Education

Introduction

As undergraduate students and as iGEMers, one thing about us is clear - we love to learn, and believe that education is a powerful tool to change the world.

From our Human Practices based conversations, we learned how harmful the lack of awareness and social education surrounding NTDs is. We were thereby inspired to place an emphasis on promoting education with our project - not just surrounding the diseases we are targeting, but around the field of synthetic biology as a whole.

Looking for the highlights? Here is a summary of all the education work we did this year!

To read more about each initiative, as well as what we learned while delivering them and what we left as resources for future iGEM teams, see below.

Laying the Groundwork: Reflection

“Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” - Abigail Adams

What is Education?

To start, our team sat together and discussed what education means to us. In this discussion, we got to reflect critically on our experiences with learning, teaching, and creating positive change through knowledge. We summarized our learnings in a sentence cloud, as seen below:

We continued to explore our own experiences, and created the following schematic to outline what we think education is, and what it is not. We then created a separate diagram to summarize the positive educational experiences we have had, as well as the negative ones.

Reflection: What our team feels education is, and what it is not

Reflection: Words to describe our most positive and most negative experiences in education

“We can’t go around saying that synbio is the magical cure to all the world’s problems - we should present the field for what it is. An emerging field with the potential to create real change, if used in the right ways.” - Aiman Dhiloon, President of HelmiGuard

Identifying Groups of Interest

Now that we had reflected on what education meant to us, we were faced with another question: which groups should we focus our educational initiatives on? Who is already involved in synthetic biology, and who could we invite to learn about the field?

Through discussions in our team, we agreed that scientists, graduate students, industries, startups and professionals in the STEM field were already playing an active role in the field of synthetic biology. Additionally, we of course recognized that iGEM students, alumni and the broader iGEM community also have a solid understanding of the field and its potential.

We were also able to identify groups that required more emphasis in educational programming, as they have historically not been as large a part of the conversation. We have summarized these groups below:

• Younger students: Students in elementary and high school may have limited specific scientific knowledge about synthetic biology, and will not be familiar with most complex scientific terms.
• Undergraduates in their first few years of post-secondary education: At our institution, synthetic biology as a concept is usually introduced in later years. First and second year undergraduates may not be familiar with techniques, prospects, and key considerations.
• People with little science background: People from non-STEM majors, including those in the humanities & social sciences fields, will not have had as many opportunities to engage with science-focused education and experiences.
• Artists: People studying fine arts or who have more art-focused interests may not have had the opportunity to explore the exciting possibilities that synthetic biology offers if they don’t feel like they can “connect” with science.
• People with disabilities: Those who are impacted by certain disabilities may not have had the same opportunities to participate in science learning in a hands-on and involved way, outside of lecture settings.

Once we had chosen the key groups that we would like to emphasize connection with through our educational initiatives, we made sure to have discussions within our group about what it means to engage in a meaningful way, to ignite positive change.

We came up with the following key points for meaningful engagement - we strongly encourage all future iGEM teams to use these as considerations for their own work in the future, to ensure that they are being respectful and creating a positive impact.

From Ideas to Action: Our Initiatives

Now that we had identified which groups we wanted to emphasize and actively invite with our educational initiatives, it was time to put our plans into action. In doing so, we focused on two main levels of engagement: our local community, and our global community.

Local Community

High School Internship Program

Goal: To invite high school students from around our local region to become involved in synthetic biology and university-level research, and provide them with guidance and mentorship to pursue STEM projects in the future.

The McMasterU School Internship is a program our team has run for multiple years. Our internship program received over 100 applicants from dozens of different secondary schools in Ontario, Canada.

Ultimately, 12 interns were given the opportunity to engage with wet-lab, dry-lab, human practices, and media subgroups by attending weekly meetings and workshops hosted by our senior and junior members. Depending on the interests of the intern, they participated in in-person and virtual workshops which focused on teaching interns about the different groups and processes that make up an undergraduate-student-led research team. This year’s High School internship was a fantastic success and interns expressed great gratitude and positive feedback to our senior members once they had completed the program.

What WE have learned

From the internship, we got to hear various perspectives from our interns during group meetings and discussions. While they did not directly contribute to the work of our project, some of the thoughts and experiences that our interns brought to the table during discussions of our project and how best to implement it did encourage our team to seek new avenues for research and outreach. For example, it was a comment by one of the interns about the different ways to share knowledge that lead us to think of and pursue a poetry slam event, as outlined later on.

