Frequently Asked Questions

That depends on your objectives.

The Clean Growth Implementation Programme is ideal if you want practical support to develop circular projects, strengthen your innovation skills and create a tailored clean growth plan for your organisation. It leads to the non-accredited Circular Economy Innovation Champion award.

The PGCert is designed for those looking to take their learning further through an academically accredited programme. As well as completing practical projects, you’ll gain a recognised postgraduate qualification, complete a strategic growth project and explore innovation and circular economy principles in greater depth.

If gaining a university qualification and leading longer-term organisational change are important to you, the PGCert may be the best option. If your focus is on practical implementation without academic assessment, the Clean Growth Implementation Programme may be a better fit.

The PGCert includes all of the practical benefits of the Clean Growth Implementation Programme while adding an academic dimension through three postgraduate-level modules worth 60 credits in total.

Benefits of the PGCert include:

• A recognised postgraduate qualification from Cardiff Metropolitan University.
• Deeper exploration of circular economy, innovation and strategy.
• The opportunity to apply learning through a workplace-based strategic growth project.
• Enhanced professional development and career progression opportunities.
• Academic recognition for the work you complete.

The Clean Growth Implementation Programme is likely to be the best fit.

The programme is specifically designed to help participants develop innovation skills, build practical circular projects and create a tailored clean growth plan for their organisation, without the commitment of university-level assessment or academic study. It leads to the Circular Economy Innovation Champion award rather than an accredited qualification.

If you later decide that you would like to gain a recognised postgraduate qualification, you can progress from the Clean Growth Implementation Programme to the PGCert.

The Clean Growth Essentials (kickstart programme) comprises 1.5 days. In this course, you will learn about circular economy principles, basics of carbon reduction planning and get an overview of innovation tools & techniques.

The Clean Growth Implementation (full programme) consists of a 6-month programme comprising the kickstart programme plus an additional 7 workshops spread across 6 months:

The full PGCert is completed over one academic year and includes eight months of workshops alongside independent study and assessment activities.

For eligible CEIC alumni who receive RPCL for Module 1, the qualification may be completed in approximately six months.

Check our Cohorts and Success Stories page to see examples of the challenges and solutions developed by CEIC participants.

Our Innovation Communities are groups of like-minded people (Communities of Practice) from across Wales who share common challenges and are motivated to work collaboratively to find practical solutions.

A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come together to fulfill both individual and group goals. Communities of practice often focus on sharing best practices and creating new knowledge to advance a domain of professional practice. Interaction on an ongoing basis is an important part of this.

While people have learned together through informal communities of practice throughout history, the primary use of the concept originated in learning theory. Cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger coined the term “community of practice” when studying apprenticeships as a learning model—the term referred to the community that acts as a living curriculum.

The PGCert combines our award-winning experiential learning approach with traditional academic teaching methods. Learning activities include lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, case studies, group discussions and practical application in your own organisational context. You’ll be encouraged to apply concepts directly to real-world challenges throughout the programme. 

Select our ‘Apply Now’ page on the menu above. There’s a short application form and a member of our team will be in contact to discuss eligibility and funding options. If you’d like to learn more first, get in touch here.

Also check out our events page for any upcoming webinars or conferences.

The programme is open to private, public and third sector organisations operating inside and outside Wales. But you should be willing to travel to the in-person workshops (near Bridgend).