Astellas’ partnership with Chicago-based nonprofit Aspiritech seamlessly merges proficiency, creativity and corporate social responsibility.

By harnessing the strengths individuals on the autism spectrum–attention to detail, precision, an affinity for repetitive tasks and outstanding technical skills–Aspiritech provides high quality domestic software testing and other quality assurance services to Astellas in a wide range of tech capacities.

The collaboration began in the spring of 2015, when the Astellas Leadership Education and Allies for Disabilities Employee Resource Group (LEAD) hosted Aspiritech at the company’s U.S. headquarters for a capabilities presentation. Since then, Aspiritech’s neurodiverse test engineers have played  an integral role working with Astellas’ IT department in database cleanup and validation along with log file analysis and other detailed work. The Astellas team saw such a positive operating impact, that the relationship has since expanded – Aspiritech has begun working with several other Astellas departments who require the type of highly specialized services the company provides.

“Working with Aspiritech has been a hugely rewarding experience for Astellas and its employees,” said Stacy Stone, director, Commercial Technology at Astellas. “We certainly hope this paves the way for future partnerships with organizations like Aspiritech.”

The partnership also provides Astellas with an opportunity to promote the innate strengths of Aspiritech’s neurodiverse staff and support an organization that provides individuals on the autism spectrum with meaningful employment and social enrichment. Astellas has a strong focus on being an industry leader in Diversity & Inclusion practices. This includes a commitment  to partnering with diverse businesses, including firms such as Aspiritech that leverage the unique talents of individuals on the autism spectrum.

In 2020, Astellas was recognized by Aspiritech as a partner of choice with their Neurodiversity Award. You can watch a short video about the award, here.

To learn more about Aspiritech, visit their website here.