Springboard courses. Free college courses sponsored by the Irish Government

un5byh7sqpd2x0 · 27-06-2020 05:50PM

newuser99999 wrote: »

No you’d need to do a level 8 unfortunately.

Absolute Bollócks

newuser99999 · 27-06-2020 06:25PM

Israel Tinkling Simulator wrote: »

Absolute Bollócks

Holders of the Leaving Certificate may apply for studies from Level 5 to Level 8. This is because Level 9 and 10 are Masters and PHD courses, which require a student to have already completed a Level 8 degree for entry. https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/education/figuring-out-the-difference-between-level-8-and-level-7-30664341.html

TestLink · 27-06-2020 07:09PM

Any way to search for just week end courses offered by SpringBoard? There is Online, Distance etc search criteria, but no option for searching for WeekEnd mode of delivery.

Officer Giggles · 27-06-2020 07:27PM

newuser99999 wrote: »

Holders of the Leaving Certificate may apply for studies from Level 5 to Level 8. This is because Level 9 and 10 are Masters and PHD courses, which require a student to have already completed a Level 8 degree for entry. https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/education/figuring-out-the-difference-between-level-8-and-level-7-30664341.html

That's for leaving cert students who obviously wouldn't have the additional work experience

newbie18892 · 27-06-2020 07:47PM

Officer Giggles wrote: »

That's for leaving cert students who obviously wouldn't have the additional work experience

It's not a given to be admitted into a level 9 with just work experience. Most level 9 courses on the springboard website do say that while a level 8 degree is an entry requirement, consideration will be given on a case by case basis to those without a primary degree who do hold professional experience.

Officer Giggles · 27-06-2020 07:50PM

Officer Giggles wrote: »

It's definitely possible. It's at the discretion of the college with regard to each individual course.

Which is why I said this earlier

un5byh7sqpd2x0 · 27-06-2020 07:51PM

newuser99999 wrote: »

Holders of the Leaving Certificate may apply for studies from Level 5 to Level 8. This is because Level 9 and 10 are Masters and PHD courses, which require a student to have already completed a Level 8 degree for entry. https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/education/figuring-out-the-difference-between-level-8-and-level-7-30664341.html

Here's the first Masters programme I found on the search.

https://springboardcourses.ie/details/8213

I draw your attention to the Entry Requirements section.

newbie18892 · 27-06-2020 07:51PM

Officer Giggles wrote: »

Which is why I said this earlier

Missed that. Just don't want anyone to think it's a given and feel let down if the college refuses entry.

newuser99999 · 27-06-2020 08:34PM

Officer Giggles wrote: »

That's for leaving cert students who obviously wouldn't have the additional work experience

Why would anyone bother with a level 8 so if they could just do a level 7 and work for a bit

phonypony · 27-06-2020 08:55PM

newuser99999 wrote: »

Why would anyone bother with a level 8 so if they could just do a level 7 and work for a bit

I have to say I'm baffled by this question. 'Just' do a level 7 and work for a bit?

Generally, for entry to PG courses, that means a level 7 degree (3 years) plus relevant work for 1-3 years. Arguably more effort and achievement over a level 8 degree.

skimpydoo · 27-06-2020 09:53PM

newuser99999 wrote: »

Holders of the Leaving Certificate may apply for studies from Level 5 to Level 8. This is because Level 9 and 10 are Masters and PHD courses, which require a student to have already completed a Level 8 degree for entry. https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/education/figuring-out-the-difference-between-level-8-and-level-7-30664341.html

I did a level 9 post-grad diploma in Cloud Computing 9 years ago with no level 8 degree but I was a mature student. It was the best thing I ever did and without it, I would not be doing what I am doing now. If you get a chance to do a Springboard course take it.

CBear1993 · 28-06-2020 12:43AM

skimpydoo wrote: »

I did a level 9 post-grad diploma in Cloud Computing 9 years ago with no level 8 degree but I was a mature student. It was the best thing I ever did and without it, I would not be doing what I am doing now. If you get a chance to do a Springboard course take it.

Were you working in IT obviously?

Darragh James · 28-06-2020 11:23AM

Hi, could anyone make some suggestions on good Springboard/HCI courses to do?
- I want something that I'm likely (if not almost certain) to get a job/career from - NOT doing this for personal satisfaction or to pass the time, and I'm too old to faff around (47 this year);
- Something where the jobs aren't all in Dublin;
- I live in the Mid-West (could travel to Clare, Limk, maybe Tipp and Galway for work);
- I have an honours arts degree and currently work in media but want to change - NO digital marketing or any of that sh1te please!;
- Interested enough in science stuff e.g. environmental, bio sciences, med-tech etc; also quite like the notion of something like logistics or design (I mean design of actual physical things - buildings, products - not graphic design)
All help and suggestions welcome!
Also a few Qs: can anyone do any of these courses? e.g. you don't need a science degree to do a science diploma?
And: does "full-time" mean you have to attend in person? (This would obviously limit choices of where to apply...)
Thanks in advance.

