If your question isn't here, email hello@theacademy.ie — we'll answer and add it to this page.
No. The Vibe Coding and Directory Data tracks are designed for people with zero prior experience. The Civic Tech track assumes you can write basic Python, or are willing to learn it with AI assistance during the cohort — we've seen people go from zero to working scraper in four weeks. The Editorial SEO track needs no code at all — just the ability to research and write clearly.
Yes. For members, always. The model is: you ship work that improves a real Irish site; the site operator gets better coverage or data; you get a reference and a portfolio piece. Nobody charges anybody.
If we ever run employer-sponsored cohorts — where an Irish company funds a specific project — members in those cohorts would receive a stipend. Sponsors pay; members never do.
No. The cohort is fully remote and async. The sites you'll work on are Irish-focused, and the reference is issued under an Irish brand context, but you can be anywhere in the world with an internet connection. All check-ins happen over video call or async.
No minimum or maximum. We've had applicants ranging from recent school leavers to career changers in their 50s. The only question we're asking is whether you want to ship something real and have the hours to do it.
Roughly 10–15 hours per week for four weeks. That breaks down as:
There's no 9–5 schedule. If you do three hours on Wednesday evening and five hours on Sunday afternoon, that's fine. What matters is that you're hitting your weekly deliverables.
Tell your mentor and coordinator before the week starts, not after. One missed week won't end your reference path — life happens, and the cohort is designed to flex. Two consecutive silent weeks does, because the rest of the cohort depends on your output. If something major comes up mid-cohort, we'll have a frank conversation about whether carrying you to the next one makes sense.
Yes, that's the most common situation. 10–15 hours a week is roughly one full day of focused work, spread across evenings and weekends. Most of Cohort 1's applicants are in this position. If you have more time than that, you'll finish faster and probably take on a stretch deliverable.
You state a first preference (and optionally a second) in the application. We match you based on what's available in the cohort and what your application suggests about your aptitude. We don't fill a slot with someone who'd struggle just to fill the slot — if your preferred role is full, we'll tell you clearly and give you the option to pre-apply for a later cohort where that role is open.
Seven roles across the Carlow localnews.ie project: sources researcher, entity researcher, content writer (2 slots), vibe coder (scraper builder), designer, SEO analyst, and QA coordinator. Each role has a concrete four-week deliverable and clear graduation criteria. Read the full breakdown →
In theory yes, in practice rarely. Four weeks at 10–15 hours per week is genuinely demanding if you want to do it well. Most people who try to double-track end up with two mediocre outputs instead of one strong one. We'll tell you honestly if we think you're spreading thin.
A permanent, public page at builtinireland.ie/references/your-name that states:
It's not a PDF you email. It's a URL anyone can visit and verify. See what a reference looks like →
Built In Ireland and Raven Design. Built In Ireland is the public-facing Irish jobs and careers brand; Raven Design is the studio behind the portfolio of sites you'll work on. Both names carry weight in Irish digital and media circles, which is the whole point.
Four things, the same across every track:
No public record of the attempt. The reference page either exists or it doesn't — there's no "failed reference" page. If you get to week three and it's looking shaky, your mentor will tell you directly rather than surprise you at the end. The conversation exists to give you a chance to course-correct or bow out gracefully, not to shame you.
Three things happen the same week the cohort closes: your reference page goes live at builtinireland.ie, a card for you appears on theacademy.ie/graduates/, and you get added to The Academy alumni network. Your work stays live on the project site indefinitely — it's part of the production site, not a sandbox that gets deleted.
The reference page itself stays up — it's a verifiable credential and removing it would undermine the whole system. However, if you'd rather not appear on the /graduates/ wall here, just email us and we'll remove your card from this page. The reference URL itself remains valid and findable by anyone who has it.
Yes. Academy graduates can apply for any subsequent cohort, including in a different role or track than their first. Some graduates become mentors after running two or three cohorts. That's explicitly part of the long-term plan.
Three ways. First, it’s free. Second, you ship real work on a live site with real users — not a tutorial project that gets deleted after the course ends. Third, the output is a verifiable reference, not a completion certificate. A bootcamp certificate proves you sat through a curriculum. The Academy reference proves you shipped something specific, on a named site, in production.
Also: bootcamps tend to focus on one track (usually software engineering). The Academy covers four different aptitudes, including roles that don’t require code at all.
The Academy is the cohort engine; Built In Ireland is the public-facing brand where reference letters live. Raven Design is the studio behind the portfolio of Irish sites you'll work on — localnews.ie, myid.ie, pubhub.ie and others. Both co-sign the references. Think of it as two doors into the same building: The Academy is the entrance for people joining a cohort; Built In Ireland is where the proof of what they did lives permanently.
Email us at hello@theacademy.ie — we'll answer within a few days and add your question here if it’s one others are likely to ask.
Apply to Cohort 1 →