Enrolling the biotech program at Chalmers was an easy choice as it combined two of my favorite things, biology and industry. After 4 years you realise how large of a field synthetic biology is, and iGEM offered an exciting opportunity to see every aspect of working a synthetic biology project.
For me, iGEM has been a goal in my education since I started at Chalmers Technical University after attending an informational lunch lecture with the 2018 iGEM Chalmers team. Even though I didn't know much about synthetic biology, I realized it was a fascinating project and competition I would love to participate in, if I had more knowledge about it. Here I am and I have now finally realized what a fun experience synthetic biology can be. It is the wet lab and the flexibility to design our own projects that interest me the most, as well as the opportunity to collaborate with other universities.
To have our own project to work on felt like a fun and interesting way to spend my summer. I was most excited by doing lab work, and learning more about how a project like this would progress. I am starting my last year on the biotechnology Master at Chalmers this autumn, and it feels great to be involved in something I could work with in the future.
I was really excited about getting involved in a big project in synthetic biology, like a global competition as iGEM. To be able to create your own project and to try it out and improve your own ideas in the lab made me apply to the team. Furthermore, spending the summer in the lab is a big plus.
iGEM has been one of the most enjoyable experiences throughout my four-year journey in the Biotechnology program. Among all the fascinating aspects of biotechnology, synthetic biology stands out as the one that interests me the most. I hope to continue working in this field in the future. I have equally relished both the analytical and hands-on laboratory work, actively engaging in both domains during our project. When collaborating within a large team, I find that effective cooperation and communication are vital. To ensure everyone's well-being and engagement, having a dedicated Human Resources (HR) person within every project becomes important.
Coming from Chemical Engineering to pursue Biotechnology for my Master's, I was eager to broaden my knowledge in this field. I found iGEM as an amazing learning adventure by bringing hands-on skills in synthetic biology. What made iGEM particularly intriguing for me was the unique chance of starting a research project from scratch. It felt amazing to go through the process from brainstorming until implementing our idea into a real-world project.
Getting to finally be able to stretch my legs and pick an approach that fits us as a group has been a breath of fresh air. Having spent a lot of time in the lab during my first years of university I saw iGEM as a great opportunity to get to spend more time planning and doing theoretical work and get to use some of the ‘hard skills’ acquired throughout university in the fields of synthetic biology and modeling.
I have completed the first year of the biotechnology Master at Chalmers. I heard a lot about iGEM from the previous Chalmers-Gothenburg team. The opportunity to create our own project and work on it all summer sounded like a lot of fun! I applied for iGEM to get to spend the summer in the lab.
I have recently ended my third year in a double bachelors degree in chemistry and molecular biology. Over the last year I have grown an interest in structural biology and proteins in general. I was very eager to get a more hands-on experience with research, and so iGEM seemed like a great opportunity.
While during my bachelors in Biotechnology, I've spent a good amount of time in the lab. But you were never able to be part of the whole journey of a research project, from coming up with an idea, planning and testing that idea in the lab, to trying to draw conclusions about the results (or lack of) you got. I saw iGEM as a great opportunity to be able to do just this.
Hello. I am Verena. I am a research professor at the Department of Systems and Synthetic Biology at Chalmers and have supervised the Chalmers iGEM teams since 2012. My main focus of research is microbial synthetic biology where I study application of yeast as a cell factory for sustainable production of a variety of chemicals as well as advanced biofuels.
Hello! My name is Pavithra Umashankar and I am a PhD student in Yvonne Nygård's group in the Industrial Biotechnology division. My research focuses on the development of fungal platform strains using metabolic engineering and high-throughput screening tools for production of aromatic compounds. Assisting the team provided me with an excellent opportunity to share and dialogue with other students, as I believe this is the best method to preserve my knowledge and improve my advisory skills.