Officer Giggles · 28-06-2020 11:35AM

Darragh James wrote: »

Hi, could anyone make some suggestions on good Springboard/HCI courses to do?
- I want something that I'm likely (if not almost certain) to get a job/career from - NOT doing this for personal satisfaction or to pass the time, and I'm too old to faff around (47 this year);
- Something where the jobs aren't all in Dublin;
- I live in the Mid-West (could travel to Clare, Limk, maybe Tipp and Galway for work);
- I have an honours arts degree and currently work in media but want to change - NO digital marketing or any of that sh1te please!;
- Interested enough in science stuff e.g. environmental, bio sciences, med-tech etc; also quite like the notion of something like logistics or design (I mean design of actual physical things - buildings, products - not graphic design)
All help and suggestions welcome!
Also a few Qs: can anyone do any of these courses? e.g. you don't need a science degree to do a science diploma?
And: does "full-time" mean you have to attend in person? (This would obviously limit choices of where to apply...)
Thanks in advance.

Very few of the courses are solely online, part time courses will still have in person sessions, obviously with Covid 19, going online will be utilised that bit more but each college will be making their own call on that so it's impossible to know how each course will be managed

The entry requirements for each course are different, they are set out in the "more details" tab for each course on the website

Esse85 · 28-06-2020 01:29PM

Darragh James wrote: »

Hi, could anyone make some suggestions on good Springboard/HCI courses to do?
- I want something that I'm likely (if not almost certain) to get a job/career from - NOT doing this for personal satisfaction or to pass the time, and I'm too old to faff around (47 this year);
- Something where the jobs aren't all in Dublin;
- I live in the Mid-West (could travel to Clare, Limk, maybe Tipp and Galway for work);
- I have an honours arts degree and currently work in media but want to change - NO digital marketing or any of that sh1te please!;
- Interested enough in science stuff e.g. environmental, bio sciences, med-tech etc; also quite like the notion of something like logistics or design (I mean design of actual physical things - buildings, products - not graphic design)
All help and suggestions welcome!
Also a few Qs: can anyone do any of these courses? e.g. you don't need a science degree to do a science diploma?
And: does "full-time" mean you have to attend in person? (This would obviously limit choices of where to apply...)
Thanks in advance.

So basically you want someone to do all the research for you, then answer your questions and tell you what to do?

AngryLips · 28-06-2020 03:56PM

CBear1993 wrote: »

Could someone explain :

If I've done a level 8 bachelor of science honours degree in college, is it counter-intuitive to be doing anything below this really?

I'm looking at post-grad course only, but if a level 8 course can be done through springboard in one year it will get you into that industry or sector just as well?

I already had a level 8 degree and when I signed up to Springboard I was in split minds about whether to do a level 8 or a level 9 option. At the time, level 9 made sense because it was a progression on the qualification I had. But in the end, I chose the level 8. The main reason was because I was working full time and doing the course part time, coupled with the fact that the course was in a different field relative to my experience. I was so glad I made this choice, it's allowed me to try a subject that I've decided is not really for me, without the risk of failing it for being too difficult.

cefh17 · 28-06-2020 04:47PM

I'm trying to get p60 as proof of employment, can't seem to get it to show without salary details. Any ideas? Would a redacted p60 be okay?

FFVII · 28-06-2020 06:36PM

Theirs loads of mistakes in the spreadsheet on what levels certain courses are.

FFVII · 28-06-2020 07:06PM

cefh17 wrote: »

I'm trying to get p60 as proof of employment, can't seem to get it to show without salary details. Any ideas? Would a redacted p60 be okay?

1) If you are employed: a recent payslip / most recent P60 / letter from your employer confirming this (amounts must be redacted/blacked out from financial documents).

cefh17 · 28-06-2020 07:22PM

FFVII wrote: »

1) If you are employed: a recent payslip / most recent P60 / letter from your employer confirming this (amounts must be redacted/blacked out from financial documents).

Payslip is perfect, thanks for the reply

Illium · 28-06-2020 07:58PM

Has anybody done the management courses in UL?

If anyone has any experience in completing this type of course, I'd love some feedback. Thanks.

skimpydoo · 28-06-2020 08:41PM

CBear1993 wrote: »

Were you working in IT obviously?

Actually I was unemployed at the time. The last job I had was as an office manager and one of my tasks was to update our Wordpress website.

jaffa20 · 28-06-2020 11:54PM

So many courses sound interesting but i can't see what careers you could have with them.

CBear1993 · 29-06-2020 12:01AM

I literally scanned through all 215 odd postgrad courses, taking my time yesterday, singled a few out for further inspection.

Today I did the same with the 250 odd undergrad courses (approx).

Bit of a minefield really, as someone who takes every angle and researched stuff down til the very last detail, looking up postgraduate courses to take a change in career is mind boggling on university courses here in general.

Some of the “career prospects” section on springboard leaves a lot to be desired, quite vague with no real promise of anything.

