NCI Course Details

A neurotype refers to how a person thinks about, interacts with the world, and responds to different ways of communicating, such as body language or social cues as well as to different ways of thinking. You may be familiar with different neurodevelopmental differences such as Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Epilepsy, Tourette’s Syndrome and other differences.

At a time of near full employment when a different approach to work is increasingly important, creating a more diverse-accepting workplace gives the opportunity for improvement across the organisation. Managers and neurodiverse employees will both benefit from gaining a greater understanding of neurodiversity and on how to make the workplace more accommodating and ensuring the unique abilities of all employees are harnessed towards greater success.

This programme will give insight and skills to bring these advantages to your organisation or your career.

This microcredential programme is suitable for:

1. An individual who is working or planning to work in an organisation with a neurodiverse workforce
2. Employers who want to understand and access neurodiverse talent and/or harness the neurodiversity of their current workforce /li>
3. Individuals within the neurodiverse community seeking a greater understanding of themselves and how they can better contribute to the workplace
4. People with a Clinical / Psychological / Occupational Therapy background who assist people from the neurodiversity community seeking employment

Over the duration of the course the following topics will be covered:

• Introduction to Neurodiversity
  Learners will be introduced to currently recognised forms of neurodiversity. These workshops will include an explanation of the diagnosis and impacts of a range of diversities and explore the historical context and evolution of neurodiversity recognition. An introductory discussion will focus on the neurological bases of neurodiversity.
• Legal frameworks, rights and behaviours related to neurodiversity in the workplace
  An exploration of the broader societal issues of neurodiversity such as attitudes to disability, international and national policy developments such as UNCRPD, SDGs, equality legislation and the inclusion of the voices and viewpoints of neurodiverse people.
• Strengths and Contributions of Neurodiverse Individuals
  How Neurodiverse individuals can be an asset in the workplace and how best to capitalise on the talents of everyone in the organisation. This segment will include developing strategies to identify and develop the unique talents of neurodiverse employees and for recruitment and retention.
• Addressing Workplace Challenges Associated with Neurodiversity
  Each neurodiversity presents challenges, and this section will further develop the learners' understanding of these challenges and prepare the foundation for the next section.
• Inclusive Workplace Strategies
  Learners will explore how to evaluate the workplace and how to plan for inclusivity of diversity to gain corporate advantage. This section will include an introduction to workplace playbooks and the development of performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of neurodiversity initiatives.

Graduates from the programme will receive a QQI special Purpose Award, Level 9 (10 ECTS CREDITS) Certificate in Harnessing Neurodiversity in the Modern Workplace.

Any graduates from the programme who wish to progress to a different level 9 programme which features a Harnessing Neurodiversity in the Modern Workplace module may be exempt from that module.

Typically, applicants will have completed a full level 8 degree with a 2.2 award or higher, Applicants who do not meet the above academic requirements but can provide evidence of substantial professional experience in a relevant domain may apply to the programme via the Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) process at the National College of Ireland.

For applicants whose first language is not English, please note the English language entry requirements. Given the blended delivery of the programme applicants must be able to navigate a website and engage with typical, standard applications such as Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint. 

Indicative Timetable Start Date: 18th January 2025

National College of Ireland has implemented a Bring Your Own Device policy for all courses. Specifically, students are expected to successfully participate in lectures, laboratories and projects using a portable computer (laptop/notebook) with a substantial hardware configuration.

The minimal suitable configuration is:

Processor:

• Intel 7th (or higher) generation processors (Core i-3, ii-5, -7,i-9-7x)
• or AMD Ryzen 3rd generation processors, running at 2.0GHz and above (Intel Atom/Celeron or AMD Athlon/Sempron Processors may cost less, but may not meet your requirements)

Random Access Memory (RAM):
8 GB minimum

Solid State Drive (SSD) Capacity:
256 GB minimum

Wireless Card:
802.11 a/b/g/n compliant with Bluetooth Capability (incompatibilities have been noted with the Qualcomm Atheros Wireless Adapters and software device drivers)

Graphics Card:
Direct X9 or later

Supported Operating Systems:
Windows 10 Home/Pro

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure their computer is functioning correctly and that they have full administrator rights. NCI cannot provide support for these personal devices.

Student Laptop Loan Scheme

A Laptop Loan Scheme is available for eligible students to assist them in completing their chosen course.

The course fee is €950
(Fees revised annually)

This programme is delivered in a blended learning format with a total of 36 hours learning delivered over 5 weeks, in addition to this the learner will be expected to engage in independent study.

The blended delivery of the programme means that a third of the coursework will be delivered online in live online lectures, another third will be delivered face to face with timetabled classes on campus at NCI and the final third delivered through recorded classes or other online learning materials that you can cover in your own schedule.

The classes will also feature a series of guest experts from industry.