This year Almac won the 2023 Education Partnership Award at the Business in the Community Northern Ireland Responsible Business Awards. The award recognises our commitment to investing in engaging and educating the next generation of scientists, engineers and technologists through our education partnerships with W5 and STEAM Education Limited.

W5 is an award-winning science, discovery, and education centre based in Belfast. Building on the work we have been doing since the launch of MED-Lab, W5’s interactive medical-themed exhibition area in 2019, Almac’s partnership with the Odyssey Trust and W5 reached another milestone in November 2022 with the opening of a new 20,000 ft2 state-of-the-art learning centre, W5 LIFE (Learning Innovation for Everyone).

This new facility will support the learning and skills pipeline in Northern Ireland by providing immersive STEM-based experiences and wider access to skills training through strategic community, life-long learning and social inclusion programming.

Almac held a workshop on International Women in Engineering Day and sponsored the Big Bio Quiz at W5 LIFE during the NI Science Festival. As part of Almac’s work Experience programme, 123 pupils spent a day in the W5 laboratory doing biology and chemistry experiments allowing them to learn about techniques used by scientists at Almac.

Almac Group continued its partnership with STEAM Education Limited this year to give year six and seven children access to ‘Science in a Box’, a fun and engaging curriculum-linked science program. To date Almac has invested £30,000 to support 28 primary schools across Northern Ireland, each of which receives a Science-in-a-Box programme and replenishment of Science-in-a-Box resources, along with a training webinar, resources, and support from staff at Almac and STEAM Education Ltd. Almac STEM Ambassadors deliver presentations and scientific demonstrations at schools participating in the programme.

In the UK and US, Almac hosts regular career outreach sessions onsite for students and educators throughout the academic year. These prove to be exceedingly popular with students and teachers who are keen to promote key areas of the STEM curriculum and highlight career opportunities within our sector. In addition to our onsite sessions, our dedicated STEM Outreach team coordinates visits to schools by Almac employees to deliver presentations and attend career conventions.

Throughout 2023, we welcomed pupils from across Northern Ireland secondary schools to Almac HQ in Craigavon for our work experience programme. This programme is a fantastic, hands-on opportunity for young people who are interested in pursuing a career in STEM.

We hosted several three-day programmes in October, February and June, when almost 200 pupils took part in tours and practical workshops, including spending a day at the Almac W5 laboratory in Belfast, speaking to industry professionals, and learning about the variety of rewarding career paths available at Almac.

With a 100% satisfaction rating, feedback from participants has been extremely positive and highlights the impact that the programme has in supporting young people make decisions about their future education. All pupils agreed they had a better understanding of what Almac does and the career paths they could pursue at Almac.