Abbott: Parents, students and teachers attend STEM careers event – Science Week 2018

Members News - Community - Dec 10, 2018

Business in the Community Ireland

Abbott contributed significantly to National Science Week, 2018 by helping to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers in Ireland. Abbott started their science week activity off with “ASPIRE with Abbott,” which took place at Abbott’s Clonmel facility. This event was a showcase of STEM (Science, technology, engineering and maths) careers, sharing advice about how to confidently make CAO decisions, providing a better understanding about the future of work and supporting students as they build a pathway to third-level education.

On Wednesday, the 14th November of National Science Week saw ASPIRE with Abbott delivered again, hosted this time at the Institute of Technology, Sligo in partnership with the Sligo Science Festival, with students, parents and teachers attending from across the North-West region.

The two ASPIRE with Abbott events featured more than 450 students, parents and teachers hearing from a range of inspiring speakers. Abbott employees shared their varied career stories and outlined the many exciting and diverse roles that exist within the healthcare company, creating life-changing technology that meets changing healthcare needs. Other speakers included Irish scientist and former winner of the BT Young Scientist Ciara Judge, Peter Cosgrave, founder of the Future of Work Institute, STEM advocate Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain, NewsTalk presenter and founder of Whipsmart Media Jonathon McCrea, and David Collings, Professor of HRM at Dublin City University Business School.

Deirdre Mullins, site director of Abbott’s business in Clonmel, explained the company’s passion for STEM in Ireland: “Abbott has been supporting Science Week for over ten years because we believe that by sparking the interest of young people early in life we can provide a foundation for the next generation of scientific leaders to shape the future of innovation.”

Margaret Morrissey, Country HR Director at Abbott, added that “Abbott has a strong culture of giving and our community work is very strong in Ireland. Last year, our employees delivered more than 6,500 volunteer hours to good causes across the country, and many of those hours were dedicated to STEM education. We are passionate about supporting young people and education, and this is the focus of much of our citizenship activity.”

Over the course of Science Week, Abbott hosted events nationwide that engaged more than 1,500 people. In addition to ASPIRE with Abbott events in both Clonmel and Sligo, highlights included a series of six Family Science events where Abbott volunteers shared their passion for all things scientific, engaging primary students, parents and teachers through a range of hands-on and fun experiments.

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