By Chris Rowe, Global VP of Research & Development, Mars Snacking
Recently, R&D Associates at the Mars Wrigley Global Innovation Center hosted a group of high school students from After School Matters(Opens a new window) – a non-profit organization that offers after school and summer programs in arts, communication, leadership, sports and STEM. After Schools Matters primarily works with students from under-resourced neighborhoods and schools in Chicago, exposing them to potentially untapped career paths and opening their minds to new possibilities for their future.
Over the last several decades, STEM careers – jobs spanning science, technology, engineering and mathematics – have experienced immense growth and demand, with no signs of slowing down. This represents a major opportunity for students contemplating their direction of study in post-secondary education. Companies need STEM talent, and Mars is no exception. From the research and development behind bringing our snacking, food and petcare innovations to life, to the work we’re doing in greenhouses to future-proof the cocoa plant(Opens a new window), an abundance of rewarding STEM roles await within Mars.
For two days, we opened the doors to the Global Innovation Center to provide students with a truly immersive STEM experience. On the first day, participants sat in on a career panel where R&D Associates shared their career experiences and answered questions about life at Mars. Afterward, students extracted DNA from actual cocoa pods, allowing them to see the origins of the chocolate that makes up many beloved Mars brands. On day two, the students put their creativity to the test by custom-making their own chocolate bars with an assortment of ingredients and mix-ins, which they then pitched to a group of Mars Wrigley leaders. The day concluded with a RESPAWN by 5 Gum case study, a full-circle moment which showed how products go from conception in our labs and factories to consumption on a mass scale.
As a global company, it is important to us that our workforce is representative of the millions of people worldwide who enjoy our Mars brands every day. We are at an incredible precipice where we are experiencing major growth and doubling down on our tradition of innovation – which means that the time to join our business and make an impact has never been greater. Over time, we’ve seen diversity in our workforce broaden Associate perspectives, supercharge innovation, and create better ways of working.
True to our company’s generational focus, our hope is to inspire diverse STEM leaders now, and in the many years to come. Whether some of these students come back to Mars one day as Associates or are simply inspired to embark on their own STEM educational or career journey, we are thrilled to play a small part in paving their tomorrow.
