Building and growing synthetic biology ecosystems around the world with iGEM Leagues
“iGEM is about local people solving local problems everywhere in the world, and we see that in the projects that iGEMers do. We see there were problems iGEMers saw that some venture person in Silicon Valley would never pay attention to, but for iGEMers, in their environment and in their world, those were important.”
We asked iGEMers in different places around the world about the challenges they are facing when it comes to building their local synthetic biology ecosystems and advancing the engineering progress of biology. We learned that specific challenges vary not just between global regions, but between countries and localities as well. Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash
Most of the people who are part of the synthetic biology community have experienced iGEM in some capacity, whether as a student, an instructor, a mentor, a judge, a committee member, and/or an interested observer. Yet, participating in iGEM is not an easy thing to do.
We asked iGEMers in different places around the world about the challenges they are facing when it comes to building their local synthetic biology ecosystems and advancing the engineering progress of biology. We learned that specific challenges vary not just between global regions, but between countries and localities as well. Some of the challenges highlighted were:
Awareness of synthetic biology
Mentorship and training of students and faculty
Inclusion of synthetic biology in curriculum
Access to labs for conducting research
Absence of a multidisciplinary research culture
Financial barriers to entry and participation
Language barrier to entry and participation
Cost of participation in international competitions
Capital and support for scaling projects to startups
Decision makers lack of awareness about synthetic biology
An unclear link between synthetic biology and their national bioeconomy strategy
In keeping with iGEM’s new purpose of making sure that the field of synthetic biology, and all of the power that this technology holds, gets developed everywhere by everyone, we are developing the iGEM Leagues. The iGEM Leagues are local and regional programs designed to enable iGEMers and members of the local community to design competitions which will contribute to overcoming these challenges.
Each iGEM League may well be distinct from one another, since they represent an answer to their local or regional goals and vision. By building and growing synthetic biology ecosystems, the iGEM Leagues are enabling more people to understand and apply synthetic biology around the world to solve local problems under their own terms and identity.
Overcoming challenges in Latin America
“Our region has talented people with great minds prepared to be problem solvers and creative scientists. Still, the lack of access to funds, biologics, and fully equipped spaces impacts the quality of the projects.”
– Minerva Castellanos, Outreach and Partnerships Lead Design League, Mexico
iGEM Design League was launched in 2021 to introduce students in Latin America to synthetic biology. In that first year, 25 teams from 8 Latin-American countries, comprising 480 students, took on the challenge of applying biological design to solve local problems. By bringing their own unique perspectives in designing biological solutions for regional challenges (such as energy, environment, biodiversity, human health, and more), the students showed that synthetic biology can be developed in new ways in countries and regions that until now have had relatively little access to synthetic biology.
Students who participate in iGEM Design League can earn medals, certificates and special prizes that reflect the impact of their projects. For the 2021 season (thanks to our partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks), the top 3 places received support to continue their journey from design to the build and test stages as well as a trip to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to discover the Boston synthetic biology ecosystem, learn from it and continue developing their own in Latin America.
If you are a student, or teacher, or just someone who is interested in synthetic biology in Latin America, we invite you to participate in iGEM Design League 2022. Registration is open now.
Overcoming challenges in India
“There is an enormous untapped market that would benefit from streamlining new synthetic biology opportunities to build and revitalize the bioeconomy in the region. We need tailored initiatives specific to the needs and capabilities of the different categories that would increase accessibility by lowering costs and accounting for a lower amount of resources.”
– Shruti Sridhar, Director iGEM Indian League
iGEM Indian League is being launched this year to empower students and educators across India to reimagine the landscape of synthetic biology in their region. Because the challenges faced by iGEMers in the different regions of India are unique, the iGEM Indian League aims to develop a vibrant synthetic biology network across India by increasing synthetic biology participation, involvement, and opportunities for three major strata: High School, Undergraduate, and Educator.
If you are a student, or teacher, or just someone who is interested in synthetic biology in India, we invite you to participate in iGEM Indian League 2022. Registration is open now for the High School workshop, which is set to begin on 7th May. Registration for the Undergraduate regional competition opens on 21st April. The Educator program, which offers industry-certified training modules and workshops for pre-final, final year undergraduates, and graduate students, runs throughout the year in different batches.
Overcoming challenges in more regions of the world
“Only a few universities have synthetic biology in its’ core. Most of the life science graduates here do not really have the concept of what synthetic biology is.”
– Muhammad Farhan Maulana, Indonesia
“Some of the African countries have not yet known about synthetic biology and thus we need to reach out to the grassroots … the thing is we need more synthetic biology and biotechnology specialists in the region incorporating synthetic biology into the curriculum and promoting startups that can become local companies”
– Alex Kyabarongo, Uganda
“What’s missing are the resources and mentorship for students and faculty to learn and apply synthetic biology.”
– Hassnain Qasim Bokhari, Pakistan
“There’s a lack of awareness about iGEM amongst potential funding bodies, such as universities, venture capitalists, and governments, and they are more likely to fund projects initiated in Australia. In addition, the bioeconomy is not a talked-about subject in Australia.”
– Zeeshan Siddiqui, Australia
iGEM is committed to ensuring that the field of synthetic biology, and all of the power that this technology holds, gets developed everywhere by everyone. We plan to build and grow synthetic biology ecosystems around the world with iGEM Leagues to enable more people to learn and apply synthetic biology to solve local problems according to their regional goals and vision.
With each year’s addition of new passionate iGEMers to the iGEM Community, it isn’t surprising that several of them have already started thinking on creating their own leagues.
This year, we have 2 leagues. Next year, we’d like to have 10.
Are there challenges when it comes to participating in synthetic biology and developing your local and regional synthetic biology ecosystem? Are you teaming up with likeminded individuals on how to solve this?
If you want to help solve the unique challenges in your region, why not join us and start an iGEM league? Contact us at leagues [AT] igem [DOT] org.
