A community comes from a group of people with shared experiences. Each year the iGEM Competition brings together over 300 teams to share their work and advance the field of synthetic biology while solving changes important to their local communities. Each individual in those over 5000 have their own reason to participate in iGEM, but once they reach the end of the season and graduate from the competition, they retain a shared experience and core values.
While competition teams are one element of this community, it extends far beyond them and involves individuals who create what we call the iGEM experience. These are the judges, the mentors, the advisors, the volunteers, anyone interested in learning about synthetic biology and anyone who is a part of the global synthetic biology ecosystem. More than 60,000 individuals have shared this iGEM experience and their contributions have gone on to develop the field of synthetic biology over the past 2 decades.
Our Story
iGEM Community’s journey of experimentation, growth and improvement continued in 2021 which also fueled our transition from After iGEM to iGEM Community. The After iGEM program started in 2017 as an effort to support alumni of the iGEM Competition. Over the years, we expanded from a team of just 5 Ambassadors in 2017 to over 100 members in 2021 - working together on topics important to our community. This growth and change helped us reinforce and expand our goal to support not just competition participants, but also welcome anyone interested in synthetic biology. This annual review presents the highlights and continued development of iGEM Community in 2021.
Our Purpose
The iGEM Community program brings together all of them to amplify their individual impact, support and grow the global synthetic biology community through a collective effort, and further develop their own skills and careers. It is a resource-rich space for iGEMers to team up, and collaboratively build assets for the synbio ecosystem, while developing into the future leaders of the field.
Our People
The iGEM Community is open for everyone interested in synthetic biology. Each year, we welcome a group of volunteers who lead efforts with us to support you, our community members. In 2021, we welcomed 128 individuals to iGEM Community as Ambassadors, Steering Group and Initiative members. Along with our 5 staff members, they led and shaped the program.
iGEM Ambassadors
The iGEM Ambassadors represent and promote iGEM and synthetic biology in their respective regions. They are a diverse and international team of regional leaders who have experienced iGEM and now work together to promote initiatives to expand iGEM and collaborate with local stakeholders to disseminate cooperation across their community.
Interface between the teams and iGEM HQ and voice for their regional iGEM communities
Recruit potential teams and identify barriers to entry
Connect to iGEM alumni and help improve iGEM Community's programs
Promote or help create the iGEM League in your region
Africa
Asia & Oceania
Europe
Latin America
North America
iGEM Networks
The iGEM Networks are dedicated to connecting individuals, building communities, sharing resources and developing initiatives geared towards specialized areas related to synthetic biology. Each Topic is led by a dedicated Steering Group.
Discover and re-curate the resources which are produced and benefit iGEMers
Connect individuals and maintain communities around the different areas of interest
Develop projects and initiatives geared towards specialized areas related to synbio
Academia & Research
Education
Governance and Policy
Industry
Science Communications
Open Science and Accessibility
Network topics
Academia and Research
The iGEM Academia & Research Network strives to provide a platform for iGEMers to engage, develop a better understanding and improve their knowledge of the recent research trends in Synthetic Biology through academic-related activities.
Education
The iGEM Education Network aspires to facilitate connections between international iGEM/Synbio educators and create a platform for them to share knowledge and seek collaborations.
Governance and Policy
The iGEM Governance and Policy Network positions iGEM alumni to participate in processes that produce the field’s larger context, such as policy discussions and public consultations.
Open Science and Accessibility
The iGEM Open Science and Accessibility Network aims to foster global networks of regional support for emerging synthetic biologists by promoting collaborative work based on the different needs of each community.
Industry
The iGEM Industry Network promotes the effective communication between iGEMers & iGEM Alumni. Secondly, we aim to build a consolidated, renowned and self-growing Industry Alumni Network. We would like this to be reflected in a high number of job positions and internships assigned to iGEMers all over the world.
Science Communication
The iGEM Science Communication Network aims to equip synthetic biologists with the skills in science communication needed to succeed as a scientist.
iGEM Community initiatives
The iGEM Community initiatives are efforts designed to address specific challenges that are important to our community.
