Google and Bank of Ireland launch SME AI scholarships

Evidence tier: A1 Evidence type: Auto-discovered official publication Source: Google Product News Official publication date: 2026-07-10 Captured: 2026-07-18T16:33:05.429Z

Running a small business means balancing a dozen jobs at once. From managing stock to keeping up with customer emails, your to-do list rarely ends. AI can help lighten that load — but knowing where to start can feel overwhelming.

To help you get started, we are partnering with Bank of Ireland to offer 10,000 fully funded scholarships for the Google AI Professional Certificate. Available to Bank of Ireland’s SME customers through our Grow with Google programme, these scholarships give you practical, everyday skills to save time and grow your business.

Learn at your own pace

We know you don’t have weeks to spare for training. That is why this certificate is built for busy schedules. It takes under 10 hours in total to complete, and you can break it down into manageable one-hour modules on Coursera.

Instead of heavy theory, you will focus on hands-on projects. By the end of the course, you will have a ready-to-use digital toolkit tailored to your business. You will also learn how to use daily tools to automate administrative tasks, draft correspondence and sort invoices. To give you space to experiment, everyone who takes part gets three months of extended access to Google AI Pro (terms and conditions apply).

See how other businesses do it

To support the rollout, Bank of Ireland has launched the SME AI Academy on ThinkBusiness.ie. Alongside the scholarship applications, the platform features practical guides and case studies from local businesses already using AI. You can read how McNally Family Farm in Dublin, OpenHive Bee Conservation in Wicklow and Lahinch Surf Shop in Clare use these tools to work smarter.

You can sign up for the scholarship here or explore guides at the SME AI Academy on ThinkBusiness.ie.