Ireland's new Innovation Academy: academic‐practitioner partnerships in action

Abstract

PurposeIn November 2010 Ireland launched a new multi‐institutional academic initiative called The Innovation Academy to provide credited teaching programmes in innovation and entrepreneurial thinking to be taken in parallel with university doctoral programmes of any discipline. This article aims to examine the design and development of this new initiative, how it integrates external organizations into its teaching programmes and how this practically translates into employment and job creation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors approached this paper using a standard qualitative data gathering approach, analyzing student reflection documents and enterprise partner feedback as well as quantitative data on participation from both academic and enterprise sources.FindingsIt was found that working with enterprises as part of the Innovation Academy Graduate Certificate in innovation and entrepreneurship has a significant impact on both the student and the enterprise partner. Students describe an increase in confidence, creativity and team‐working skills. Enterprise partners find that having student teams in their workplace reinvigorates their own staff.Originality/valueThe Innovation Academy is a new initiative in Ireland that promotes entrepreneurial thinking in postgraduate students. The structure of the course is designed to be broadly appealing so that it easily translates to an undergraduate and professional student base. The tight integration of industry (public, private and charitable) ensures that the programme consistently has its finger on the pulse of the current economic climate.