The inaugural Capstone Showcase for UCD’s BA in Creative & Cultural Industries (CCI) marked a major milestone for both students and Ireland’s wider creative sector. Held in Trapdoor, UCD’s state-of-the-art black box theatre on 8th May 2026, the event celebrated the first graduating class of the innovative interdisciplinary programme developed through Creative Futures Academy (CFA).

Family members, academics, industry leaders and creative practitioners gathered to recognise the achievements of 28 final-year students whose projects explored themes ranging from AI and digital culture to activism, identity, accessibility and sustainability. The strong attendance from families travelling across Ireland reflected the significance of the occasion, while the presence of industry partners highlighted the programme’s deep engagement with the creative and cultural industries.

Welcoming guests, Professor Emily Mark-FitzGerald, Head of Subject for Cultural Policy & Industries and Pathway Coordinator for the BA in CCI, described the programme as “the embodiment of what university should be: a time for exploration, encounter, and experimentation.” She highlighted the degree’s unique interdisciplinary structure, combining arts and humanities with business, law, media and communications, preparing students to navigate and shape an evolving creative economy.

CCI is symbolic of CFA at UCD’s focus on connecting with the wider industry and cultural landscape, and we are investing in this area to ensure our students not only leave UCD ready for the world, but leave ready to transform it.

Industry-facing: The Creative Futures Academy funding from the HEA has enabled our students benefit for a wide range of industry-focused modules over their past four years, including: 

• ‘Cinema Creatives’, led by Grainne Humphreys, a UCD Alumnus and Director of the Dublin International Film Festival, which invites in writers, directors, and actors from Ireland’s incredible film sector.

• ‘Meet the Makers’, a first year module that introduces students to a diverse range of creative professionals who visit class weekly, spanning fashion, performance, music, video games, and film – sharing with students invaluable advice and perspectives on current challenges and opportunities in the sector, and helping them to begin building their professional network.

• ‘Minding your Business’, taught by UCD Teaching Fellow and award-winning artist Dafe Pessu Orugbo, which prepares students to enter creative work, by developing personal webpages and portfolios; interviewing and CV preparation; pricing/costing work; managing tax and personal finance; workers’ rights;  and sustaining mental health and wellbeing.

Formally launched by UCD President Professor Orla Feely, the showcase demonstrated the breadth and ambition of student work produced across four years of industry-focused learning. The students’ final-year projects were introduced by Dafe Pessu Orugbo, an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and UCD Teaching Fellow on the Creative & Cultural Industries programme. He has spent the last year coaching student projects and preparing them to transition to industry.

Projects included activist art installations, ethnographic filmmaking, zines, digital exhibitions, marketing plans and multimedia performances. Among the featured presentations were Klaudie Guthova’s research into trust and authenticity in AI-generated marketing content, Haiyue Jing’s ethnographic short film documenting the lives of first-generation working women in Southwest China, and Lara Comiskey and Eva Duggan’s collaborative exploration of changing student social life at UCD.

The event also highlighted the programme’s strong industry-facing ethos. Supported through the HEA Human Capital Initiative and CFA collaboration between UCD, NCAD and IADT, the degree has enabled students to engage directly with professionals across film, media, fashion, music, design and broadcasting. Many students have completed internships with organisations including Disney+, RTÉ, Element Pictures and LADbible Ireland, while others have participated in study abroad programmes across Europe, Asia and Australia.

Ireland’s creative industries contribute more than €5 billion annually to the economy and employ over 80,000 people. The BA in Creative & Cultural Industries was designed in direct consultation with industry to help develop the next generation of creative professionals equipped with interdisciplinary skills, adaptability and entrepreneurial thinking.

As the first cohort prepares to graduate, the Capstone Showcase demonstrated not only the creativity and critical thinking of its students, but also the growing impact of CFA in shaping Ireland’s future cultural and creative landscape. Huge congratulations to all the students involved and special thanks to Emily Mark-FitzGerald, Emer Beesley and Dafe Pessu Orugbo for organising. Read the full list of the projects below.

CFA was also delighted to have the showcase covered by RTÉ – read the full article HERE