UCB & AIESEC: Partnering for a sustainable future

Our nine-year collaboration with AIESEC has been mutually beneficial. To date, we have welcomed more than 150 AIESEC trainees to UCB and we currently have 38 dynamic young people working in our offices in Belgium, Germany and the US.

For the trainees, it is opportunity to develop valuable experience in an international business environment, working with a company that strives to improve the lives of people with severe diseases.

By delivering medicines and solutions valued by patients, we aim to make the world a better place – which is something that AIESEC trainees find inspiring and meaningful. More than 40% of AIESEC trainees stay in UCB after their traineeship is complete.

For UCB, there are also clear benefits to this partnership. We know that businesses have a role to play in tackling the challenges facing the world – from climate change to rising inequalities. We are working to integrate sustainability within our business, focusing on four pillars: innovation in R&D, access to medicines, employee health and well-being, and reducing our environmental footprint.

Our AIESEC trainees contribute their energy and skills to our daily work but also help us to focus on the future. For many younger people (and some older ones too, of course), sustainability is at the core of everything they do – it is not a peripheral issue, and never an afterthought. By inviting future leaders into our teams, and engaging with AIESEC more broadly, we can sharpen our focus on the long-term issues that matter to all of us.

The AIESEC conference is another opportunity for UCB to hear from young people from more than 120 countries and to discuss our vision of sustainability. We look forward to this event and to our continued partnership with AIESEC as we continue to work together towards a healthier future.