iGEM Design League: Inspire, Discover, Engage
by Ricardo Chavez, Minerva Castellanos, and Cristiane Toledo on behalf of the iGEM Design League Team
“The central activity of engineering, as distinguished from science, is the design of new devices, processes, and systems.”
iGEM Design League was launched in Latin America this year to kickstart the journeys of Latinos and Latinas in synthetic biology. This new competition is focused on the design element of the "design-build-test-learn" cycle that helps ideas to become reality, all while engaging local people in solving local problems through synthetic biology.
An impressive group of 25 teams from 8 different countries are participating in this inaugural year of the iGEM Design League. Since day 0, these teams of high school and undergrad students, together with their faculty mentors and advisors, started to contact each other to establish collaborations and work together as a community.
"I believe synthetic biology promises a great future, and Latin America is already prepared for that step. Here you can find creativity and talent. We are overflowing with intellectual resources and natural resources. LATAM has everything to be an innovation ecosystem in synbio, and we are ready to take that leap." - iGEM-Yucatán Design League team member
"For me, synbio is a port to endless possibilities... We have what we need, from natural resources to infinite creativity. My synthetic biology utopia would be in Latin America." - iGEM-Yucatán Design League team member
Within iGEM Design League, teams address problems that are local to Latin America and that help make progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The teams work together to fulfill the criteria for earning medals – Bronze, Silver and Gold – that recognize their work and accomplishments. They also compete for track awards that honor excellence in specific fields, as well as special prizes that recognize unique contributions to iGEM Design League and exceptional work in areas reflecting the iGEM values of Integrity, Good sportsmanship, Respect, Honesty, Celebration, Cooperation, Effort and Excellence.
“The Latin America young students and biotech community are interested in biotech, mainly because we are motivated to solve our regional challenges using biology. Our vision is still to empower the Bioeconomy, building a new ecosystem with biotechnology innovations. iGEM Design League is the opportunity for students to start their careers in synthetic biology and our region to have more creative projects by talented youths.” - Minerva Castellanos, iGEM LATAM Ambassador
Because we believe one of the key components to success is education and experience, we created iGEM Academy to support the teams participating in iGEM Design League. iGEM Academy is a digital platform that delivers a world class education in synthetic biology and design. The platform provides experiences for participants categorized as “INSPIRE, DISCOVER and ENGAGE” and includes talks from leaders in the field focusing on different thematic modules, such as Design as a Framework, Synthetic Biology by Design, Social Impact and Human Practices, Biosafety and Biosecurity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and more.
"The platform of iGEM Academy was super stimulating in a creative way" - CO2 snatchers Design League Team member
Now that we are approaching the Giant Jamboree – the culminating event of the iGEM 2021 competition – there is still time for you to become involved:
Come be a part of the synbio revolution with us, and show how you #DesignWithBiology! Attend our meetups in Cancún (Mexico) or São Paulo (Brazil) on November 12-14th!
Join the iGEM Design League Teams and the greater iGEM and synthetic biology community at the iGEM 2021 Giant Jamboree, an online event happening November 4 -14, all open and free to the public.
Follow iGEM Design League on Instagram for updates and news.
We are excited about the projects from our first class of iGEM Design League Teams, and can’t wait to celebrate their accomplishments in solving the local problems of Latin America through design in synthetic biology!
