Programmes
Practical training for teams doing the work.
Structured programmes in innovation management, AI and strategic innovation for SMEs, alongside shorter Innovators Edge sessions. Each listing tells you who it is for, what you will do, the time involved, current dates and any Skillnet support available.
One capability route
Use a programme when structured learning is the right answer.
A programme gives a team a shared method, guided practice and time to apply the learning. If the issue first needs diagnosis, an outside perspective or peer input, start on the Capability page instead.
Programme families
Choose the capability your team needs next.
Move from interest to useful application
AI Transformation for Business Leaders · AI for Personal Productivity
Build the judgement and practical skills needed to use AI well. Options range from strategic adoption and organisational change to focused training that helps people work more effectively in the roles they already have.
AI programmes →Build a repeatable system
Foundations for Strategic Innovation · Accelerating Strategic Innovation
Develop the structures, roles and working practices that help ideas move from strategy to delivery. For leaders, innovation champions and cross-functional teams building a more systematic approach. Where a programme is mapped to ISO 56001 its page sets out the scope — taking part in a programme is not certification.
Innovation management programmes →Make progress with limited time and capacity
Strategic Innovation & Entrepreneurship for SMEs
For owner-managers and smaller leadership teams making strategic choices while keeping the day-to-day business moving. Build a practical route from opportunities to priorities to action. Next cohort September 2026.
The SME programme →Cross-Sector Mentoring
Mid-career RD&I professionals, paired with senior practitioners.
A structured six-month pairing with a senior practitioner from another member company — plus a standing mentor match for a live challenge at any time of year.
Explore mentoring →
The Innovators Edge Series
Stay current without committing to a full programme.
The Innovators Edge Series brings focused webinars and briefings on emerging methods, technologies and business questions. Use it to stay informed, test an idea, or decide whether your team needs deeper development.
It runs alongside the three structured families rather than being a fourth one.
How IRDG stands behind them
What stands behind a programme.
We assess
Participants are not simply marked present. What the assessment involves depends on the programme and is set out before you book.
We validate
Training is validated before it runs. Content, trainer and method are reviewed against the standard the programme claims to meet.
We badge
Completion carries a badge — a portable record of what was done, which matters when the person who did it changes role or has to evidence capability internally.
We accredit
CPD accreditation applies across programmes, so time spent counts towards professional development requirements. The approving body and the hours are stated on the programme it applies to.
Where a programme carries CPD certification, the approving body and hours are stated on its listing. Public programmes run in person, online or as a hybrid of the two, and IRDG also delivers in-company programmes for a single organisation's team.
Know what you are choosing
Clear information, programme by programme.
Purpose and outcomes
Who it is for, the problem it addresses, and what participants should be able to do afterwards.
Format and commitment
Session structure, delivery mode, duration, work between sessions and current dates.
Recognition
Assessment, CPD approving body and hours, and badge criteria — where each applies.
Cost and eligibility
The standard fee, any member or Skillnet-supported rate, eligibility, and what is required at registration.
- Assessment included
- CPD approved · body and hours
- Digital badge available
- Skillnet-supported rate
- Member rate
- Private cohort available
A listing carries one of these labels only where it has been verified for that programme.
Where the depth comes from
The disciplines behind the programmes.
Innovation management
The international standard for an innovation management system. The leadership programmes align to it, which is what makes them useful to an organisation pursuing certification rather than only to the individual attending.
Lean product development
Reducing the distance between an idea and something a customer can react to — flow, batch size, decision points and the cost of carrying unvalidated work.
Design thinking
Working from the problem a customer actually has rather than the solution the organisation already wanted to build. Used across the programme range, not treated as a separate module.
Applied AI
IRDG has run AI programmes since the start of 2025. That gives the AI family a record of what has worked with Irish companies and what has not.
A year of delivery
How the programmes ran in 2025.
Cadence and format from the 2025 calendar. Current dates and booking always live on the events platform.
AI for Personal Productivity
Ran three times — January, May and November — in person, and sold out twice, with an alumni session for past participants.
Foundations for Strategic Innovation
Ran in January and September, in person, with alumni sessions in March and November — the pattern behind today's Innovation Management family.
Strategic Innovation & Entrepreneurship for SMEs
Ran in October as Pathway to Innovate, hybrid — in person in Limerick and online — now the Strategic Innovation family.
Around the programmes
The same year carried R&D Tax Credit clinics most months, regional roundtables at member sites from Akamai to Fidelity, monthly #IMPACT sessions — now The Innovators Edge Series — site visits, and the Amplify Innovation Summit in June.
Training support
IRDG Innovation Skillnet.
IRDG Innovation Skillnet, supported by Skillnet Ireland, supports enterprise-led training for eligible companies and participants. Funding, supported rates, eligibility and registration requirements vary by programme — the relevant listing carries the actual supported price and the eligibility conditions. Check it, or ask the team, before booking.
Who to ask
Ask about a programme, a cohort or in-company delivery.
Josh runs IRDG Innovation Skillnet and can tell you which programme fits, when the next cohort runs, what it costs after Skillnet support, and whether an in-company version makes more sense for your team.
Josh BlakeNetwork Manager — IRDG Innovation Skillnet
Not sure which programme?
Tell us what the team needs to be able to do.
Choosing between programmes? Planning development for a full team? Unsure about Skillnet eligibility? Give us the context and we will point you towards the relevant option — or tell you if a programme is not the answer.