Competition/Rules of Conduct
3. Rules of Conduct
Conduct in the iGEM Competition is overseen by two committees of external experts: the Safety Committee and the Responsible Conduct Committee. Failure to follow the rules may result in these committees choosing to take disciplinary action against your team, up to and including ineligibility for awards and disqualification from the competition.
3.1 Safety
Teams must agree to follow all of the Laboratory Safety Rules throughout the competition.
The iGEM Safety Committee oversees and reviews all of the safety concerns throughout the competition. These rules were approved by the Safety Committee and all teams are expected to follow them carefully.
3.2 Responsibility
Every iGEM participant must agree to adhere to the Responsible Conduct Committee's Conduct Policy at all times.
Failure to follow the RCC Policy and other Rules of Conduct may result in serious consequences for your team, including disqualification from the competition. The Responsible Conduct Committee, who reviews all cases of iGEM participant misconduct, determines what punishment, if any, the team and/or participant will face for failing to follow these rules.
3.3 Honesty
Be intellectually honest. Describe your accomplishments accurately, and do not take credit for the work of others.
Teams are expected to conduct their research openly and honestly. The Project Attribution page is incredibly important - it allows each team to clearly state who conducted the work they are presenting. We expect everyone associated with a team, including students, advisors, and faculty members, to act honorably throughout the competition. We treat any and all failure to uphold intellectual honesty as a form of cheating and all cases will be brought to the attention of the Responsible Conduct Committee for disciplinary action.
3.4 Respect
Treat everyone with respect (including teammates, instructors, advisors, other teams, judges, and Headquarters staff).
All iGEM participants are expected to treat everyone with respect. We have a zero tolerance policy for physical violence and verbal abuse. This also includes harassment over social media as well as in person. Any instance of violence or abuse during the competition and at the Giant Jamboree should be reported immediately to a member of iGEM Headquarters Staff. All reported problems will be brought to the attention of the Responsible Conduct Committee for disciplinary action.
Safety Committee Members
- Piers Millett, iGEM Director of Safety, Woodrow Wilson Center
- Peter Carr, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
- Tom Knight, Ginkgo Bioworks
- Todd Kuiken, Woodrow Wilson Center
- Kenneth Oye, MIT
- Megan Palmer, Stanford University
- Cecile van der Vlugt, Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu
- Kathrina Yambao, Public Health Agency of Canada
- Samuel Yu, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Responsible Conduct Committee Members
- Committee Chair: Peter Carr, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
- King Chow, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- Martha Eborall, Bluefield State College
- Chris French, University of Edinburgh
- Karmella Haynes, Arizona State University
- Roman Jerala, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana