Award-Winning Cork Students Join AbbVie Employees for Unique Innovation Exchange

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PRESS RELEASE

AWARD-WINNING CORK STUDENTS JOIN ABBVIE EMPLOYEES TO HIGHLIGHT THE VITAL ROLE OF POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE WORKPLACE

Young Social Innovators (YSI) and Cork-based biopharmaceutical company AbbVie have joined forces in a unique partnership designed to foster innovation exchanges between AbbVie employees and young people from surrounding communities.

Students from St. Angela’s College in Cork were welcomed to AbbVie’s state-of-the-art medicines manufacturing facility in Carrigtwohill recently to exchange ideas with AbbVie staff on the importance of positive and healthy relationships and how they can help fuel productive work environments.

The Cork students were recent winners of a national YSI award for their social innovation project on this issue. Their project aimed to educate young people on what constituted an unhealthy relationship and to encourage them to celebrate the healthy relationships they had with people close to them, raising funds and awareness for domestic violence group Mná Feasa as part of their campaign.

The students were taking part in the YSI Social Innovation Action Programme which empowers young people to explore social issues affecting them and their communities and, using a unique innovation process designed to foster critical 21st century skills, to suggest and implement creative ideas for social change.

In addition to being given a tour of the modern oral dose manufacturing facility in Carrigtwohill, students attended exchange sessions with AbbVie teams to witness how innovation is a critical element of their business. AbbVie employees then heard first-hand about the innovative actions the students had taken to promote positive relationships among their peers and wider community.

AbbVie was listed among the Top 20 Best Large Workplaces in Ireland in 2015 at the Great Place to Work Awards recently and the YSI-led student interactions highlighted the vital role that building positive relationships plays in creating and maintaining a good working environment.

Shelly Whelan, a teacher and YSI Guide at St. Angela’s College said: "Today was an incredible opportunity for my students to see how innovation is present in the workplace in a leading global pharmaceutical company. My students were able to experience first-hand how the skills they develop, practice and implement in YSI - including teamwork, co-operation and communication  - will be used in their future careers and help them achieve their maximum potential. This will in turn have a very positive impact on society in general."

Emma Redmond, a student from St. Angela’s College, Cork added: “Today was really fun and really interesting. It was great to experience the manufacturing process and get a close look behind the scenes at AbbVie to see all the different types of roles that are required in a plant like this. The teams here have to work closely together, just as we did on our project to make it a success.”

Gary Crowley, AbbVie’s Site Engineering Manager and Acting Site Director, said: “As an organisation, we are committed to being a Great Place to Work. We believe in nurturing our employees and working in partnership to develop their careers in a supportive and positive environment. AbbVie is delighted to welcome students into our facilities. It allows us to demonstrate what we have to offer as a potential future employer but also to learn from them about the issues affecting them and our shared local communities. The transference of knowledge and the exchange of creative ideas between generations are vital for continuous and successful innovation whether in business or social contexts and we are delighted to facilitate that exchange.”   

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Young Social Innovators, Rachel Collier, commended AbbVie on the initiative and said: “We are delighted to be partnering with AbbVie in this unique way and to be facilitating meaningful exchanges that offer many benefits for both the young people and AbbVie employees. We are extremely grateful to all of those who have volunteered to share their expertise and experience with these young people and I have no doubt that they have been similarly inspired by these incredible students who are helping to reimagine our society as a more fairer and equal place.”

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About the Innovation Exchange Sessions

Innovation Exchange sessions are designed to benefit all those participating. Young people have the opportunity to learn more about the work of the company or business hosting the session and how innovation is brought to bear to improve outcomes and reach goals.  Companies who become involved have the opportunity to engage with young people locally and get to understand how social innovation is helping to bring positive change to local areas and unique skills to the young people that practice it.

 

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a global research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott. It employs more than 500 people at five manufacturing and commercial sites across Ireland. The company’s commercial headquarters is based in Dublin as is a separate international manufacturing and engineering services centre. AbbVie has two manufacturing plants in Sligo and one in Cork. The company’s mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of the world’s most complex and serious diseases. Together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics, AbbVie employs more than 28,000 people worldwide and markets medicines in more than 170 countries.

For further information on the company and its people, portfolio and commitments, please visit www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter or view careers on our Facebook or LinkedIn page.