On National Future Career Day, a group of around 30 students from the fifth to seventh grade visited AstraZeneca Switzerland. They were given the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of the pharmaceutical industry and learn about a range of careers and activities. The AstraZeneca team prepared a treasure hunt with five different stops, where a variety of information was presented in a child-friendly manner.
During National Future Career Day at AstraZeneca Switzerland, students from the fifth to seventh grade learned exactly what is involved in making a medicine available to patients. At each of the five stops, they were given an overview of the diverse activities carried out by the teams at AstraZeneca Switzerland. The hunt took them from Medical/Research/Clinical Trials to Marketing & Sales, Innovation & Business Excellence (IBEX), Finance & Business Support, and finally Administration & Support functions. Among the activities on offer, the children were able to program small robots, solve interactive tasks and answer quizzes.
Support Young Talent — Improve Health Care
AstraZeneca Switzerland has already been recognized several times as one of the best workplaces in Switzerland by «Great Place to Work». «Inclusion and diversity are cornerstones of our corporate culture and are our recipe for successful teamwork. To get young talent interested in health care, the pharmaceutical industry in general and our culture at AstraZeneca, we offer a comprehensive, child-friendly experience on National Future Career Day. This is because we know that the only way to continue strengthening the Swiss health care system in the future is with qualified specialists,» says Florian Saur, General Manager of AstraZeneca Switzerland.
Child-Friendly Program — Getting Parents Involved
«We have tailored the program specifically to the students, so that they can get as much out of the day as possible. At the individual stops, each team gave a presentation on the tasks and activities they perform and answered questions from the children. We also involve parents in the program to make sure that knowledge is transferred as effectively as possible and so that we can optimize the program even further in future iterations,» explains Katrin Lipp, Human Resources Director at AstraZeneca Switzerland.
Funding at AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca plans to continue offering programs for young talent in the future. For example, the company has already held the international «R&D Postdoctoral Challenge» several times. The competition is aimed at doctoral and postdoctoral students, who are given the chance to apply for a funded postdoctoral position at AstraZeneca.
Media contact
Tel. +41 (0) 41 725 75 75; media.switzerland@astrazeneca.com
Barbara Hess, Corporate Communications Lead, AstraZeneca Switzerland
AstraZeneca in Switzerland
AstraZeneca is a British pharmaceutical company that has been operating in Switzerland for almost 50 years. The company is one of the highest revenue pharmaceutical companies in Switzerland and operates in the following therapeutic areas: oncology, respiratory diseases and immunology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic disorders plus vaccines and immunotherapies, which also includes medicines for the control of COVID-19. The primary aim of the over 250 employees is to make new medicines available to affected patients as quickly as possible. In Switzerland, more than 240,000 people are treated with a drug from AstraZeneca. The company expects over 35 new therapies to be authorised by 2025. AstraZeneca has set itself the target of making the Swiss healthcare system more sustainable and more resilient. To make its contribution to a healthy planet and healthy people, the company is working tirelessly to reduce its CO2 emissions and waste. It has therefore set itself the target of becoming CO2-negative by 2030.
Further information about AstraZeneca Switzerland: www.astrazeneca.ch