Discover and re-curate the resources which are produced and benefit iGEMers
Connect individuals and maintain communities around the different areas of interest
Develop projects and initiatives geared towards specialized areas related to synbio
WiSTEM
The WiSTEM initiative strives to build awareness and provide resources for people underrepresented in STEM to encourage their pursuit of the field.
Mentors Network
The Mentors Network aims to provide mentorship support to iGEMers during the competition and beyond.
Synbio Alliance
The SynBio Alliance initiative aims to provide a platform for SynBio Associations to network, discover shared goals for themselves, enhance collaborations between them, and develop best practices for growth for the international community.
Phoenix Project
The Phoenix Project aims to increase the number of projects that live on beyond their initial iGEM cycle. In this way, we hope that the iGEM community can move forward in making engineering progress on these pressing issues by iterating on each other’s ideas.
Our Community Efforts
The 2021 season started with the Kickoff event. We introduced the synbio community to our working groups, their purpose, goals, and the topics they will be contributing to. We also launched our new website, experimented with a JOGL space for external participants to take part of our activities, and opened up our slack for the general community members so that they can engage with each other.
Supporting iGEM teams
Mentorship Program
The Mentorship Program provides the means for new high school, collegiate (undergrad and overgrad), and community lab iGEM teams to learn how the iGEM Competition works. A total of 45 iGEM teams participated in the Mentorship program in 2021.
Coffee with Ambassadors
The iGEM Ambassadors hosted fun-interactive meetups every month for iGEMers to socialize, play and get to know each other. This helped the community come together, interact and discuss topics not just related to synbio or iGEM but any global/regional experience that can be fun to share.
Values & Risks Workshops
The Values & Risks Workshops are interactive 90-minute workshops hosted by iGEM Ambassadors to explore issues of responsibility, safety, security, and ethics with current-year iGEM teams
How to iGEM? Resources for teams
A streamlined guide packed with information that iGEM alumni and Ambassadors have found to be the most important for iGEM teams.
Understanding High-School teams
This project was created as an attempt to hear our younger iGEMErs’ needs and opinions. We conducted several interviews with high school teams to get to know how their journey was and what we could do to make the iGEM experience better for future participants.
Regional ambassadors activities
The iGEM Ambassadors implemented projects specific to their regional needs. These projects focused on supporting and recruiting new iGEM teams, connecting and supporting regional iGEM alumni, and helping the creation of iGEM Leagues in the region.
Ambassadors to Africa
- Meeting with Potential iGEM teams: 4 Events; 1:1 Meetings - 5 institutions; 90 individuals engaged. - Universities and School Outreach: 13 Institutes, 4 Countries. - Other events: SynBio Africa Conference and SynBio Arabia
Ambassadors to Asia and Oceania
- ATGC Workshop: +400 applicants - Accepted 80 participants, 14 Guest Speakers - Work in Progress: 7 Attendees, 2 Sessions - Wiki Reading Circle: 30 Attendees - University Outreach: 11 institutions, 6 Countries
Ambassadors to Latin America
- Coffee with SynBio (Café com SynBio): 2 Events, 11 Attendees - iGEM LATAM Fest: 227 Attendees, 32 Guests
Ambassadors to North America
- The 'i' in iGEM: 4 Stories about iGEMers (Alex Kyaborango, Annika Shi, Erikan Baluku and Chinmay Patwardhan) - How to iGEM?: instructional document for iGEM Competition teams
Understand Global Biotech and Synbio Governance
Global Policies Comments
The Global Policy Comments project identified open calls for public policy comments and consultations, and put together comments representing the iGEM community.
Shipping Policies
The Shipping Policies project studied how to extend access to synthetic biology and its tools by understanding local/regional bureaucracy and policy with the pilot project in Latin America.
Global Policy Hackathon
The Hackathon mapped the landscape of global import/export policies that apply to specific areas of synthetic biology and used that knowledge to understand global governance of synthetic biology.
Biofoundaries policy research
Exploration of the opportunities and limitations that biofoundries have towards facilitating citizen science, environmental monitoring, and biosurveillance.
Building Synthetic Biology Resources
EduHall
EduHall is a centralized location comprising various synthetic biology resources. It features our in-house content as well as links to the most reputable educational resources used by successful iGEM teams. A total of 15 Educational Resources were compiled for the Edu Hall in 2021.
