Creative Futures Academy (CFA) – a unique collaboration between the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), University College Dublin (UCD), and the Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT) – has launched its new Strategy 2026 – 2030, marking a significant milestone in its mission to support creative skills development, innovation, and collaboration across Ireland’s Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI).

On Monday, November 3rd, CFA hosted an Industry Breakfast Morning at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM), bringing together leading voices from Government, Higher Education, and the CCI sector to explore how Ireland can strengthen its creative economy and meet future skills needs.

The event, Shaping Ireland’s Creative Future, was the first in a new CFA series and marked the beginning of a national conversation on advancing Ireland’s creative and cultural industries. It recognised their vital economic, cultural, and social value, and called for collective action to shape future policy and investment.

Find out more about the event HERE

Images by Leon Farrell, Photocall Ireland.

CFA delivers on the Government’s priorities for future skills through an extended suite of micro-credentials, supporting lifelong learning and ensuring accessibility for professionals across the creative and cultural industries and beyond.

Since its establishment in 2020, supported by €10 million in Human Capital Initiative (HCI) funding (2020–2025), CFA has achieved transformative impact across higher education and enterprise collaboration:

• Transformed pedagogical infrastructures enabling a more responsive higher education system
• Established a robust governance model fostering strong inter- and intra-institutional partnerships
• Enabled credited learner mobility across institutions
• Developed and delivered 140+ new and enhanced courses through 180 modules, engaging 5,000+ learners
• Delivered 4,000+ enterprise collaborations, co-developing and co-delivering industry-relevant courses
• Developed state-of-the-art facilities, including:
  • The Trapdoor Theatre and Creative Arts Lab at UCD
  • Dolby Atmos Sound Studio at IADT
  • The Walsh 3D Fabrication Facility at NCAD

CFA has garnered significant international recognition, particularly across the EU, for its leadership in implementing micro-credentials – strengthening Ireland’s reputation within a dynamically evolving higher education landscape.

Designed for the fast-evolving creative sector, CFA’s programmes span digital technologies (including AI, AR and VR), screen, media and broadcasting, creative writing, music and performing arts, and visual and applied arts and design. As creativity becomes increasingly valued across all industries, CFA equips learners with practical, industry-relevant skills that drive innovation and growth in diverse sectors.

Read the full CFA Strategy 2026 – 2030 at link below.