Difference between revisions of "Team:NCTU Formosa/Public Engagement"

     National Luodong High School visited us over the summer to learn more about the iGEM competition. To start, we introduced the field of synthetic biology. We then presented some of NCTU_Formosa’s previous projects, such as Pantide and Parabase. The students left with a better understanding of what goes on in the field of synthetic biology as well as the competition.

     Over the summer our team hosted a week-long workshop for National Taichung First Senior High School students. The workshop covered all the skills required to produce a successful iGEM project. Students were first introduced to the fundamentals of synthetic biology before getting hands-on practice by transforming GFP into E.coli. Finally, they learned how to properly research science topics by referencing published papers and visiting sites such as PubMed. At the end of the workshop, the students combined everything they’d learned into a presentation of a project that they brainstormed from beginning to end. The workshop seemed to pique an interest in synthetic biology in many of the students, and we sincerely hope they decide to continue pursuing this passion.

     During the school year our team participated in our school’s annual club fair. Our goal was to teach more people about synthetic biology and the iGEM competition, as well as earn some money to spend towards our project. We sold popsicles and explained several previous NCTU projects to any willing listeners. By the end we managed to recruit a few members for next years team while netting a profit. It was quite a successful day!

     In mid-July, our team visited Wuhan, China to participate in the 2018 Central China Regional Exchange iGEM Conference, which was held by HUST, to share our project with other teams. This year, five teams came together to discuss and exchange ideas. We presented our project ideas and the audience gave us some great feedback. During the question and answer section we were asked about some topics that we hadn’t considered, such as the cost of our bacteriocin production. Additionally, we saw some interesting topics presented by other teams, and also made some great friends along the way. Overall this event really helped us prepare a more well-rounded project!

     This summer, NCTU_Formosa participated in the 6th annual Asia Pacific iGEM conference held at Chung Shing University in Taichung. Over twenty other teams attended the event, and each team took the opportunity to share their projects. We received a lot of constructive criticism from not only other students but teachers and advisors as well. From this, we were able to improve both our content as well as our presentation style. Additionally, we bonded with many other teams and schools and made long lasting friendships.

     During the spring our team called Abu Dhabi over Skype to discuss both teams’projects. We explained our plan to control microbiota in soil, and Abu Dhabi shared their goals of making an incredible sensor. It was a great opportunity to practice expressing our ideas to others, and both teams learned more about both projects.