For Future Teams: We are in the process of compiling a detailed guide about how to run an internship program, so that other teams may also implement a similar initiative for their communities. We hope to share the full guide at the Jamboree, but for the moment, we have included our internship calendar and timeline below!

SynBio Case Competition

Goal: The Case Competition asked high school students from all grade levels to work in teams and “solve an issue” by providing a unique solution using mechanisms of synthetic biology. Possible research topics ranged from environmental issues to diagnostics, to therapeutics, as there is no limit on the domain synthetic biology can be applied to.

The competition gave the students an opportunity to practice their research skills and creative-thinking by applying synthetic biology to a unique issue within the scientific world. Both competition groups presented their pitch to the McMasterU team. This year’s teams chose to present about sustainable fashion and a diabetes therapeutic. The winning team was voted on by the whole of the McMasterU Team and both teams were rewarded for their hard work.

What WE have learned

For Future Teams: We are including our description for the instructions of the case competition. This was an excellent and very popular initiative, so we highly encourage future teams to adapt this to fit their goals!

Workshops

Goal: To educate our local community on a variety of topics relating to science, synthetic biology and project HelmiGuard, in a positive and engaging environment.

Through the course of the summer, our team ran over a dozen interactive workshops for our community. Though our high school intern teams were welcome to attend, we also opened up these workshops to the broader student community at our institution if they were interested in participating.

Each workshop, as well as the associated interactive component, is listed below:

• Intro to SynBio: Participants were introduced to the multidisciplinary and rapidly expanding field, as well as the iGEM competition and our iGEM team. The activity involved a series of discussion prompts, including “what does synthetic biology mean to you?” and “what problems do you think synthetic biology might help solve one day?”
• Research Fundamentals & Agar Plating: Hosted by our wet lab team, participants were presented with some basic information surrounding what research is, and how to conduct a good experiment. The activity for this session was agar plating using a Jello based protocol!



• Scientific Communication: Participants were introduced to the idea of effective science communication, it’s importance in the area of inclusivity, and how to implement it in their own work. The activity for this session was to rewrite some poorly communicated phrases in more accessible and clear ways.
• Intro to Dry Lab: Participants were introduced to what it means to be a researcher in a dry lab setting, as well as basics of phages and plasmids. The activity for this session was an interactive Q&A session with our dry lab team members!
• Branding & Entrepreneurship: Participants were introduced to the idea of scaling scientific innovations onto an industrial scale, and how marketing and creating a brand influences that. The activity for this session was a series of interactive questions (such as “which brand do you feel is more healthy? Luxurious? Eco-Friendly?”) as well as an exercise where participants created a new brand image for everyday items (such as adhesive bandages).
• Lab Etiquette and Practices + Miniprep: Participants were introduced to proper lab procedures, good etiquette for when working in the lab, and the various tools that they might use (pipettes, etc). The activity for this session was a guided mock miniprep, where participants used water and food colouring to practice the protocol!
• Lab Tour: Participants got a guided tour of our labspace from our team members, where we explained the different equipment and machinery present in the lab. The activity for this session was to observe and participate in the creation of a mock gel electrophoresis, done using food colouring.
• Design Thinking: Participants were introduced to the engineering design cycle, and what it means to develop projects with final users in mind. The activity for this session was to practice the process of design thinking and going through the cycle through thinking of an original idea and adapting it to fit the cycle and end users, guided by our team members.
• Bioethics: This workshop introduced the field of bioethics, and the complexities and moral challenges that present themselves in healthcare. The interactive activity here was a group discussion surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the bioethics considerations that were at play during its peak. Participants got to vote on what they would consider “ethically correct” and were asked to reflect on what experiences, knowledge, and feelings motivated their decisions.
• Matlab Workshop: This workshop introduced participants to the MatLab software, its uses, and potential applications. The activity involved a demo of the software in action with some mock models of distribution, as well as a Q&A with our team members.
• Antibiotic Resistance: The workshop introduced the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance, and its potential effects on the future of our society and the healthcare climate. The activity for this session was a Q&A with our team members, and a group discussion about why antibiotic resistance is an important issue.

What WE have learned

Each workshop had a discussion portion, where participants got to share their experiences and engage in activities. In these discussions, we got to hear a variety of new perspectives surrounding topics such as bioethics, antibiotic resistance, and human practices work. These often turned into extended discussions with members of our community, where everyone got to see new angles of each topic.

For Future Teams: We are in the process of creating a detailed facilitation guide for each workshop, which will include our slides, speaker’s notes, and key tips for the activities. We hope to share this guide with the judges and our fellow teams at the Jamboree!

