My fifth-year daughter possesses an immense creative flair, suggesting her career path will likely encompass some form of artistic or creativity-driven line of work, however, the future remains unclear as to what specific pursuit she should engage in, as well as the best job prospects. If you have any insights into appropriate courses based in Dublin, I would appreciate your assistance.
Dublin is home to two esteemed colleges noted for their excellence in delivering creative arts programmes; The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and The Institute of Art Design and Technology (IADT).
Boasting a traditional art school aura, NCAD prides itself on a broad scope of expertise, from fine art to a diverse array of crafts, such as ceramics, textiles and jewellery. Students are nurtured to conceive and develop fresh, sustainable ideas in its design scheme; the challenge to perceive the world new is presented in the fine arts programme. Meanwhile, the education degree ignites a passion for the arts, and the visual culture program facilitates deep exploration into the history and theories underpinning art, design, fashion, film and modern media.
In contrast, IADT in Dún Laoghaire provides a more expansive variety of schemes in the fields of arts, humanities, technology, entrepreneurship, and film. National Film School makes its home here, with programmes in animation, television, film and film design. Both colleges, whilst offering excellent programmes, differ in size and structure. With ambitions to extend its community of 2,500 full-time students to 3,500 upon establishing a new digital media building in 2025, IADT is a fair bit larger than NCAD, who currently houses roughly 950 full-time students with an additional 600 part-time pupils.
IADT is recognised as a sanctioning body, giving its own awards like other universities, while NCAD, as a college acknowledged by University College Dublin (UCD), hands out UCD awards.
In conclusion, the internationally and nationally respected, NCAD is a classic art school, whereas IADT, a founding member of the European University of Film (Film EU), identifies itself as Ireland’s fulcrum of the creative industries. It’s worth mentioning that the creative industries offer employment to nearly 9% of Ireland’s workforce, with the film and audiovisual industries in particular experiencing significant recent growth.
Recently, a digital creative industry roadmap has been launched by the government. The document highlights the differentiation made between “central cultural sectors”, which are well catered to by NCAD, and cultural sectors like audiovisual, music, game development, animation, film, etc., that fall under the expertise of IADT.
Latest investigations and assessments have identified the value of having more specific definitions distinguishing key cultural sectors such as museums, libraries, and arts; cultural sectors such as crafts, audiovisual, music recording, and publishing; and creative sectors such as digital gaming, design, and advertising.
At present, creative industries employ 9% of Ireland’s workforce, with recent significant growth observed in film and audiovisual sectors.
It would be a good idea for your daughter to spend a day exploring both universities to better understand the opportunities available in Dublin’s creative sector.