Calendar
2018 iGEM CALENDAR
Below is the full, detailed calendar for the 2018 iGEM Season. You should also read the Major Deadline page here (link) for a thorough explanation of the key deadlines for the iGEM competition.
JANUARY
Early Team Registration Opens
Early registration for the 2018 season opens today. For details about fees and payment, please see our Competition Registration Page (link).
Judging Application Opens
Interesting in volunteering as a judge for the 2018 Giant Jamboree? For more information and to access the judging application, please see our Judging Hub page (link).
FEBRUARY
Early Team Registration Closes
Early registration ends at 11:59pm EDT.
Regular Team Registration Opens
Regular registration for the 2018 season opens today. For details about fees and payment, please see our Competition Registration Page (link).
MARCH
Regular Team Registration Closes
Regular team registration ends at 11:59PM EDT.
APRIL
Late Team Registration Opens
Late registration for the 2018 season opens today. For details about fees and payment, please see our Competition Registration Page (link).
Late Team Registration Closes
Late team registration ends at 11:59PM EDT.
MAY
JUNE
Judging Form Opens
Your team's judging form (link) is extremely important as this will inform your judges what medal and award criteria you have worked on during the iGEM season. Please review the judging form carefully to make sure you understand every component of the form prior to the due date. The judging form is due on TBD.
Track Selection Opens
Teams can indicate up to three track preferences while track selection is open. Track selection will allow other teams interested in the same track to find you and possibly form useful collaborations. Your team's final track selection is due on September 21.
Safety Form Opens
Your team's safety form (link) is reviewed by the iGEM Safety Committee. Please review the safety form carefully to make sure you understand every component of the form prior to the due dates.
Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the Safety form are due on June 29 and any team member may submit these parts of the form.
The Final Safety Form (Parts 4 and 5) are due on September 21 and your Primary PI must submit the final, completed form.
Visa Application Opens
Traveling internationally to attend the Giant Jamboree? Be sure to apply for your travel visa early! Information about travel visas and instructions on accessing the iGEM visa application letter system are available on the Visa Help page.
Important: Visa applications can take months to process. The staff members at iGEM Headquarters cannot contact the consulate on your behalf if your visa application is delayed. By applying early, you increase your chances of attaining your visa on time to attend the Giant Jamboree.
Giant Jamboree Registration Opens
Registration for the Giant Jamboree opens today! Attendance fees will be TBD per team attendee.
InterLab Signup Opens (optional)
The InterLab signup form opens today. This is an optional activity that may help your team achieve the Bronze medal. Details can be found here: link. The deadline to signup is June 22.
GitHub Signup Opens (Software Track teams only)
The iGEM Github Repository signup opens today. This is a requirement for Software Track teams, but any team writing software may request access to the iGEM GitHub Repository. Details can be found here: link.
Teams may signup for access by emailing software AT igem DOT org.
The deadline to submit your code documentation is October 17.
InterLab Sign-up Deadline (optional activity)
Updated Deadline: The InterLab study can count towards your bronze medal criteria this year! If you want to participate in the InterLab study, sign up by 11:59PM EST today.
InterLab details and instructions for how to sign up can be found here.
Project Descriptions Due
Preliminary team project descriptions are due June 30th. This description should be posted on your Team Wiki home page (example URL: https://2018.igem.org/Team:Example).
Why is this deadline important?
This description will not be used to judge your project. It serves to provide some background on what your team has been working on so far and what you hope to accomplish. It also provides other teams the opportunity to see what you're working on so they can reach out for collaborations or troubleshooting if they are exploring a similar topic.
Safety Form Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 Due
Part 1: Contact
Part 2: About our Lab
Part 3: About our Project
Judge Application Form closes
The Judging Application Form closes.
JULY
InterLab Data Due (optional activity)
All participating teams need to fill out the three forms for the plate reader and the Excel data sheets (found here). If you also measured the parts with a flow cytometer, please fill out those two forms as well (found here). All data must be submitted by 11:59PM EST today.
Details can be found here.
AUGUST
Giant Jamboree Registration Closes
Regular registration for the Giant Jamboree ends on August 31 at 11:59PM EDT! Teams, please note: at least one team member must be registered by this date in order to ensure you have a presentation session at the Giant Jamboree!
SEPTEMBER
Giant Jamboree Late Registration Opens
Late registration opens for the Giant Jamboree. A late fee of $100 USD is added to the price.
Title and Abstract Freeze
Your team project title and abstract must be finalized by September 1, 11:59PM EDT.
Why is this deadline important?
Your team title and abstract are important for both your team Judging Form and the Giant Jamboree Program. You need to add your title and abstract to your Team Profile Page, which will be automatically copied over to your Judging Form. It's the first item about your project that your Judges will see upon viewing your Judging Form, so make sure to submit it on time! We also include your title and abstract in the Giant Jamboree Program Booklet for everyone to see.
Track Selection Freeze
Your team track selection must be finalized by September 1, 11:59PM EDT.
Why is this deadline important?
Track selection is important as it directly impacts the Giant Jamboree presentation schedule. We aim to group teams together by track in random groups of three to fit within the presentation schedule easily. Track selection also impacts the awards that will be given out on Monday during the Giant Jamboree (for example, if there are no teams in a specific track, then there will be no award given for that track). Please add your track selection to your Team Profile Page.
