Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology

Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) is a publicly funded higher education college in Ireland established in 1997. Operating as an autonomous awarding body within Ireland's Institutes of Technology sector, IADT centers its education on the convergence of creative arts, commercial enterprise, and digital technology.

The campus houses the National Film School (NFS), a CILECT member institution providing a production ecosystem where traditional film craft connects with real-time digital workflows and virtual production techniques. Across programs, teaching emphasizes collaborative, project-based coursework. Students crew live productions and broadcast projects alongside industry professionals, gaining practical experience within live studio pipelines.

Animation and Immersive Media

Undergraduate pathways include a foundational BA (Hons) in Animation—focusing on storyboarding, character design, and cinema history—alongside a dedicated four-year BA (Hons) in 3D Animation structured around contemporary digital pipelines. Curricular areas within 3D animation span asset creation through digital sculpting and modeling, world building and environment texturing, character performance, and final sequence finishing including lighting, rendering, and compositing.

Addressing real-time workflows and in-camera visual effects, the BA (Hons) in Immersive Media Production combines game design, filmmaking, and software engineering. The program utilizes Unreal Engine to instruct students in virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality, preparing technical artists to build virtual environments coordinated with physical camera tracking.

Advanced and Professional Pathways

At the postgraduate level, the MA in Animation supports practice-led creative research and portfolio refinement. Through a transatlantic partnership with Sheridan College and Seneca Polytechnic in Canada, the MA in 3D Animation Ontario Colleges Pathway recognizes qualified Canadian postgraduate certificates toward the first two semesters of IADT's master's degree, allowing students to complete research methods and a major project in Ireland.

Professional micro-credentials include the fully online Certificate in Production Management for Animation, developed with Screen Skills Ireland to train production managers across 2D, 3D, and VFX workflows. For emerging ventures, the on-campus Media Cube incubation facility provides workspace, acceleration programs, and mentoring for digital media startups.

Specialist infrastructure on the Dún Laoghaire campus includes the 7,208-square-meter Digital Media Building, which features 19 digital design studios and dedicated computer labs, complemented by green-screen spaces, render facilities, and multi-camera television studios.