create technology innovation-driven enterprises or new products/services in existing corporates. This includes learning how to identify commercial needs, to respond to the need in the form of a high-level solution, to test the viability of that solution, to develop a business plan to create a company or a new business unit within an existing company, and all with a particular focus on innovation-driven enterprises that can scale up. We have chosen the successful "Disciplined Entrepreneurship" 24-step process from MIT as the basis for our approach. The learner will work through the issues of market analysis, technology viability assessment, competitive positioning, team building, product lifecycle planning, marketing strategy, sales channel analysis, and with a strong emphasis on the entrepreneur/intrapreneur as a salesperson. Business plans will be developed based by the learner on the 24 steps, and will include an executive summary, vision and values, market analysis/segmentation and competition, a product and manufacturing plan, a sales plan, a financial plan, and a marketing plan. 

What will I study?

• Grounded in MIT’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship and Stanford’s Design Thinking, our adult learners explore a different key question in each module:
  • In TechInnovate I, they investigate WHO are the customers and stakeholders for their idea. They do so by conducting interviews and surveys to identify customer needs and preferences;
  • In TechInnovate II, our students answer the question WHAT and define the functions and features of their product or service;
  • TechInnovate III takes up the issue of HOW--how will they deliver their product or service to their target market? In this module, the students prepare a 7500-word business plan modelled on what they would submit to Enterprise Ireland. They also create a brochure, logo, and tagline describing their business;
  • Finally, in TechInnovate IV, students address the question WHY--why would people want their product or service? They answer this by drawing on their research from throughout the programme and writing a 7,500-word minor dissertation. This dissertation is structured as an article suitable for submission to a professional journal. 

1. EE5113 TechInnovate I: Needs Finding to Concept Generation, 10 ECTS
2. EE5114 TechInnovate II: Concept Development and Implementation, 10 ECTS
3. EI5101 TechInnovate III: Innovation Project, 40 ECTS
4. EI5102 TechInnovate IV: Minor Dissertation, 30 ECTS 

In the Innovation Project, students will work on identifying a real-world problem in a particular domain that requires an insightful technological solution, inventing and implementing the solution, demonstrating its validity and commercial viability (and iteratively improving the solution if necessary), and developing pitches for angel and venture capital funding to allow commercialisation (post-programme). Therefore, work should focus on the startup businesses themselves, the potential for licenses, Enterprise Ireland funding proposals, and business models ready for first-stage investment. Domain areas may include, although are not limited to, tourism, agriculture, marine, fintech, defence, manufacturing, environment, transport, logistics and retail. 

The University of Galway is deeply committed to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as reflected in its designation as a national SDG Champion for 2023-2024 by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The TechInnovate instructors share this commitment and will integrate SDGs into their programme by drawing on their experience of developing related modules in the past. In previous design thinking-related modules, students were asked to develop technological solutions that would help a specific group in their local community implement one of the 17 SDGs.  Similarly, next year’s TechInnovate students will be required to design their products and business solutions around one or two SDGs, explicitly articulating their relevance in business plans and presentations. They will be asked to discuss their selected SDGs as they consult with customers and stakeholders in the course of their research. To further highlight their impact, students will be encouraged to showcase their projects during the University’s annual SDG Week. We welcome the opportunity to introduce the SDGs into TechInnovate because it will permit our learners to think rigorously about innovations that are not only technically feasible and economically viable, but also socially desirable and environmentally sustainable. 

Curriculum Information

• Idea Generation: You will learn how to generate ideas, both individually and from the people around you.
• From Spirit to Skills: We give those learners with an entrepreneurial spirit the required skills to succeed.
• Business Planning: We use the proven and tested MIT Disciplined Entrepreneurship process to develop plans.
• Talking to Humans: Primary market research is the energy source that powers the startup vehicle and is a core element that is integrated throughout this process.
• Corporate Applicability: Not just about creating startups, learners will learn how to create new business units within an existing company. 

This course is suitable for those who have a business idea and wish to explore the full potential through a structured approach. It will help to guide students and increase their skills, to share best practices in entrepreneurship and to accelerate innovation maturation and transfer into business. It will ideally place students to fill the entrepreneurial need in the West of Ireland and equip graduates with the skills required to become integral members of innovation driven enterprises. Programme participants will have the benefit of an experienced team who will help them to meet their goals in terms of entrepreneurial and innovation skills acquisition. 

Our graduates fill key posts as innovators and managers in industry. Recent graduates of this course have gone on to work for companies including: 

• ABEC
• Allianz
• Cork City Council
• European Commission
• Phrase
• 3DWIT
• Tympany Medical

From Fanore, Professor John G Breslin is a Personal Professor in Electronic Engineering at the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Galway, where he is Director of the TechInnovate / AgInnovate programmes. John has taught electronic engineering, computer science, innovation and entrepreneurship topics over the past 25 years. Associated with two Research Ireland Centres, he is a Principal Investigator at Insight (Data Analytics) and a Funded Investigator at VistaMilk (AgTech), and a Principal Investigator on the EDIH Data2Sustain. He has jointly written over 350 peer-reviewed academic publications, including books on The Social Semantic Web and Social Semantic Web Mining. John co-authored the Irish bestselling book series “Old Ireland in Colour”. John is Co-Founder of boards.ie (Ireland's largest discussion forum website), adverts.ie (classified ads website), and StreamGlider (real-time streaming newsreader app). He is Co-Founder of the PorterShed (Galway City Innovation District), and serves on the Steering Group of Scale Ireland. John is Cathaoirleach (Chair) Ollscoil na Gaillimhe le Gaeilge, a Former Director and Past Chair of WestBIC, and a Director Emeritus of the American Council of Exercise. He undertook the Entrepreneurship Development Program with Bill Aulet at MIT in 2017. 