Team Roster Freeze
Your team roster must be finalized by September 8, 11:59PM EDT.
Why is this deadline important?
For collegiate teams, Team Rosters are used to determine if your team will be categorized as an Undergraduate or Overgraduate team (high school teams are automatically placed into the high school section). This will impact the track awards and special prizes you can compete for during the competition, so make sure your Team Roster is correct and up to date by September 8, 11:59PM EDT. The Team Roster is also used to print your participation certificates for the 2018 competition season. High school teams should submit the applicable consent forms with enough time for processing.
Safety Form Part 4 and Part 5 Due
Part 4: New Parts
Part 5: Sign Off
The Safety Form must be completed and the safety form submitted by the Instructor or PI. If you will not be able to complete this form before the deadline, please email us (safety AT igem DOT org) and tell us about your situation.
Giant Jamboree late registration ends
Late registration for the Giant Jamboree will end on September 28 at 11:59PM EDT. After this deadline, attendees will only be able to register on-site.
OCTOBER
Team banner files due (optional)
Each team is welcome to submit one banner image for iGEM to print and display at the Giant Jamboree. After the event, you are welcome to take it home as a souvenir!
Team video files due (optional)
Each team is welcome to submit a team video by emailing us the file to hq AT igem DOT org. We will select some of the videos to show during the Giant Jamboree Closing Ceremony!
DNA Submission Deadline
You must send your part submissions to iGEM Headquarters by October 12, 11:59PM EDT.
Please note: They do not need to arrive at iGEM Headquarters by this date.
Why is this deadline important?
If you are a team in a Standard Track competing for a medal, you must submit at least one DNA part to us (for silver). Special Track teams do not need to submit a DNA sample for medal consideration, but we do encourage part submission if you have made new parts in order to help the Registry grow. (Full details on medal requirements can be found here.) Also, if you have nominated your team for one of the special part prizes, you must submit that part to us as well.
All teams must include a tracking number with their submissions. We recommend you work on the DNA Submission before finalizing your Judging Form (see next deadline).
After you fill out your DNA Submission form, you should see the status of your parts listed on your Judging Form reflect the sent-by date.
Why is this deadline important?
All of your Registry pages must be completed by this deadline, as we will freeze the entire Registry until after the Giant Jamboree.
Teams must finalize their Registry Part pages so the judges can begin their assessment of your work. For all parts, all of your part documentation and characterization data must be on the Main Page of the Registry Part page(s).
Judging Form Freeze
Your team judging form must be finalized by October 15, 11:59PM EDT.
Why is this deadline important?
The Judging Form informs your team's judges about the medal criteria you have fulfilled as well as any special prize(s) you have nominated your team to compete for at the Giant Jamboree. This deadline allows iGEM Headquarters to assign the judges to your team, so this is a very critical deadline for every team. Please make sure you fill out and save your form by October 15, 11:59PM EDT.
Wiki Freeze
The Wiki Freeze for the 2018 Giant Jamboree is on October 17, 11:59PM EDT.
Why is this deadline important?
The Wiki Freeze is important for the judging process of the competition. Judges will be assigned their teams and begin their assessments on October 18. Your Wiki is the public face of your project, so make sure you begin work on it early to avoid last minute problems and mistakes.
Once the wikis are frozen, users can no longer make any changes until they are unfrozen after the Jamboree. Please be sure to read through the the wiki requirements! No extensions will be provided (no exceptions!) and judges will begin their assessment on October 18, so make sure all changes are done by 11:59PM EDT.
PLEASE NOTE: During week of wiki freeze, iGEM experiences higher than normal traffic which can lead to strain on our servers and sessions timing out for users. iGEM HQ recommends that users do not wait till the last days to work on and/or finish their wikis. Edits done during the final week should be very minor edits (spelling mistakes, updating images, etc.).
Github Freeze (Software Track teams only)
The Github Freeze for the 2018 Giant Jamboree is on October 17, 11:59PM EDT.
Why is this deadline important?
Every Software Track team must submit their code documentation to the iGEM Github Repository for evaluation by the judges.
Giant Jamboree Begins
The 2018 Giant Jamboree kicks off in Boston!
Giant Jamboree End
The 2018 Giant Jamboree finishes with the Awards Ceremony in Boston!
Important Note for Everyone
Below you will see many "Freeze" deadlines. When items Freeze, those items CANNOT be edited by anyone on your team after the deadline. For example, the Wiki Freeze takes place at 11:59PM EDT on October 17. Teams will not be able to edit any of their wiki pages after that time.
These are very important deadlines (noted below with red font) and no extensions will be granted for any team. We will send numerous reminders for the deadlines via email so please add the email extension igem DOT org to your safe contacts list. All team members are responsible for knowing these important deadlines.
Downloadable Calendar
This year, we are providing our 2018 Calendar in an iCal format that users can download and use in their iCal-supported calendar software. Please click on the iCal link below to download an ICS file for use in iCal supported calendars (Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, etc.).
You can also view the Google Calendar version at the bottom of this page.
Google Calendar
If you use Google calendar, you can easily add this to your calendar by clicking on the 
button on the bottom right of the calendar.