The University of Galway is located in the heart city of Galway, Ireland. The university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 2012 and is ranked among the top 2 percent of universities in the 2018 QS World University Rankings.  The University has almost 19,000 students and over 2000 staff.

In 2020 the University was awarded funding for a new initiative called Designing Futures which will embed a design approach to life for all students.  The project is designed to empower, educate and support students to lead better lives and succeed in the complex world we live in. Designing Futures will ensure University of Galway’s position as a leader in innovative, student-centred and enterprise-engaged education internationally.

The University is home to two flagship units that specialise in human centred design, IdeasLab and Bioinnovate Ireland.  IdeasLab is the University of Galway’s student innovation hub, who use design thinking across all their programmes and modules.  The unit has a fully developed empathy lab, the first if its kind in Europe which combines the science of human behaviour with the art of human centred design.  Bioinnovate Ireland is an affiliate of Stanford BioDesign.  Bioinnovate Ireland develop a talented, motivated, multidisciplinary pool of innovators to shape the future of healthcare globally. Supported by Enterprise Ireland, it has grown significantly since its inception.