Finding a Place in Synthetic Biology: From Uganda to Around the World
The first time I met Erikan was in Cairo, Egypt. This was back in 2021, Erikan started the conversation with a story on how he got his visa just before he headed to the airport to catch his flight to Cairo.
We were staying in the same hotel to attend the meetup we and others (who were iGEM Ambassadors to Africa) organized for the iGEM teams and alumni in the continent.
Erikan Baluku is currently a master's student at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Originally, he is from Uganda and has a background in medical technology which he studied as an undergraduate and that’s when he came to know about iGEM.
iGEM and After iGEM (iGEM Community): The beginning
“In 2018, I was a student in my second year at the university and I came across an advert about joining iGEM. This was introduced by Otim Geoffrey after he had returned from synbio conference and thought he could start an iGEM team in Uganda at Makerere University. I was shortlisted for an interview for the team, and finally recruited as one of the members of the iGEM Makerere University team of 2018.”
Although Erikan wasn’t selected for the iGEM Ambassador program in 2020, he was eventually selected as an iGEM Ambassador to Africa in 2021. In the same year, he also managed to work with the Open Science and Accessibility group as a member, the iGEM Mentors Network; as a mentor of the Kenyan iGEM team and as an iGEM Judge as well.
This year, 2022, Erikan continued his role as an iGEM Ambassador to Africa, a mentor, and a judge.
During our conversation, Erikan mentioned he “has been able to grow as a scientist with iGEM and learn different skills such as networking and communication while getting to know more about synthetic biology.”
Apart from iGEM and his graduate studies, he also joined SynBio Africa, an organization based in Uganda and looking at Africa as a continent trying to push for synthetic biology research in the region. He was one of the people that followed up with the organization from its start and is trying to help them build a strong Ambassador program within Africa.
As an iGEM Ambassador, Erikan was sharing his experience with others aspiring to start their journey in the competition.
Helping others participate in iGEM
Whenever I meet any iGEM team from Africa, those who made it and those who are still trying or did not manage to compete in the competition, they will always mention one name as one of the people who has helped them. That name is Erikan!
Erikan, having participated in 2018, saw how iGEM was a great opportunity and realized that he can help other African teams who would like to participate in it.
Erikan shares the story of how he walked a team into participating in the competition:
“I met a Kenyan team that wanted to participate in 2020, the team was especially worried about how they could participate in iGEM and majorly how they could get funding [A major obstacle for African teams]. One of the things I told them is: “For now we can build the idea and funding will come in as you try to build up this idea”.
I advised them through their journey and also worked closely with one of their members who was leading the team to make sure the team is going to participate in iGEM. I went on to try to mentor them and make sure they are concentrating on the project, as that is what will eventually help secure funding.”
Erikan emphasizes on the importance of the international nature of iGEM:
“iGEM, being an international organization that's trying to bring the best out of synthetic biology work being done by researchers all over the world. This is a great opportunity that young scientists from Africa, mainly students could look into, and that's why I keep pushing a few groups to take part in it. Those groups include my university (the Makerere University) team who’ve approached me many times about how they are going to participate in iGEM. They managed to register and participate this year and I’m proud of that.”
iGEM Makerere 2018 team with a liquid-pipetting robot that they won. | Makerere_University Team Wiki
He also remembered how iGEM was an entertaining learning journey, he shared the story of receiving the Opentrons O2 robot, which they won in a competition for iGEM teams by the company (which was itself an iGEM team one day).
“The robot was delivered to the lab and we didn't know how to use the machine, so I had to figure out how the machine worked. I figured out how to do a few things we need”.
Starting the Synthetic Biology Journey
Erikan reflected on how their team worked in collaboration with other iGEM teams from all over the world and how this was a networking opportunity for him and the team members.
“I had those moments of trying to link up and network with new people. I got exposed to many things in my life and kind of opened my journey to more science and especially to the field of synthetic biology.”
iGEM was a major factor in Erik’s next steps:
“After iGEM, I realized that I needed to do a course that would drive me to better understand the field of Synthetic Biology. This led me to pursue a master's in Molecular and cell biology. My major is food security and after analyzing many factors affecting the African continent, one of them was the changing weather conditions. I’m focused on how we can work to anticipate and mitigate the effects expected in the next few years.”
Erik wants to work with drought-tolerant plants, plants that can withstand dry conditions and still survive until they are rehydrated. He thinks that the genes of those plants could contribute to the globe's food security.
iGEM as a gate for more opportunities
Erikan Experience as an iGEMers and his work with iGEM Community helped him get a scholarship for his master's study:
“My [iGEM] experience helped me a good amount because one of the questions in the interview for the scholarship was about what I have done within the African continent and how I think I can contribute to one of the challenges facing Africa in relation to your master's degree.
So I talked about the experience I had with iGEM and how I have helped in building up teams within Africa, mentor these teams, and help them to brainstorm ideas that can help them solve local problems.
I believe this helped my application a lot as I showed how I have used the knowledge that I acquired from iGEM to help in creating solutions within the African continent, and how, after studying for my master's, I could move on to use my experience.
Reflecting back on his journey with iGEM, Erik would advise everyone to try their best to have the vision to choose what they want to be.
He thinks more African iGEM should contribute to iGEM Community:
“There are opportunities for the African alumni in the form of networking, collaboration, partnership, and building one’s career.”
“I was selected to attend the IUCN global youth summit as a fellow. This opportunity was because I was an alumnus of iGEM and fully participated in iGEM activities so I was exposed to many things. I also managed to get sponsorship for a number of delegates to attend the SynBio Africa conference and I was in charge of choosing these delegates and making sure that they come to the conference.”
At the time of the interview, Erik was getting ready to travel to Singapore to attend the Global Health Conference. He did go there as a delegate for iGEM.
iGEM as a gate for more opportunities
Erikan Experience as an iGEMers and his work with iGEM Community helped him get a scholarship for his master's study:
“My [iGEM] experience helped me a good amount because one of the questions in the interview for the scholarship was about what I have done within the African continent and how I think I can contribute to one of the challenges facing Africa in relation to your master's degree.
So I talked about the experience I had with iGEM and how I have helped in building up teams within Africa, mentor these teams, and help them to brainstorm ideas that can help them solve local problems.
I believe this helped my application a lot as I showed how I have used the knowledge that I acquired from iGEM to help in creating solutions within the African continent, and how, after studying for my master's, I could move on to use my experience.
Reflecting back on his journey with iGEM, Erik would advise everyone to try their best to have the vision to choose what they want to be.
He thinks more African iGEM should contribute to iGEM Community:
“There are opportunities for the African alumni in the form of networking, collaboration, partnership, and building one’s career.”
“I was selected to attend the IUCN global youth summit as a fellow. This opportunity was because I was an alumnus of iGEM and fully participated in iGEM activities so I was exposed to many things. I also managed to get sponsorship for a number of delegates to attend the SynBio Africa conference and I was in charge of choosing these delegates and making sure that they come to the conference.”
At the time of the interview, Erik was getting ready to travel to Singapore to attend the Global Health Conference. He did go there as a delegate for iGEM.
Erikan has recently started a company producing mosquito repellent, and while he does all of that he is still an active member of iGEM Community.
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