Model UN Debate

Goal: To get students from a variety of humanities and social sciences fields involved in a topic discussion surrounding synthetic biology.

The Collaborative Debate between two McMaster Clubs, Model United Nations (MUN) and SynBio, was focused on the crucial topic of vaccine distribution across different countries. Its primary purpose was to foster a constructive dialogue among delegates representing diverse nations and stakeholders. Through this debate, we achieved the following accomplishments:

1. Evaluated current distribution mechanisms and their shortcomings in providing fair access to vaccines.
2. Examined the ethical considerations and regulatory frameworks required to govern the development and deployment of vaccines.
3. Investigated the role of international partnerships and cooperation in facilitating production and distribution.
4. Considered economic implications, such as affordability mechanisms for low- and middle-income countries.
5. Develop resolutions and action plans that outline specific steps and initiatives to address immediate and long-term vaccine distribution challenges
6. Promote global health security, social equity, and sustainable development through our proposed solutions, while respecting the principles of scientific innovation and international collaboration.

During this mock debate, viewers witnessed countries from the global north represent views of issues with scaling up production and donations made on their behalf. On the flip side, delegates from countries in the global south expressed views of moral outrage, and economic self defeat with unequal vaccine distribution. This debate enabled bright minded undergraduate students to unite their views in problem solving for global issues as such, and realizing the global effort required to create better health outcomes for all.

What WE have learned

From the debate, we were able to pinpoint practical strategies and policies that could effectively guide the equitable dissemination of tools created by HelmiGuard. In retrospect, this heated debate made opposing views seem as though they were two sides of the same coin. From riveting discussions on vaccine hoarding, to delivering vaccine aid from UN, WHO, COVAX and NGOs, this debate shed light on broadening perspectives on the issue at hand as viewers witnessed delegates from various countries unite to formulate solutions which aimed to make vaccine distribution equitable while protecting intellectual property rights.

For Future Teams: We hope that the nature of this collaboration will provide inspiration to future teams to carry out similar events in their communities. We hope that our outline of the debate objectives above, as well as our reflection, will be helpful in shaping future projects of this nature.

STEM Week

Goal: To discuss synthetic biology with incoming undergraduate students as well as undergraduate students in the early years of their studies, in any program.

We were invited by our institution to participate in a Meet & Greet event as part of STEM Week, a week-long initiative to get students from all fields interested in science, and to help science students explore potential specializations, avenues for research, and future careers.

At the event, we created a slideshow and table to introduce students to the field of synthetic biology as a whole, as well as the iGEM competition and our annual project, HelmiGuard. We also got to have interesting discussions with the students who approached us, many of whom had questions about synthetic biology and iGEM.

What WE have learned

From the experience, we got to hear how the incoming generation of undergraduates in our school is so excited about and engages with synthetic biology as a tool for change.

For Future Teams: We are leaving some screencaps of our slideshow, which show how we chose to explain synthetic biology at a very introductory level (in a short and digestible conversation). We hope this will help future teams, as well as anyone who is just starting out in learning about iGEM.

Poetry Slam*

Note: This is an upcoming initiative, that we are excited to share more details about at the Jamboree in Paris!

Goal: To engage poets and writers, as well as the general public at our institution, to learn and connect with synthetic biology and the motivations that underlie it in a way that transcends our normal style of communication.

We are partnering with a club at our institution, called McMaster Unspoken, to organize a poetry slam inspired by synthetic biology research and our project, HelmiGuard. This event will involve poets from both groups coming forward to share pieces they have created, as well as involve a discussion with audience members and allow them to share pieces of their own if they choose.

What WE have learned so far

We have learned a lot about how communicating and presenting ideas goes beyond just giving a slideshow presentation. Human communication takes many forms, and this can be a useful tool for how we explain HelmiGuard and future projects.

For Future Teams: With the permission of the authors, we will be sharing all the poems we create so that they may inspire future teams. We will also create a facilitation guide and our key tips for running an event of this nature.

Bioart Exhibition*

Note: This is an upcoming initiative, that we are excited to share more details about at the Jamboree in Paris!

Goal: To engage artists, as well as the general public, in synthetic biology in a way that is visual, creative, and offers the ability to physically interact with key concepts.

We partnered with a club at our institution, McMaster Procrastinknittors, to create some beautiful knit pieces that showcase some key concepts and terms in synthetic biology and science in general. Some of the pieces include:

• A quilt designed to show the different steps of a restriction digest protocol;
• Models of various cellular components, including the nucleus, DNA, chromosomes, and more!

