In Conversation with Srishti from 2022 UCopenhagen Grand Prize Winning Team: Decoding a Successful iGEM Competition Team & Project
Interview with: Srishti Anil Singh, UCopenhagen (2022)
Team Project: Netlantis
Blog by: Synthesizing Synergies (Edited by: Dimitris Eleftheriou)
Srishti moved from India to Denmark to pursue her MSc in Biotechnology and step into a new world of research and development. She discovered iGEM through a presentation by the UCopenhagen 2021 team and was immediately drawn to it. For her, “iGEM is a home away from home.” It was a place where she found her love for synthetic biology and a supportive community.
She was selected for the 2022 UCopenhagen iGEM team, and their project, Netlantis, won the Overgraduate Grand Prize and Best Conservation Project Prize, among others.
How did this success come about? How did they overcome crises throughout the competition and handle the deadlines? How did they maintain team spirit during and after iGEM?
We sat down with her to find out!
Freedom in choosing our roles using Post-its
Q; What was the selection process for choosing the team members, and their roles?
A; We had four supervisors who interviewed us and assessed our motivation letters and personality tests. One of their goals was to ensure the interdisciplinarity of the team. Our subgroups were Wet Lab, Dry Lab, Wiki, Human Practices, and Management ("Housekeeping"). Each team member chose their preferred role using post-its and points. Essentially, each member marked their own preferences and was allocated to a subgroup accordingly.
Signing contracts
Q What strategies did you use to ensure that everyone was on the same page and contributing to the project’s goals? / How did your team manage to work effectively , especially considering the diverse backgrounds and skill sets of the members?
A; We had to sign a “contract” that included rules like "Empathy is always needed" and "If you are late, you have to make a cake for the team." However, we did not rely solely on the contract. The most important thing was that we were doing something we loved and were there because we wanted to; we believed in it.
No hierarchies
Q; What were the criteria for choosing the leader of each subteam and how did the leader’s decision-making process involve the team?
A; There were no leaders, no heads, and no hierarchy in general. We were equals, and despite our subgroups, each of us contributed to the project's overall goals, brainstorming, activities, and decisions.
Common ambitions
Q; Can you describe your team’s communication and collaboration processes, and how you ensured that everyone was informed and involved?
A; We had two kinds of meetings;
General team-oriented meetings
Subgroup-oriented meetings
This approach helped us have a holistic understanding of both the project as a whole and each subgroup’s needs. Subgroup-oriented meetings were also very useful for time management. For example, a Human Practices member would pause their activities to help the Wet Lab meet a deadline. The team was more important than any individual subgroup. The focus was on the overall team's success rather than the success of individual subgroups.
Every meeting included both a check-in and a check-out. This was a great way to ensure that everyone was okay while fostering open communication. There were no exceptions, even towards the end of iGEM when we had multiple daily meetings.
Stressful times
Q; How did you handle conflicts or disagreements within the team, and what steps did you take to resolve them?
A; If we recognized that a teammate was stressed and not functioning well, we would encourage them to take a break, such as going for a walk to calm down. When they returned, we would try to identify the reasons for their stress by asking how they felt, what the problem was, and how we could assist in finding possible solutions. We opted for open communication, but always in a respectful way.
Deadlines
Q; Did you guys benefit from the iGEM cycle in time management and the iGEM recommendations which are found on the main website?
A; We kept the iGEM cycle graph in mind from the very beginning. As a result, we were prepared in advance for the times when real pressure would "hit." We aimed to be ahead of the iGEM deadlines, usually by two weeks, and this helped a lot. If a member or subgroup could not meet a deadline, they would ask for help from others, and we would be there to assist. Reaching deadlines can be mentally tiring and lead to frustration. These times are challenging for teams, and both the micro- and macro-environment of the team should act as "buffers." For example, the fact that the university provided some ECTS for participating in iGEM could serve as extra motivation for team members to be disciplined, meet deadlines, and help increase student participation and commitment overall.
Team building and bonding
Q; Did your team participate in any specific team building activities?/
A; The supervisors did something extremely helpful for the team: they suggested a two-month "get-to-know-each-other" period before starting the brainstorming sessions (yes, you read that correctly!). As a result, we got to know each other's personalities, characters, mannerisms, views, and values, and learned how to cooperate effectively. Additionally, we participated in many activities together. For example, we cooked and ate together (e.g., picnics), played various games, took walks, and even had competitions like building "spaghetti towers."
Enjoy, Learn, Believe
Q; What are your top 3 takeaways on developing and maintaining a strong team spirit through your iGEM experience? What were some of the key lessons your team learned during the project, and how do you think these lessons can be applied to future iGEM projects?
i) ENJOY, go with the flow. If not…it is very-very difficult to make it through. As a team, despite all the difficulties, we were happy and content in the end.
ii) LEARN, use the experience to gain both hard and soft skills (understand people, educate them about synthetic biology and science in general, expand your network).
iii) Do it for yourself and the team. And something very-very important; When on iGEM, what you do matters! Really believe in it. You are making a difference; you either educate or inspire others and this is valuable! Try it, we were not some kind of geniuses, we were just a bunch of people trying to do something 😉
Some additional insights
It was a super insightful interview, and this is just a sample of all the valuable information that Srishti shared with us (lucky us!). We would like to specifically mention an important point that stood out during the interview: their supervisors played a major supportive role in the team. For instance, two of them attended almost every meeting to participate in the check-ins and check-outs, offering guidance throughout the project. Their presence was frequently mentioned during the interview, impacting various aspects of the students' iGEM journey. This support likely contributed to team members feeling safer, more responsible, and more involved, thereby enhancing motivation and action.
Passion, freedom of choice, involvement, empathy, ambition, open communication, respect, preparation, trust, and fun are some of the necessary ingredients for a content team in the end of the iGEM experience, full of thoughts and experiences that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.
So how can you have a successful iGEM Competition team and project? Here’s our opinion:
Define clear, achievable goals and objectives for the project.
Develop a detailed project plan outlining tasks, timelines, resources, and dependencies.
Maintain open and regular communication with all stakeholders.
Identify potential risks early and develop mitigation strategies.
Foster a collaborative team environment and ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.
Regularly track progress and make adjustments as necessary to stay on course.
Be flexible and ready to adapt to changes or unexpected challenges.
Keep thorough documentation to ensure transparency and facilitate future project assessments.
Thank you Srishti (very much!) for this insightful interview and we wish you all the best for your future endeavors!
*IMPORTANT NOTE; The answers are not the exact “depiction” of Srishti’s responses* (Paraphrasing)
This blog-post is a part of a series of blogs by the project Synthesizing Synergies on decoding successful iGEM Competition teams and their projects.
