Aug 17

Aug 17 On the road to Paris: Write your story as an iGEM judge

Each iGEM judge has a story

I wasn’t supposed to be at the 2011 iGEM Jamboree at all. I was working for a funding agency in the US Department of Defense. My boss was invited to iGEM to see what the competition was about. I was pulled onto his trip at the last minute. After arriving in Boston, I was informed I would serve as a judge in my boss’s place. He didn’t stick around for the whole weekend. I am still a part of iGEM 11 years later.

Nancy Burgess Christen’s first iGEM experience at the 2011 World Championship took her by surprise.

Judging for iGEM became one of the highlights of my professional calendar. At every Jamboree, I got to spend dedicated time mentoring young scientists. In return, their fresh enthusiasm and powerful ideas fill me with optimism and remind me of why I became a scientist in the first place.

Another strong pull for me is working with the other judges. The cadre of talent assembled each year is collegial and impressive. I have found that they have their own stories to tell too. I met Adhityo Wicaksono, from Chulalongkorn University, this year as he volunteered with the working groups in the iGEM Judging Corps Committee. He explained to me why he began to judge. In his own words,

“I knew about the emerging branch of biology called synthetic biology when I was about to graduate for my BSc in 2010, but the iGEM team for my campus (iGEM_ITB) was just established in 2012 a year after I graduated. I saw and was there during the initiation of the Synthetic Biology community in my campus where I took my MSc degree, but iGEM_UGM was also established 3-4 years later. I met my best friend, Arfan Tri Kusuma Ramadhan, a member of the iGEM team of Universitas Brawijaya 2014, who happily shared his experience with me. Realizing that I'm too old to be part of any team at that time, I swore to him that I wish to be a judge and see the jamboree by myself.
“In 2020, when the pandemic strikes, for the first time, I had a chance to join the (virtual) jamboree (finally!). It was so memorable…In 2021, I finally had my dream come true and became a judge. I told Arfan about it, and he's happy to know that. I told him that I wish I could attend in person as a judge. He said in 2022 I will have the chance. And it's happening! Sadly, Arfan passed away after battling bronchopneumonia last April. He really wished to go to Paris once again, so I'm happy to take his dream along with mine to attend the jamboree this year!”

Adhityo’s best friend Arfan Tri Kusuma Ramadhan, a participant of the iGEM Competition in 2014, inspired Adhityo to become an iGEM Judge.

Sadly, Arfan passed away after battling bronchopneumonia last April. Adhityo will bring Arfan’s dream with him to the 2022 Grand Jamboree in Paris.

The 2022 Grand Jamboree judging experience will be unique

The largest group of iGEM judges is being assembled right now. It is full of former team members and experienced PIs. Judges come from academia, governments, industry and nonprofits. They bring a wealth of personal history and technical expertise in many fields.

We have already highlighted the changes made to the judging process in a previous blog post. However, these changes have implications for the judges themselves. Apart from the sheer numbers of judges needed, the judge experience will be shaped by the unique features of iGEM’s first hybrid event.

Judging sessions will be more intimate this year. Only judges and team members will be able to enter the physical and zoom rooms for each judging session. Judging sessions will be broadcast publicly for anyone to see, but only judges assigned to each team will be afforded the opportunity to interact with iGEM participants. This means that if you can’t come to Paris and you aren’t on an iGEM team, the only way to have an immersive (and free!) iGEM experience is by serving as a remote judge.

Remote judges will be directly linked to their colleagues in Paris and around the world to discuss their assigned teams. They will be included in discussion with the entire judging cohort about the very best projects of 2022. Many of our remote judges from the previous years, like Adhit, are returning to judge again. Although they have not been able to travel, the remote judging experience they’ve had is worth repeating.

For judges that can come to Paris, as in years past, they will receive a free or reduced admission to the Grand Jamboree. They will get access to all that the Jamboree has to offer and also be plugged into our remote judges and teams. Even for in person attendees, judging enhances the experience.

Will you join us?

What will your iGEM story be? By returning as a judge, you can continue to write it. Time is running out though; the Grand Jamboree is less than seven weeks away and the window to become a judge in 2022 is closing. You can start you next iGEM chapter by applying to judge here: https://competition.igem.org/judging/judges