Synthetase: Bringing SynBio to students in India
Ideation. Design. Creation. Innovation.
The most powerful action words that exist in today's world are no longer exclusive to the artists of the creative fields of sounds and colors. Engineers are today's greatest creators, and who'd have guessed that biology would eventually push its way into the never-ending race of creation and take the lead? Yes, biological sciences have progressed as a result of the combination of engineering and technology, and they are now demonstrating their potential to advance human civilization to new heights.
Synthetic Biology is a new interdisciplinary field that stems from one of the core seeds of the science and technology integrated field of biotechnology and incorporates elements of molecular biology, computer science, and engineering. It aims to create a platform for collaborative study by conducting modular reproducible research using biology. The iGEM leagues were created to enhance and improve synthetic biology teaching and infrastructure in local settings to further promote the ‘Biological Revolution’. The iGEM Indian League envisions encouraging students and educators across India to foster the synthetic biology community and support its growth and advancement by creating a network that connects young minds from high school students to educators.
Although the expansion of STEM courses in India has accelerated in recent decades, a major portion of the population still opts for the traditional engineering and pure science education system when starting their careers. Every high school science student is encouraged to build a career in either mainstream engineering or medicine. People are fascinated by biology as pure science and its use in medicine, but they are unaware of biology's broader applicability in health sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, and business. As many of these transdisciplinary courses are still in their infancy, the career prospects for a standard high school biology major are extremely limited.
Synthetic biology entails the engineering of biology, incorporating enabling technologies and enabling approaches framed around rational engineering principles. As opposed to classical biological tinkering, synthetic biology can rapidly translate an idea into a product or application through the recursive Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle.
Walker, R.S.K.; Pretorius, I.S. Applications of Yeast Synthetic Biology Geared towards the Production of Biopharmaceuticals. Genes2018, 9, 340. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes9070340
With the emergence of the entrepreneurial era and a technologically driven world, students want to be able to apply the fundamentals of biological sciences in their own fashion, create and solve problems using these foundations, and engage in collaborative research. However, due to a lack of awareness about domains such as synthetic biology, they are not exposed to application-based perspectives until later in their careers. In awareness of this deficit, the iGEM Indian League designed the upcoming High School Workshop, "Synthetase: Synthesize your SynBio Journey" with the goal of providing the principles and skills that future young scientists will need to lay the groundwork and motivate them to pursue careers in this field.
The workshop will be divided into three major modules: fundamental, technical, and auxiliary. These modules will focus on the fundamental principles of molecular biology programming and mathematics, which are extremely important for developing a basic understanding of how things work, along with an introduction to technical skills, communication, and human practices accessibility concepts. It will be a 12-day workshop with 1-hour sessions in the morning, afternoon, and evening. There will also be a career fair where attendees will be able to meet other students, scientists and entrepreneurs in the field.
Participants and Mentors from the (A)spiring syn(T)hetic biologists and (G)eneticists (C)amp aka the ATGC workshop, conducted in 2021 as a pilot initiative to engage high school students in the field of synthetic biology.
The SynBio auction, which is a hackathon event where participants actually get to use the principles and concepts that they learn throughout the 12-day workshop and form teams and get an opportunity to apply all of the concepts learned during the lectures, is our most highlighted event. The auction pushes them to solve pressing problem statements in real-time.
There will be sessions led by professors from national and international universities and institutes, including the University of Michigan, SASTRA, and MIT ADT. The goal of this workshop is to entice high school students and those in other fields to learn about and delve into synthetic biology by providing them with basic fundamental principles and allowing them to join a growing network of synthetic biology scientists from around the world who can assist them in making a career decision.
The iGEM Indian League wants to create this platform for High School students not only to cultivate and promote the true essence of synthetic biology's applications and activities in the real world but also to nurture a community of people who are truly passionate about it.
