Synthetic biology is the application of engineering design principles to biology in order to develop tools and systems that will benefit society. In order for such engineering projects to be successful, they must not only be physically and technically feasible, but also be socially acceptable. With this in mind, the UNSW iGEM team sought to engage with the wider community, to open conversations about how our project would be received, and inspire further interest in synthetic biology more generally.

During our project, the team developed a variety of activities and resources that aimed to encourage public engagement with synthetic biology research. From speaking to academics our peers, and high school students, we ensured our project was being tested and considered by a wide audience, with our team discovering (and exploiting) many creative points of interaction between our project and public interest.

By taking to the stage in our research symposium and faculty speeches, we were able to share our story, but also challenge the general public to question and consider current ‘synbio’ technology. This work was continued with our SBA published article which summarised our project (and synthetic biology more generally) for a wider audience to consider. We also worked to inspire the next generation of scientists by creating a workshop to bring our project, and the relevant school topics which underpin it, to a group of high school students. Alongside this effort, we developed a package to assist teachers deliver standard high school ‘in-class’ instruction. This enabled us to develop an outreach and education strategy which would have a sustainable impact on the engagement of schools in synthetic biology, that could be built upon in the future.

To learn a little bit more about each of our outreach and engagement pursuits, please click on the following headings: