Leadership & Employability Advancement Programme (LEAP)

UCD Smurfit School’s LEAP Programmes take a holistic and unique approach to your professional development, with a dual-focus on building your global leadership competence and future employability in the market. LEAP Programmes underpin our MBA Programmes and are designed to support you wherever you are on your leadership and career journey as you progress through the Programme.

LEAP is designed so that your focus throughout is on the behavioural insight and subsequent development that will enable you to fulfil your career potential by benchmarking you against the Smurfit Employability Competence Framework at the appropriate level for your career experience. Grounded in the principles of evidence-based management, LEAP is the bridge between the academic and business worlds and forms an integral part of your MBA, running for the duration of your Programme. Following graduation, UCD Smurfit School continues to support your career development and leadership journey, with the Careers & Alumni Relations team bringing all MBAs together annually for three years post-graduation for a careers masterclass and networking event. As a lifelong member of the UCD College of Business Alumni Community, 
which extends to over 107,000 alumni, we will help you to keep in contact with colleagues, classmates, the school and the wider business community.

About LEAP

Global in focus, LEAP is designed to support professionals and area specialists on the full-time Programme to make successful career transitions and to be prepared for the challenges of leadership in an ever changing business world. The LEAP Programme offers you the opportunity to:

• Develop your behavioural competencies to compete at the required level for MBA roles
• Build your intercultural competence to enable you to lead and excel in global teams
• Benchmark your competence level by participating in an Employability Centre
• Participate in our Employer Mock-Interviews and receive industry feedback on your performance
• Navigate your career transition with the support of a senior Smurfit Alumni Mentor
• Network and build professional relationships to support you through your career
• Build your personal resilience through 1-2-1 coaching
• Create your unique job search strategy with one-to-one support from the Smurfit Careers Network team
• Gather with recent MBA Alumni at the annual career masterclass and networking event.

Programme Structure