No images? Click here
March Newsletter
This month...
- In case you missed it: Regular Registration extended to April 30th for ALL teams
- New on the iGEM Blog: Launch of the iGEM Entrepreneurship Program
- Community bulletin: NSF supplements for University Researchers to support High School iGEM teams
- Welcome to Benchling for second year of Partnership
- Can't get in the lab yet? Start with Human Practices
- Upcoming dates to consider
Keep scrolling to see what's new in the iGEM community this month.
A message from iGEM HQ
Dear iGEM community,
We know that things are changing rapidly for our teams around the world at the moment. Yesterday, we announced that regular registration would be extended to April 30 for all iGEM teams, and we hope this will make signing up for the competition easier for everyone. We will continue to work with our staff and our committees to find ways to make iGEM 2020 a success, and to make sure that iGEM teams this year are rewarded for any and all hard work performed this season!
On that note, we still have some exciting announcements for the month of March: We are welcoming back Benchling for a second year of partnership, who are giving free access to their software to iGEM teams in a time when we need online collaboration software the most. We are also launching the iGEM Entrepreneurship Program, and bringing you community announcements about the NSF award supplements for PIs supporting high school iGEM teams in the USA. And if you can't get in the lab yet, perhaps now is a good time to start thinking about your experimental design, experimental modeling, and Human Practices.
Read on to learn more, and please stay safe and healthy in the coming weeks!
From iGEM Headquarters
Make an impact - Start with Human Practices!
Before you pick up your first pipette, you should think about Human Practices. Human Practices at iGEM is about understanding which problems synthetic biology can help solve, and exploring the impacts of your project on the world.
Watch the Human Practices video and hear from Megan Palmer, iGEM Director of Human Practices. If you have trouble accessing Vimeo, please follow this link to the iGEM video page: https://2019.igem.org/wiki/images/f/fe/IGEM_Human_Practices.mp4
To learn more, visit the Human Practices hub and check out FAQs, exemplary projects, resources, and tips for how to succeed in the competition.
Direct Link: https://2020.igem.org/Human_Practices
We are excited to welcome Benchling as an iGEM Partner for the second year in a row!
iGEM teams can unlock Benchling Notebook and Molecular Biology, extra space, and Benchling Sync for free
Benchling is a cloud-based software platform that helps scientists around the world design experiments, record data, and collaborate more efficiently. As part of our partnership, iGEM 2020 teams can unlock an electronic notebook, a suite of sequence design and analysis tools, extra space, and an enterprise feature — all at no cost to iGEM teams.
Visit Benchling's Partner Page to unlock this iGEM offer, and join the community of iGEMers already using Benchling:
Direct Link: https://2020.igem.org/Sponsors/Benchling
Benchling makes it easy to:
- Import sequences directly from the iGEM Registry of Standard Biological Parts
- Model assemblies, annotate constructs automatically, align sequences, design primers, and more
- Capture and access your team's data — protocols, sequences, and experimental results — all in one place
- Share your data and protocols with your team and with other members of the iGEM community
- Export Notebook entries and upload them directly to your iGEM Team Wiki
Community Bulletin
Can you help bridge a divide between University Research and High School Science? (USA)
The National Science Foundation, NSF, is encouraging PI’s of existing awards to apply for supplements through the Research Assistantships for High School Students (RAHSS) to support High School iGEM teams in the United States.
Supplements vary but are expected to average $10,000 per team.
Janet Standeven of the Lambert GA iGEM team is collecting a database of participants to pair partners across the High School/University divide. If you are interested, you are invited to share your contact information. Please see more details here, and contact Janet Standeven at jstandeven [AT] forsythk12 [DOT] org with any questions.
Direct Link: https://igem.org/Community_Bulletin
Also on the Bulletin this month: Are you a new High School iGEM Advisor? Or interested in becoming one? Join the Teacher Biotechnology Bootcamp (TB2), July 21-25, 2020. Learn more
New on the iGEM Blog
The iGEM Entrepreneurship Program
by Will Wright, iGEM Director of Entrepreneurship
Each year after the iGEM Competition comes to a close, the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of iGEM teams continue on – building upon the proofs of concept tested during the competition, turning prototypes into innovative products. Read more
Hyasynth: A Founder’s Journey from iGEM to Start-up
By Kevin Chen
Hyasynth was founded in 2014 with a set of cofounders who had all participated in iGEM before. Our idea didn’t come from an iGEM project, but our first year of starting up looked a lot like an iGEM project. Read more
Direct Link: https://blog.igem.org/
In case you missed it...
Regular Registration extended to April 30 for ALL iGEM teams
Due to the continued impact of the novel coronavirus upon our community worldwide, we have decided to extend the deadline for our regular registration rate of $5,500 USD to April 30, 2020, for all of our iGEM teams this year. We hope this will make signing up for the competition easier for everyone. Please read the full message here.
Visit the Registration page to learn about the registration process, complete the team application (PIs only), and submit your team fee.
Direct Link: https://2020.igem.org/Competition/Registration
With thanks to iGEM's 2020 Sponsors:
Learn more about iGEM's sponsors:
Direct Link: https://2020.igem.org/Sponsors
Missed something? See our newsletter archive to read previous issues
