Students reimagine society during Young Social Innovators’ Action Programme

By Mary Dennehy

THE innovation of a team of Tallaght secondary school students was on show this week when local teens joined forces with local business to reimagine society and bring positive change to their community.

Students from St Mark’s Community School in Springfield took part in a unique project between Young Social Innovators (YSI) and Citywest-based biopharmaceutical company AbbVie called, Young Social Innovators’ Action Programme.

Designed to foster innovation exchanges between those working for the company and young people living in the surrounding communities, the project challenges teenagers to use their creativity to bring positive change to an issue affecting them or their communities.

The project put forward by St Mark’s students sought to promote awareness of positive thinking and mental health among their peers, with the group working on the creation of a mentorship programme where senior students supported the junior school.

The group also launched a Love Bomb week to drive awareness and understanding of their project both in their school and the wider community.

Todd Manning, AbbVie’s General Manager in Ireland, said: “AbbVie is committed to supporting our local communities and one way we do this is by working to increase students’ interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

“We were delighted to welcome the young people from St Mark’s to our facility. Their visit gives AbbVie an opportunity to expand the horizons of students on career opportunities they may not have thought about before and to explain the diverse range of roles within a company like ours.”

He added: “During the visit, the students updated us on issues concerning them by presenting on their social innovation project.

“Discoveries are possible at AbbVie because of the environment we’ve designed. It’s one that fosters creativity and rewards innovation and it was stimulating to experience the imagination and ingenuity of these young people as they work to improve their community.”

Mary Prunty, a teacher at St Mark’s Community School, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for students and AbbVie employees to work collaboratively on social innovation and issues that affect the local community.”