Launch your entrepreneurial journey with the EPIC 2022 Summer Bootcamp!
by Marjolein Crooijmans and Achala Rao
“The intention of iGEM was always to make an industry of synthetic biology – to enable a revolution in becoming good at materials. We’re only 20 years into this revolution, but some students will turn their iGEM projects into their future work and make their dreams become a reality. They will see this revolution become really big over the course of their careers.”
iGEM has long been recognized as the birthplace of innovation and the driving force behind the global synthetic biology industry – beginning with the first iGEMers of 2003 that launched Gingko Bioworks and continuing into the present. Today, over 150 startup companies with roots in iGEM are turning their ideas and proofs-of-concept into real world synthetic biology applications that serve the needs of local communities and help solve global challenges.
Every year, more than 300 synthetic biology projects are birthed by iGEM Competition teams. Imagine what the world could be if 10% of those projects became a viable business with feasible synthetic biology solutions for solving real world problems. This is the basis of iGEM’s Entrepreneurship Program Innovation Community, also known as iGEM EPIC.
Register for the 2022 EPIC Summer Bootcamp
Open for all iGEM Competition, Design League, and Indian League teams. Register by June 17.
We invite you to launch your entrepreneurial journey with the iGEM EPIC Summer Bootcamp: a 3-day workshop that aims to train participants in the basics of entrepreneurship. This year’s EPIC Summer Bootcamp will be held on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of July from 14:00 to 16:00 UTC online on Zoom. All iGEM 2022 teams – including Design League and Indian League teams – are eligible (but not required) to participate in the EPIC Summer Bootcamp and can sign up here. Be sure to register before the June 17 deadline.
The iGEM EPIC Summer Bootcamp will help you learn how you can take your project in an entrepreneurial direction, and provide you with frameworks that can help you win the Best Supporting Entrepreneurship Award, which recognizes teams demonstrating exceptional effort to build a business case and commercialize an iGEM project. For inspiration, check out these projects from the iGEM 2021 winners and nominees for Best Supporting Entrepreneurship:
FCB-UANL (Mexico) – Recognizing the need for entrepreneurship to advance biotechnology in Latin America, they continued to perfect their business plan, refine their presentation abilities, and participate in different events where they talked about iGEM, their project, and what they observed and experienced in their path to becoming bioentrepreneurs. Nominee Best Supporting Entrepreneurship, Undergrad Division.
IISER_Kolkata (India) – Conducted surveys to identify potential customers and unmet needs, developed a business model and marketing strategy, and explored future potential applications for their product – naMOOste, a rapid, portable, storable test kit for Subclinical Bovine Mastitis disease. Nominee Best Supporting Entrepreneurship, Undergrad Division.
LINKS_China (China) – Gathered information by visiting factories and fashion companies, developed a business plan, and evaluated the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for their approach in using Bacterial Cellulose Membrane to produce synthetic leather. Winner Best Supporting Entrepreneurship, High School Division.
ShanghaiTech_China (China) – Identified unmet need and potential customers by engaging with doctors, patients, and healthcare organizations, developed a business plan, began the patent application process, and secured pre-financing for their product – MIBOM, Mussel Inspired Biocompatible Osteogenic Material. Winner Best Supporting Entrepreneurship, Undergrad Division.
TUDelft (Netherlands) – Explored the business potential of their product – AptaVita, a rapid diagnostic test for vitamin deficiency at the point of care – by interacting with a broad range of stakeholders to identify prospective customers, evaluating business models, and taking steps to garner support from governments and health organizations. Winner Best Supporting Entrepreneurship, Overgrad Division.
Vilnius-Lithuania (Lithuania) – Created a 5-year business plan for a future start-up company – AmeBye – that analyzed the market, compared their product (a rapid diagnostic test for amebiasis) with other tests on the market, and presented the relevance of their product, business model, regulations, legislations, and a 5-year financial plan. Nominee Best Supporting Entrepreneurship, Undergrad Division.
Nominees Best Supporting Entrepreneurship
And more teams demonstrating exceptional effort to build a business case and commercialize an iGEM project include:
Undergraduate Division
KCL_UK (United Kingdom), Toulouse_INSA-UPS (France), UESTC-China (China)
Overgraduate Division
NTU-Singapore (Singapore), SDU-Denmark (Denmark)
High School Division
Fujian_United (China), Mingdao (China), SHSID (China), TAS_Taipei (Taiwan)
iGEM EPIC is here to support you on your entrepreneurial journey. Be sure to register here for the EPIC 2022 Summer Bootcamp by June 17. You can find out more about iGEM EPIC by visiting startups.igem.org, following us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or contacting us at epic@igem.org.
Register for the 2022 EPIC Summer Bootcamp
Open for all iGEM Competition, Design League, and Indian League teams. Register by June 17.