I was bombarded by that Innopharma crowd last summer from springboard ringing me constantly to start a course. It was as bad as recruiters’ calls. Whenever I quizzed her on what I would actually be doing post course she went quiet “shift work”.

Some very interesting courses don’t get me wrong. Just hard to see whether many of the level 6 and 7 ones would be substantial enough to get you in a meaningful position.
And then if you choose to go level 9 as someone who’s previously did a level 8 degree, you’re taking the gamble on dropping a huge way in salary in a new sector, despite having put yourself round the bend for a year minimum doing a course outside of a full time job. There should be more of a resource platform on actual real life stories of people who have completed the courses and what they are doing now, not the fake advertised ones on the homepage. Or some industry / employer engagement where you can ask questions. When you’re in the course is far too late

AngryLips · 29-06-2020 08:02AM

CBear1993 wrote: »

And then if you choose to go level 9 as someone who’s previously did a level 8 degree, you’re taking the gamble on dropping a huge way in salary in a new sector, despite having put yourself round the bend for a year minimum doing a course outside of a full time job.

Well that's generally the case for anyone looking to change fields professionally, can't blame Springboard for that.

Brozy · 29-06-2020 08:15AM

CBear1993 wrote: »

There should be more of a resource platform on actual real life stories of people who have completed the courses and what they are doing now, not the fake advertised ones on the homepage. Or some industry / employer engagement where you can ask questions. When you’re in the course is far too late

I'm not sure how easy this would be to do but if you've a small list of courses you may be able to search them on LinkedIn and see who has done them and then ask for their opinions. You may also be able to see their job titles and work out from the timelines whether the course in question may have helped. Not ideal and may be time consuming but if you've time on your hands may be worth a try.

nibtrix · 29-06-2020 08:45AM

Darragh James wrote: »

Hi, could anyone make some suggestions on good Springboard/HCI courses to do?
- I want something that I'm likely (if not almost certain) to get a job/career from - NOT doing this for personal satisfaction or to pass the time, and I'm too old to faff around (47 this year);
- Something where the jobs aren't all in Dublin;
- I live in the Mid-West (could travel to Clare, Limk, maybe Tipp and Galway for work);
- I have an honours arts degree and currently work in media but want to change - NO digital marketing or any of that sh1te please!;
- Interested enough in science stuff e.g. environmental, bio sciences, med-tech etc; also quite like the notion of something like logistics or design (I mean design of actual physical things - buildings, products - not graphic design)
All help and suggestions welcome!
Also a few Qs: can anyone do any of these courses? e.g. you don't need a science degree to do a science diploma?
And: does "full-time" mean you have to attend in person? (This would obviously limit choices of where to apply...)
Thanks in advance.

I did a Springboard course with DCU, a PostGrad Diploma in Mgmt of Operations. They also did Pg Diplomas in Information System Strategy, Mgmt of Clean Technologies, Mgmt for Sustainable Development, Mgmt of Internet Enterprise Systems.
All run completely online except for 1 day at the beginning which was on-site in DCU (a Saturday). There are online tutorials some evenings but they are recorded, so you can watch them in your own time - or ignore them completely if you're happy with the other material.

I found it a very worthwhile course, but it was intensive. 60 credits in a single year is essentially a full-time course, so if you are also working full-time it's a lot of time needed. That said, there were several people on the course who successfully juggled a full-time job, study, and family responsibilities.

CBear1993 · 29-06-2020 08:57AM

nibtrix wrote: »

I did a Springboard course with DCU, a PostGrad Diploma in Mgmt of Operations. They also did Pg Diplomas in Information System Strategy, Mgmt of Clean Technologies, Mgmt for Sustainable Development, Mgmt of Internet Enterprise Systems.
All run completely online except for 1 day at the beginning which was on-site in DCU (a Saturday). There are online tutorials some evenings but they are recorded, so you can watch them in your own time - or ignore them completely if you're happy with the other material.

I found it a very worthwhile course, but it was intensive. 60 credits in a single year is essentially a full-time course, so if you are also working full-time it's a lot of time needed. That said, there were several people on the course who successfully juggled a full-time job, study, and family responsibilities.

I was intrigued by the management of operations course as well, but from reading it it was for people in senior/management positions? Possibly later on in their career... ?

nibtrix · 29-06-2020 09:16AM

CBear1993 wrote: »

I was intrigued by the management of operations course as well, but from reading it it was for people in senior/management positions? Possibly later on in their career... ?

I would say you need some management experience, but not senior mgt. A team leader position could be enough depending on your responsibilities. You do need to submit a synopsis of your experience as well as what you hope to get out of the course as part of the application, and they make the decision based on that as well as any pre-existing qualifications. There were people of all ages on the course, including some in their early-mid twenties.

The course covers project mgt, change mgt, ops mgt, service operations mgt, as well as environmental/sustainability as it relates to mgt etc. There's also a lot of research skills etc. taught as it's a preparation for the Masters element of the course (which you can add at the end, but you would have to pay for it yourself).

Darragh James · 29-06-2020 09:57AM

Thank you

Springboard courses. Free college courses sponsored by the Irish Government

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