AbbVie’s contribution to the biopharma industry in Ireland has been recognised at the Pharma Industry Awards with the company taking Biopharma Company of the Year and the Health and Safety trophies. The awards celebrate the most original and innovative individuals and companies in the Irish pharmaceutical sector.
“I’m delighted our company has been recognised in this manner,” says Darragh Pattwell, site director at AbbVie in Manorhamilton. “It reflects the exceptional talent working at our sites in Cork, Dublin and Sligo and their considerable efforts to help sustain an innovative, world-class biopharmaceutical business.”
The company’s commitment to sustainability, health, safety and environmental performance earned it the Responsible Care Award at last year’s awards, while its commitment to the communities in which it operations was recognised when it won the Corporate Social Responsibility title the year before that.
That commitment is embodied in AbbVie’s Week of Possibilities volunteering, which sees the company’s employees joining forces with non-profit partners to enhance education through volunteerism and improvement projects.
Earlier this year, employees from AbbVie’s offices in Citywest and Santry completed an extensive refurbishment of the autism unit facilities at Greenhills College in Walkinstown, south Dublin, during the week-long initiative. A significant number of the students enrolled at the boys-only secondary school have autism needs and attend Greenhills College to avail of the school’s autism resource unit. Volunteers worked alongside staff to upgrade the unit’s sensory room, library and kitchen to benefit the students with autism who attend the school.
In addition, AbbVie has come together with the national volunteer development agency, Volunteer Ireland, to plan and implement Week of Possibilities projects in three communities in Cork, Sligo and Dublin – locations where the company has a major presence. The partnership with Volunteer Ireland ensures AbbVie’s efforts align with the needs of their local communities.
Week of Possibilities
Speaking about the positive impact of the Week of Possibilities initiative, Ann Bray, principal of Greenhills College, said: “We would like to thank AbbVie and Volunteer Ireland for choosing Greenhills College for their Week of Possibilities. Through this initiative we will see our autistic spectrum disorder unit, sensory room, breakfast and lunchtime space and school library transformed. Our students will now have a long-awaited relaxation space and state-of-the-art library facilities in surroundings which will encourage improved literacy and numeracy. Without the support of AbbVie, we would never have achieved this goal so soon.”
“Week of Possibilities reflects AbbVie’s commitment to transforming education for communities in need,” says AbbVie general manager Todd Manning. “Over the past five years, AbbVie employees have volunteered their time, talent and efforts to help improve their local communities to do what they can to support and improve the educational resources available locally.”?
AbbVie was also among the winners at the Irish Early Career Awards when the it was announced as the best in Ireland for Early Career – Best Organisation Learning and Development. The awards provide an important opportunity to recognise exceptional young professionals in the early stages of their careers and the organisations who are leading the way in fostering talent and supporting employee training and development.
In the interest of fostering those early careers, AbbVie has launched the Back to School for STEM schools outreach programme. The initiative, which is delivered by AbbVie employees, aims to encourage greater student awareness of the rewarding career opportunities that can be unlocked by studying STEM subjects.
The initiative will see employees from AbbVie’s five Irish sites visit schools, including those they themselves studied at, to talk about their jobs and the difference their work makes to wider society.
Ireland's astronaut candidate Dr Norah Patten provided a stirring keynote address at the Back to School for STEM launch in August. Dr Patten has a PhD in aeronautical engineering from University of Limerick and is also a faculty member at the International Space University.
A passionate STEM advocate, she highlighted that Ireland’s ambition to be a significant global player in the life sciences, tech and related sectors could only be fulfilled if young students were excited about science, engineering, space and a host of other STEM-related activities.
“Role models are vital if young people are to be inspired and encouraged to consider committing to STEM educational pathways and potential careers. As the saying goes ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’. Support, motivation and encouragement are fundamental and there are key people along everyone’s journey who are influential in terms of subject and career choices.
“We need to continuously highlight the broad range of opportunities that come from studying STEM disciplines. The way to do this is to interact with the various stakeholders – parents, teachers, students, career guidance counsellors and others – and showcase what studying STEM can open up for boys and girls.”