Lecturer: Martina O'Grady believes that everyone has potential - and with the right support, they can turn it into something great. She brings that belief to life through her work as a self-starter, educator, and mentor - drawing also from her background in farming. Martina now lectures on the AgInnovate programme at the University of Galway, where she also completed her MSc in AgInnovation. She helps those with the spark of an idea turn it into a real, workable business - built around what matters to them, and designed to bring satisfaction, enjoyment, and financial reward. Martina’s approach is shaped by years of adapting, learning from mistakes, understanding customer needs, listening, observing, recognising potential, researching, and making the most of what’s available to make things work. Martina’s approach is practical, honest, and rooted in experience. She supports others in building confidence, asking better questions, and creating businesses that reflect their strengths, passion, values, and goals. For Martina, innovation works best when it’s personal - when it reflects who you are, what you care about, and what you have to offer. Through a combination of experience and a supportive approach, she helps students turn that first spark of an idea into something they believe in - growing in clarity, confidence, and enjoyment along the way.

Administrator: Arline Broder has been the Administrator for all of the Springboard+-funded TechInnovate and AgInnovate programmes at the University of Galway since 2017, including the original Postgraduate Diploma in TechInnovation from 2017 to 2018, and the MSc in AgInnovation from 2018 to present. She brings significant expertise from four decades as an Administrator and Executive Assistant across all four Colleges of the University. 

How will I learn? 

The programme is delivered in a blended format. During each month, students attend a weekly online session for two hours [Thursday 6-8 PM] and come to campus one Saturday for eight hours of classroom instruction. Hence, on a monthly basis, instruction is 50% online and 50% classroom. 

• Online: Thursday evenings from 6-8 PM
• In-person, University of Galway campus: One Saturday per month from 9-4 PM (September to June) 

This programme is assessed through continuous assessment (there are no examinations): 

• EE5113: Critical Thinking Exercise (20%) + Needs Finding Paper (50%) + Oral Presentation (20%) + Class Participation (10%)
• EE5114: Critical Thinking Exercise (30%) + Product Description (50%) + Class Participation (20%)
• EI5101: Product Brochure (30%) + Group Presentation (20%) + Innovation Project (50%)
• EI5102: Research Proposal (20%) + Minor Thesis (80%) 

Course queries: 
arline.broder@universityofgalway.ie 

Programme Director:  

Professor John G Breslin, 
Personal Professor in Electronic Engineering,  
School of Engineering, 
College of Science and Engineering 
E: john.breslin@universityofgalway.ie 
T: 091 492622

• The third module, TechInnovate III, includes a job readiness component. This project-based module requires students to develop a business plan, logo, and advertising brochure - practical materials that can be used to secure funding or launch a business. Eighty percent of the 40 ECTS in TechInnovate III are allocated to these tasks, and the most recent cohort created 30 new businesses.
• Students also use the minor dissertation prepared in TechInnovate IV to advance their careers through upskilling. In some cases, the dissertation concerns a product that a student's employer is planning to introduce and so the dissertation leads to the student getting a promotion so the company can launch the product. In other cases, the student is planning to pursue a PhD and submits the dissertation to the professors with whom she or he would like to work.
• In addition, the University of Galway's Career Development Centre (CDC) offers a comprehensive range of services to students, including CV preparation, interview skills training, career guidance, and opportunities for direct engagement with employers. These services are designed to equip students with the confidence and skills necessary to thrive in a competitive job market.

Minimum Entry Requirements 

Applicants should normally hold a qualification from a university or other internationally recognised academic institution or authority, corresponding to Level 8 of the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), to a minimum standard of Second Class Honours (or equivalent). It is expected that successful applicants will come from a variety of academic disciplines.

You can apply online to the University of Galway application portal here.  

Please review the entry requirements set out in the section above.  

You will be required to upload supporting documentation to your application electronically. See the section above on entry requirements for further information on the supporting documentation required for this course.  

Closing Dates 

For this programme, there is no specific closing date for receipt of applications. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and course quotes will be reviewed continuously throughout the application cycle.  

Notes 

• You will need an active email account to use the website and you'll be guided through the system, step by step, until you complete the online form.
• Browse the FAQ's section for further guidance.

Fees for Academic Year 2026/27

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Application Process 

Students applying for full time postgraduate programmes from outside of the European Union (EU), You can apply online to the University of Galway application portal here.  

Our application portal opens on the 1st October each year for entry the following September.   

Further Information 

Please visit the postgraduate admissions webpage for further information on closing dates, documentation requirements, application fees and the application process. 

Professor John G Breslin 

E: john.breslin@universityofgalway.ie 

Related Student Organisations 

IdeasLab is the University of Galway's student innovation hub. 

Consultants & Entrepreneurs Society is a student-led organisation that fosters interest in consulting and entrepreneurship.