ORIgin Project
The Origin project aggregated synthetic biology learning resources from various channels of different languages on the internet including videos, MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), curriculum, articles, etc.
ATGC Workshops
ATGC was a 4-day bootcamp designed to engage Indian high school students in synthetic biology. To inspire SynBio ideas we have made the concept of idea generation graspable and enjoyable!
Mentorship Program
The Mentorship Program provides the means for new high school, collegiate (undergrad and overgrad), and community lab iGEM teams to learn how the iGEM Competition works. A total of 45 iGEM teams participated in the Mentorship program in 2021.
Coffee with Ambassadors
The iGEM Ambassadors hosted fun-interactive meetups every month for iGEMers to socialize, play and get to know each other. This helped the community come together, interact and discuss topics not just related to synbio or iGEM but any global/regional experience that can be fun to share.
Experts Talks (now Lens on Labs)
Experts talks include a series of global and regional talks from individuals working in the areas of sustainable development goals to encourage students to learn and explore synthetic biology can impact those goals.
Excelling beyond the competition
Phoenix Project
Phoenix aims to increase the number of projects that live on beyond their initial iGEM cycle. In this way, we hope that the iGEM community can move forward in making engineering progress on these pressing issues by iterating on each other’s ideas.
iGEM Journals
Through iGEM Journals we collaborated with Keai publishing to launch an iGEM Special Issue of Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology journal for 2019 and 2020 iGEM projects. A total of 12 papers from 12 iGEM teams were published through it.
Supporting your career and upskilling your passion
Career Development Survey
The career development survey was launched to analyze the professional goals of iGEM alumni and support them through the Mentors Network.
Academic Publishing Workshop Series
A series of 4 workshops were organized on the topics relevant for the preparation of publication-quality material, culminating in manuscripts for submission for peer-review.
Attend International Research Conferences
Provided organizational support to iGEMers to participate in conferences, workshops and events that will boost their professional careers.
Publish in Journal issues dedicated to iGEM Project
Through iGEM Journals we collaborated with Keai publishing to launch an iGEM Special Issue of Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology journal for 2019 and 2020 iGEM projects. A total of 12 papers from 12 iGEM teams were published through it.
Kickstart Your Career in Industry
This series was oriented towards iGEMers and iGEM alumni who are already established in their career or searching for their first role.
Sci-comm Careers Panel Series
A video podcast series that compiles interviews with professional science communicators working in areas such as education, consulting, digital media, entrepreneurship, policy, and many more.
Mastering Science Communication Course
A detailed course to provide fundamental training in science communication. The course equips scientists with the essential skills in writing, presenting, social media and illustration.
Mentors Network
The Mentors Network aims to provide mentorship support to iGEMers during the competition and beyond.
Open Talks
The Open Talks project featured a set of lectures with speakers involved in open (bio)sciences and technologies, specifically in the scope of hardware, software, licenses and open innovation. These talks were accessed by 87 individuals
Improving Accessibility in SynBio
Translation initiative
The Translation Initiative aims to overcome the language barrier in synthetic biology by creating a shared vocabulary concerning iGEM and synthetic biology that is translated into different languages. It developed a synbio glossary in +5 languages, helped conduct the values and risks workshops in a number of languages.
Open Talks
The Open Talks project consists of a set of lectures with speakers involved in open (bio)sciences and technologies, specifically in the scope of hardware, software, licenses and open innovation. These talks were accessed by 87 individuals.
Highlight issues of representation
WiSTEM Panel Series
These round table discussions explored the multi-faceted issues faced by women in STEM.
The Equalit Pursuit
The magazine featured written interviews with inspiring leaders and articles about gender diversity and empowerment.
Connecting Global Communities
Ambassador Program
The iGEM Ambassadors represent and promote iGEM and synthetic biology in their respective regions. The program equips these leaders with skills and resources to support and recruit new iGEM teams, connect and support regional iGEM alumni, and promote the creation of iGEM Leagues in the region.
Synbio Alliance
The SynBio Alliance initiative aims to provide a platform for SynBio Associations to network, discover shared goals for themselves, enhance collaborations between them, and develop best practices for growth for the international community.
Synbio Around the World Booklet
Learn about 8 different organizations building and supporting synthetic biology communities in their regions.