iGEM Indian League: Reimagining the landscape of Synthetic Biology in India
by Shruti Sridhar, Priyannth RS, and Onkar Date
on behalf of the iGEM Indian League Organizing Team
Members of Team IIT-Madras at the 2019 Giant Jamboree, Boston.
When you think of India, what comes to mind? Perhaps India’s historical landmarks such as the Taj Mahal or the Khajuraho Temples. Or maybe India’s geographical features such as the Ganges River or the Himalayas. Or perhaps India’s rich cultural heritage among its population of over a billion people, belonging to diverse communities, speaking different languages, enjoying different foods and music. Yes, India is all that. But India is so much more.
When you think of India, we invite you to think of local people solving local problems throughout every region of India using the tools of synthetic biology. That is the vision of iGEM Indian League.
Teams from India have a long history of participating in iGEM, known by most as the premier international synthetic biology competition, and the organization that helped to establish the synthetic biology industry. Since the iGEM Bangalore team first competed in iGEM in 2007, nearly 80 iGEM teams from India have pushed the boundaries of synthetic biology by engineering biological solutions to community problems in agriculture, clean water, energy, environment, healthcare, manufacturing, novel materials, and more.
Team IISc-Bangalore presenting their iGEM project at the 2019 Giant Jamboree, Boston.
This year, we are launching the iGEM Indian League to increase synthetic biology participation, involvement, and opportunities for even more students and educators across India. The iGEM Indian League aims to develop a vibrant synthetic biology network across India by designing customized programs for three major strata:
High School
Using the format of a summer camp, students will receive training and an introduction to synthetic biology. (Registrations are open now! See below)
Undergraduate
Regional competitions and workshops to build capacities and skills for understanding a local problem and designing a synthetic biology solution, with a heavy focus on human practices, biosafety, biosecurity, and entrepreneurship.
Educator
Industry-certified modules and capacity-building workshops for pre-final, final year undergraduates, and graduate students to provide training for instructors and expand the mentor pool that supports students interested in synthetic biology projects.
The Culmination Event
Team member of IISER Bhopal presenting a poster at the 2018 Giant Jamboree, Boston.
We plan to organize a yearly Culmination Event, where we showcase projects and participants from across our initiatives. We plan to grow it to become the premier event in India for Synthetic Biology and related fields. Our first Culmination Event will be held in mid-December 2022. (Stay tuned … we’ll be announcing the final dates soon!)
iGEM is committed to making sure that the field of synthetic biology, and all of the power that this technology holds, gets developed everywhere by everyone. By building and growing India’s synthetic biology ecosystem, iGEM Indian League will enable more people across all regions of India to learn and apply synthetic biology according to their local or regional goals and vision.
Join us in enabling local people to solve local problems throughout every region of India using the tools of synthetic biology:
The High School workshop is set to begin on 7th May and registration is open now.
Coming soon…
Start your own iGEM Indian League team! Early Bird Registration for the Undergraduate regional competitions open on 21st April.
Join our Synbio certificate training program and become a mentor/PI for an Indian League team. The program will run for 15 days and is open for interested participants from any background.
We look forward to welcoming you to iGEM Indian League 2022!
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.
