AI, Tech, and Sustainability in Dublin

Program Overview

Artificial intelligence is often described as though it lives in the cloud, weightless and everywhere at once. It does not. Every model runs on machines that occupy land, draw electricity, consume water, and depend on decisions made by utilities, regulators, and communities. This program takes that physical reality seriously and puts you in one of the European cities where it is most visible. Dublin is home to the European headquarters of much of the global technology industry and to one of the densest concentrations of data centers in the world, which has made Ireland an early test case for a question the rest of the world is only beginning to ask: what does AI actually demand from the places that host it? With the State of Oregon a top location for data centers in the U.S., we'll look to the Irish for lessons about do's and don'ts.

Over five weeks you will move between the classroom and the field, spending most weeks in class early in the week and out on site visits midweek. You will look inside the infrastructure that powers AI, examine how Ireland's electric grid and water systems absorb that demand, and hear from the people shaping the response, including regulators, researchers in Dublin's applied AI and startup community, and the companies that are creating frontier AI models. Excursions extend beyond the capital, with an overnight in Galway and at least one visit to a Data Center. The academic work is grounded in real analysis rather than abstraction, and you will leave able to assess AI's system of costs and benefits with genuine independence, and the ability to guide humans navigating today's “should we or shouldn't we” decisions about AI use.

The program is open to students across all majors and carries no business prerequisites, because the questions at its center belong to policy, journalism, environmental studies, design, economics, computer science, and law as much as they do to business. You will live in a student residence at University College Dublin alongside your cohort, with on-site staff available throughout the program and long weekends kept open for independent travel. Whether you arrive skeptical of AI, invested in it, or simply curious about what it is really made of, you will finish the program with an informed point of view you built yourself.

Dates and Deadlines

Term	Year	Deadline	Arrival Date	Departure Date
Summer	2027	03/15/2027	Late June	Early August

**Students are encouraged to apply early. This program has received high interest and may fill before the application deadline.

This program has a rolling admission application process: GEO staff will review the application materials of complete applications in the order that they are submitted (“first come, first serve”). Decisions about acceptance will be made shortly after you submit a complete application. There are some programs that fill fast, some even before the deadline. Students are encouraged to complete applications and commit to programs early.Acceptance is based on a holistic review of your application. This includes a review of your GPA, transcripts (including courses taken and in-progress), any additional requirements or prerequisites (see section "Additional Requirements"), and the short statement.

Faculty-Led Scholarship Opportunity

Applicants to this program are eligible for program-specific scholarship funds. Award recipients are chosen based on academic merit, financial need, and overall quality of their essay. Individual awards range from $500-$1,500. To be considered, apply to the GEO General Scholarship by the advertised deadline for the term you will be abroad. Students who apply will automatically be considered for all available funding within the General Scholarship, including this program's scholarship funds.

Academic Details

You will enroll in two, four-credit classes during the program. These courses will combine classroom learning with experiential excursions that provide access to the infrastructure, institutions, and individuals shaping the conversation around artificial intelligence and sustainability in Ireland. All students will take The Sustainability of AI, taught by University of Oregon Professor of Practice Michael Jordan of the Lundquist College of Business. In addition, you will take a second course delivered by an instructor in Dublin, offering a local perspective on technology and its role in business and society.

The courses will consist of weekday class meetings, guest lectures, and field activities including site visits to data center and energy infrastructure, meetings with regulators, visits to research centers and organizations within Dublin's applied AI and startup community, and an overnight group trip to Galway, home to Ireland's largest operational onshore wind farm and over 48 km of recreational trails. Excursions are typically scheduled midweek, with long weekends kept open for independent travel.

For Non-UO students, actual credit awarded is determined by the relevant department at your home university in consultation with your home study abroad office. Check with your study abroad advisor for more information.

Course Equivalencies

UO students: please refer to the UO Course Equivalency Process and the UO Office of the Registrar Course Equivalency Database.

Non-UO students: Actual credit awarded is determined by the relevant department at your university in consultation with the study abroad office. Check with your study abroad advisor for more information.

Faculty and Staff

Michael Jordan is a professor of practice at the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business and director of its Center for Sustainable Business Practices. He is also the founder of Left Coast Advisors, a client service firm that helps organizations with strategic planning and operational improvements. Jordan is a former Fortune 500 executive and the founder of the sustainability strategy consulting practice at Jones Lang LaSalle, where he led client work for companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Cisco, and KeyBank. He served in operations leadership roles at CBRE and Sun Microsystems. He is a sought after industry speaker and author on sustainability, corporate performance management, and risk management. His coauthored book, Six Sigma for Sustainability, details how businesses can integrate proven sustainability strategies with Six Sigma business improvement techniques. As an undergraduate international studies major at UO, Michael spent his junior year studying economics and political science in Poitiers, France.

Housing Description

You will live in a student residence at University College Dublin, sharing the space with your program cohort rather than being placed individually with host families. UCD's campus sits just south of the city center and is well connected to central Dublin by public transit, which keeps you close to class, excursions, and the city itself. On-site staff are available throughout the program, and having the full group housed together makes it easy to travel to site visits as a cohort and to make plans on open weekends.

Budget and Price

2027 Summer

**GEO Program Fees**
Description	Amount
TBD

**Estimated Additional Expenses**
Description	Amount
Estimated Airfare from Eugene	$1,600
Estimated Additional Meals	$675
Estimated Cell Phone Expenses	$100
Estimated Travel Clinic and Pre-Departure Physical	$50
Estimated Cost of Acquiring a Passport	$150
Estimated Additional Living Expenses	$200

**Total**
Description	Amount
Sub-Total: Estimated Additional Expenses	$2,775

Cancellation Policy

Cancellation Date	Cancellation Penalty
Upon acceptance to program	Student agrees to $500 non-refundable program deposit.
8 weeks before program start date	Student is responsible for 50% of total GEO program fees.
Program start date or after program begins	Student is responsible for 100% of total GEO program fees.

IMPORTANT: The GEO Cancellation Policy is effective from the time a student agrees to pay their non-refundable program deposit or electronically signs the program commitment form, regardless of application or acceptance status. It is essential to read this policy before a potential cancellation takes place, to fully understand the withdrawal and cancellation penalties, and to understand what it means financially to commit to a study abroad program.

To view the program specific cancellation policy dates and penalties, click the term budget dropdown menu.

Students who cancel their participation must notify GEO in writing. Email is acceptable (geoinfo@uoregon.edu). Verbal notification to GEO or notification given to a non-UO campus study abroad office is not sufficient.

For full details, see the complete GEO Cancellation Policy.

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