High School SynBio Summit

About


Synthetic Biology is a relatively new and unfamiliar field of science to most high school students. The Common Core curriculum implemented by most countries excludes Synthetic Biology from its covered contents, and students are provided neither opportunities nor resources for it until undergraduate studies. Hence, the high school population across the world is in urgent need of Synthetic Biology-based education and assistance from the necessary professionals, given the field’s relative significance in the 21st century.

As most high school teams enter iGEM with shallow knowledge of Synthetic Biology, the network of collaboration between high school teams is weak when compared to that of undergraduate and overgraduate teams. This in part stems from the lack of a solid institution in iGEM that is able to guide the high school iGEM teams to successfully find potential collaborators and maximize their experience in High School caliber through meaningful collaboration and the iGEM cycle.

Goals

The High School Synthetic Biology Summit (HS SynBio Summit) has the purpose of:

  • Promoting Synthetic Biology in high school through various initiatives targeting both iGEMers and non-iGEMers.
  • Bolstering international collaboration and friendship amongst high school iGEM teams through a solid collaborative initiative.
  • Assisting Highchool iGEM teams’ projects and programs.
  • Revitalizing the iGEM High School Committee.

Events


Alumni Talk with Tingzhen Liu: From Leading an iGEM High School Team to Getting into Medicine Program


Tingzhen Liu is a rising sophomore at Brandeis University studying bio with a focus on medicine. He will be talking about studying pre-med in US universities, which school to choose, how to apply, and how to find internships. While in high school, Tingzhen was the only student planning on studying abroad in his school, and the domestic curriculum they studied at school put them at a disadvantage when applying. He will also be talking about how he applied under unfavorable conditions.

Alumni Talk with Jane Liu: Creating SynBio Games, Comics and Getting into Oxford


Jane is an incoming freshman at Oxford University majoring in Biology. Her high school provides an IB curriculum and she’s really familiar with applying to universities in the UK. She’s also really good at drawing, she made synbio comic books for middle school students when she participated in iGEM in 2020.

Alumni Talk with Annika Shi: Overcoming Obstacles and Getting into Undergrad Programs in US


Annika is an incoming freshman at UNC Chapel Hill majoring in Biology(BS). She was the only student applying to universities abroad in her school, her GPA was capped due to this, and the domestic curriculum they studied at school put her at a disadvantage when applying. She is going to share how she overcame the obstacles in high school and college application, and offer her point of view on how to choose schools to apply to for Bioengineering or Biomedical Engineering. Annika was rejected in ED1 and ED2, she was accepted in RD1 and RD2 by UNC (Bio), Case Western (BME), Barnard (Bio), Brandeis (Bio), Brown (Bio), UCD (Physical Science), UCSB(pre-aquatic bio), Minerva, Utoronto (Bio & Computer Engineering).

Alumni Talk with Richard Hou: From Founding High School iGEM Team to Getting into Emory


Richard Hou is an incoming freshman at Emory University(accepted in ED1). He participated in iGEM as the team leader of THIS_China in 2021. He is going to share about how iGEM inspired him as a person and influenced his college application. He will also offer some tips on how to mention the iGEM Competition experience in your supplemental essay, along with how to apply to Emory specifically.

Alumni Talk with Wanji Li


Wanji Li is a rising sophomore at WUSTL (accepted in ED2). He participated in iGEM as a member, team leader, and advisor for team BNDS from 2018 to 2021. He founded the first iGEM team in his school and led his team to win silver medals. He will be talking about how iGEM shaped him in terms of his academic competence, how iGEM impacted his university application (wrote about iGEM in his supplemental essay for WUSTL). Wanji will also be sharing his UCAS personal statement.

Organizers


Heng (Annika) Shi
Heng (Annika) Shi
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Project Head
NC, United States of America
Sabrina Yeo
Sabrina Yeo
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Project Member
Taipei, Taiwan
Naomi Thomas
Naomi Thomas
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Project Member
Karnataka, India
Neha Suresh
Neha Suresh
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Project Member
Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Collaborators


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


How can I join the group chats?

We will invite you after you submit your registration! And the invitation link of Facebook and Discord is in the registration link.

How long are the sessions of the boot camp each day?

We will have a 1-hour lecture, followed by 1-hour activities, and then a lecture… It will take a total of no more than 4 hours. We DO NOT have lectures on Weekends! Enjoy!

Can I attend only part of the boot camp?

We strongly recommend you to attend the entire boot camp to get a full view of synbio, to make friends, and to fight for your house! If you have other important things, attendance is not mandatory, but remember to look over the materials after you come back and make sure you will be able to finish your project!

What language will the events be in?

Mostly in English, but we will open a transcript function. The one-on-one tutoring may be in other languages (Mandarin, Korean, etc) depending on the participants’ preference.

Do you offer certification?

We will offer certification if you are absent from less than 3 sessions during the bootcamp. And we offer special prizes for those who have outstanding performance. We will offer special prizes to members in the house that wins (with the most credit) at the end of the bootcamp.