Nordic iGEM conference (NiC) is an annual 3-day event organized for the iGEM teams from the Nordic region.

  • Event Date: August 5th-8th, 2022
  • iGEM Representatives: Dorothy Zhang, VP of Community at iGEM Foundation,
    Athina Milona, iGEM Ambassador Head to Europe, and Alonso Fores, iGEM Safety & Security Fellow

The 2022 event was organized by the LiU team at the University of Linkoping, Sweden with the goal to strengthen the interactions between the teams, enable collaboration and prepare them for the 2022 iGEM Grand Jamboree in Paris.

Athina Milona, iGEM Ambassador Regional Head to Europe

“From my first year in iGEM, I found meetups to be of unique importance for iGEMers. There is nothing like sharing the iGEM spirit and interacting with fellow iGEMers that share the same passion with you. There is also nothing like hearing about iGEM Community from one of its members in person. During these opportunities of networking and coming together with the new iGEMers we can "pass" the vibe of iGEM Community and share the excitement of staying engaged as an iGEM alumni even after the competition.”

Together with Alonso, Athina ran a workshop on Dual-Use Research of Concern. The teams were assigned groups and were prepared on “how to ask the right questions” when it comes to addressing the biosafety and biosecurity in a project.

This was also the first time the iGEM HQ participated in the Nordic iGEM Conference at Linkoping. Dorothy introduced the attendees to the different programs iGEM is running right now for both iGEMers and the global synbio ecosystem. She also shared with them the new iGEM purpose.

Moreover, they also judged the "mini Jamboree" where all the teams presented their projects. This was a great opportunity for them to provide the teams with feedback and help them with part of their projects that proved to be challenging for them, point out things that might need improvement or that they are doing great.

Athina also got a chance to share her experience as an iGEM Ambassador over the years. She told the attendees about her perspective from both the position of a team member and lead. It was a great opportunity for us to interact with the Nordics teams. We got a fair idea of what challenges teams are facing and how their iGEM experience has been so far.

To find more information about the iGEM Ambassadors & Promoters for Europe and regional synbio activities visit our Europe webpage. Learn more about the Ambassador Program here.

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