Immersive Software Engineering is the future.

Imagine a computer science degree where you learn by doing. Where you spend half your time being paid to solve some of society’s toughest problems in the world’s best companies, and half your time learning with the best lecturers and researchers. Where you learn in studios working on projects, not in lecture halls. Where you get a master’s qualification in four years.

ISE’s residencies are inspired by medical school residencies, in which trainee doctors apply what they have studied in a classroom to patients while being mentored. Software engineering is a craft you learn by doing. We think you will learn best on the job, with mentoring from both industry and academia.

In your four years at ISE you will complete up to five paid residencies, each between three and six months long. Each residency teaches you a suite of concrete skills and gives you the opportunities to practice them.

Inside these companies you will be a part of real, professional teams solving problems like: Climate Crisis; Auto Accidents; Financial Services; Healthcare; Speech Analysis; Business Startup.

Dive right in with ISE.

Immersive Software Engineering is a highly competitive, immersive programme from which students graduate with a master’s degree in software engineering in under four years.

ISE is a radical change in how we teach computer science. ISE features a much more intensive student experience. We achieve a fast-tracked graduation by removing summers and devoting every-other semester to residencies.

Residencies are not internships. Residencies are designed so students learn in the same way medical doctors do, by acquiring prescribed skills in real-world settings. Students learn at an accelerated pace during their time at UL in team-taught blocks in a bespoke studio setting.

The focus is on project-driven, peer-based learning with input from companies at all times. Assessment is continuous. Students spend 45% of their time in companies like Stripe, AWS, Intercom, Analog Devices, as well as many Irish startups and SMEs. We have venture capital firms as well as Enterprise Ireland and the IDA as part of our coalition of partners.

We find creative, motivated students, teach them cutting edge software engineering, match them to research active, industry-connected innovative companies, and mentor them to achieve their best outcomes.

We help act as a bridge between Irish computer science students, European tech giants, and Silicon Valley.

Find out if your company can benefit from ISE’s students by booking a call with our Residency Team ISE.

Who you'll work with:

Real-world, hands on experience

“This is exactly what I wanted when I was in college.”

Marc Andreessen

Inventor of the web browser

“This is a phenomenal way to learn the skills you need to build the next Instagram.”

Mike Krieger

Co-founder of Instagram

“Our industry partners have been invaluable in the conception of this disrupting programme, bringing their incredible industry experience to the benefit of our future graduates and effectively doing something that has never been done before in shaping and changing how computer science is taught in Ireland.”

Prof Kerstin Mey

President of University of Limerick

“Studying software engineering gives you the freedom to follow your passions and put your creativity to work. If I had the choice at the time, Immersive Software Engineering would have been a dream course for me.”

Sarah Sharkey

Software engineer at Stripe

Software engineering is a wonderful career. Immersive Software Engineering gets students writing code in the real world as quickly as possible, so they’re ready to join today’s leading companies or start Ireland’s next breakout startup.”

John Collison

Entrepreneur, co-founder of Stripe

We are delighted to work with UL to ensure students are getting real-world, hands-on experience and are proud to collaborate with the University to help mould the next generation’s engineers.”

Vincent Roche

CEO, Analog Devices

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