Programme Overview
Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, acts as a link between Irish food, drink and horticulture suppliers and existing and potential customers throughout the world. Its objective is to develop markets for Irish suppliers and to bring the taste of Irish food to more tables worldwide. With its headquarters in Dublin, Bord Bia has an extensive network of overseas offices.
The Bord Bia Talent Academy in partnership with Smurfit Executive Development, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School offers a range of world-leading post-graduate opportunities including the MSc Global Business Practice (Bord Bia International Graduate Programme).
Together we are looking for ambitious final year 2024/2025 students* and recent graduates* who come from a broad range of undergraduate degrees and who want to develop their global food industry expertise. Details for application opening times will not be available until mid 2024.*
As part of the Bord Bia International Graduate Programme successful candidates will undertake exciting international placements including rotations across Bord Bia's global office network while gaining an internationally recognised Masters.
This is a full scholarship programme. All tuition fees are paid and, in addition, you receive a tax free bursary of €43,700- €49,450* for the 24-month programme. The bursary is to cover participant’s basic living costs per 24 months. (Bursary is approximate and depends on the location assigned)
This is a full-time Action Learning programme designed around eight modules that will be delivered virtually or in-person. The programme will challenge participants through an exciting programme that includes block releases in Dublin, combined with industry placements.
On successful completion, graduates will have developed key competencies relevant to developing and implementing strategies for the Irish food/agribusiness industry. These competencies relate to export development strategies, building and using customer and market insights, marketing plan development and strategic marketing, delivering customer value propositions, global business in a digital context, logistics and supply chain management, and business sustainability.
If you have any queries about this programme, please contact a member of our team by email: bordbia@ucd.ie
Key Details
June 2025
Next Intake
Fees + bursary paid
Fees
24 Months
Duration
8 Modules
Delivery
NFQ Level 9 / 90 ECTS
Accredited / Credits
Programme Structure
- Placement with a Bord Bia office in Dublin or overseas
- Academic block release in Dublin
- Internationally-recognised Masters from UCD Michael Smurfit Business School – MSc Global Business Practice (Bord Bia)
- Full tuition fees paid and bursary towards living expenses awarded
- Applications welcome from all graduates
- Outstanding career prospects and professional development
- Some placements require fluency in a second language
Placement of participants will be selected from Bord Bia locations which may include Dublin, New York, London, Dubai, Shanghai, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Milan, Düsseldorf, Stockholm and Warsaw. A sample of locations are shown and are subject to confirmation.
Note:
While it is intended to offer 70 scholarship places in total UCD Smurfit School and Bord Bia reserve the right to offer scholarship places to more or less than the target of 70 places. It is hoped that 30 of these places will be offered on this programme.
The Smurfit Experience
Ranked 35th globally in latest 2023 Financial Times Rankings
UCD Smurfit Executive Development has been ranked 35th in the world in the 2023 Financial Times Executive Education Open Enrolment rankings. We are ranked 1st in Ireland and 21st in Europe with an increased overall participant satisfaction rating at 9.33/10.
The only Irish business school ranked in the Open Enrolment rankings, Smurfit Executive Development is globally ranked 25th place for New Skills and Learning, 28th place for Aims Achieved and 28th place for International Location which highlights the extent to which programmes are run off-site and outside the school’s base country and region bringing diversity of thought to the learning environment.
In addition, UCD Smurfit Executive Development ranked 34th for Teaching Methods and Materials, 35th for Course Design and 37th for Faculty. Find out more here.