On Friday, the 21st of November, a group of students from our school travelled to Abbotts in Donegal Town. This trip was organised by the O'Brien family, and the children had the opportunity to learn all about Diabetes.
The group was divided into two smaller groups, and they were shown the production processes which take place in their manufacturing areas. Abbotts in Donegal produce Blood Glucose Test Strips and the Libre sensor. The sensor is a glucose monitoring system which is used worldwide. This device provides real-time glucose readings, which are sent directly to a smartphone and these readings give people with diabetes more control over their healthcare management. Amazingly, advances in this area continue rapidly, and new ranges of their products are being refined and improved, benefiting the patients all the time.
Their tour of the plant showed the children the practical application of science -they saw the importance of teamwork as each area in the production process must always maintain the highest standards of quality. They saw maps of the world with all the Abbott plants and the variety of healthcare products which they produce across the globe. They also learned of all the positive community links established by Abbotts, as their staff support many local charities and projects.
The children heard from three of the graduates working in Abbotts. They had studied chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, and microbiology at a variety of universities worldwide, and they spoke of the wonderful opportunities open to them to travel the world with their qualifications.
After a delicious lunch, the children enjoyed themselves as they engaged in 5 fun activities. It was part of the Abbotts Future Well Kids program, which inspires kids to adopt healthy habits now to live a healthier, fuller life. The children worked together in groups, completing challenges at the 5 station areas, which were led by Abbott Staff.
We would like to really thank Orla O’Brien for arranging the visit and for organising the tours, lunch, activities and the goodie boxes. A huge thank you to all the Abbotts staff for the guided tours of the plant, the career presentations, and the Future Kids Team for the fun activities. The children had a fantastic day. We hope it inspires many of our students to pursue a career in the STEM area.
