About
From 2011 to 2021, about 500 highschool teams participated in iGEM Competition, none of them were from Africa! Beyond Biology is a workshop series designed for highschool students in Africa. It aims to introduce the students to the fields of biotechnology and synthetic biology and their various applications that go beyond basic theoretical biology. The project was initited by Mariam Ezzelarab, 2022 iGEM Ambassador for Africa.
Beyond Biology was planned to be hosted in-person in schools and institutes across Africa. A modified version also planned to be released later for a remote version. The workshop was expected to be free for highschool students. We have prepared multiple categories of sessions which cover multiple topics of Biology. According to the time and facilities availability, workshop facilitators should select 4-5 sessions from this list.
SynBio 101
An introduction to Synthetic Biology, Biobricks, iGEM and SynBio Pioneers.
Biosafety & Biosecurity
Working with any technology requires some responsibility. Knowing how to access and manage values and risks is a must for every and each synthetic biologist.
A day in an iGEM team life
School students may wonder what the day of an iGEMer looks like. A short video and live Q&A session by current iGEM teams will highlight an iGEMer’s experience.
Bioart
BioArt 101 will give the attendees the opportunity to produce peace of art using biology. This workshop addresses both the practical and theoretical sides.
Build a Bacteria
An activity enhances creativity in creating new organisms with new characteristics to solve critical problems.
Bioinformatics 101
Introducing the basics of bioinformatics and what can be done using its tools. Plus, applying those tools in the session.
A walk inside a manufacturing facility
When you take a product to the manufacturing scale, it is a totally different story than small scale Research & Development. A short video and live Q&A session by a biotech company will help them understand the scaling details.
Debunking SynBio Myths
Many misconceptions are associated with synbio. This game will help in debunking myths.
SynBio Maize (Augmented Reality Game)
Using Augmented reality tools developed by the Vilnius-Lithuania iGEM team to make the game more interactive, students will learn more about SynBio while searching in maize.
Organizers