We plan to showcase these in the student centre at our school, which is one of the most densely populated areas every day. We also plan to incorporate other art pieces, including drawings, paintings, and other tactile art pieces that students can engage with.

What WE have learned so far

Once again, this has strengthened our understanding of how we can get people to engage with synthetic biology in ways that are unique to them. We have also seen how art can be an incredibly impactful way to connect science with humanity.

For Future Teams: We will be bringing all of the art pieces we collect to the Jamboree in Paris, and will also be uploading pictures of the event to our social pages (and the wiki, once it is thawed for editing). We will also ensure to include any key comments or reflections from the students we engage with.

Global Community

Social Media Series: Bite-Sized Science

Goal: To explain the basics of our project, the AAVP technology, and the field of synthetic biology to people with little to no scientific background.

We collaborated with a local organization called Bite-Sized Science to create a series of posts to introduce various topics in an easy-to-understand manner. Our team members created the posts, which were shared by both our account as well as the Bite-Sized Science account.

What WE have learned

In these posts, clear scientific communication was a major priority. From the engagement and feedback we received, we re-learned and appreciated the impact that effective communication of scientific concepts can have for people with limited or no scientific background.

For Future Teams: We have included the posts below, as well as on our social media channels. We hope they can serve as an example of how to frame complex concepts in a way that is accessible and understandable for all.

Mockumentaries

Goal: To engage with global audiences and introduce them to the idea of synthetic biology being used in vaccine research, in a light-hearted and digestible way.

As part of our initiative to spread awareness about the research process to the McMasterU Community and beyond, our media and HP team produced two mockumentaries with the goal of educating a larger audience about lab protocols such as gel electrophoresis and restriction digest in a light-hearted and entertaining manner.

Our first mockumentary focused on teaching the audience about gel electrophoresis by explaining the protocol, components, and results of the lab technique while replicating “The Office” style of media. The second mockumentary focused on restriction digest by replicating the “Our Planet” documentary style.

Our team scripted, filmed, and edited the mockumentaries and posted them to our social media to educate individuals about these different protocols and why they are important for research. By replicating popular styles of media, our mockumentaries were able to reach a large audience and allowed us to educate the McMasterU community about different lab techniques we use in the lab regularly.

What WE have learned

By creating and sharing the mockumentaries, our team learned that sometimes the best way to get people to connect with something is to present it in a form that they are able to relate to. This helped us understand how scientists can better engage with their communities, especially those who might be hesitant to new advances in synthetic biology due to lack of understanding.

For Future Teams: Both mockumentaries can be found as social media posts on our channels. We hope they serve as a source of inspiration, guidance, and of course, laughs!

Children’s Book:

Goal: To engage younger audiences (elementary school level) in synthetic biology in a simple, interesting, and informative way, and to engage local artists in the process of art for scientific work.

Our children’s book is not just a book; it's a gateway to nurturing a generation of informed and empathetic individuals right from the very beginning of their cognitive development. Drawing inspiration from the HelmiGuard, we aimed to make complex scientific concepts accessible to infants and young children, creating a foundation upon which they can build their understanding as they grow.

One of the driving forces behind this project was the pressing need for vaccine awareness, a matter that became apparent during the recent global health crisis. As responsible global citizens, we believe that educating children about vaccines from an early age is an essential step towards creating a healthier and more informed society. By introducing these critical topics to infants, we hope to stimulate conversations within families, bridging generational gaps and fostering a sense of shared responsibility for public health.

In our quest to make the narrative truly inclusive, we carefully curated characters and names from diverse demographic backgrounds, ensuring that every child can see themselves in the story. We also recognized the importance of representing often-overlooked careers within the healthcare field, shining a spotlight on the invaluable contributions of individuals who play a vital role in our well-being. By doing so, we aim to inspire a future generation of healthcare professionals from all walks of life.

In keeping with our commitment to non-violence, we deliberately chose to teach conflict resolution through peaceful means within the story. We firmly believe that imparting the idea of open dialogue and understanding as the first step in resolving disagreements is a crucial life lesson that can benefit children throughout their lives. By modeling these positive behaviors in our narrative, we hope to encourage a culture of empathy and cooperation among young readers.

To ensure that the book is easily digestible for young minds, we collaborated closely with children themselves, seeking their feedback and preferences for the words used. Their input was invaluable in crafting a narrative that resonates with our target audience. By involving children in the creative process, we not only make the story more relatable but also empower them to have a voice in shaping their own educational experiences.

Furthermore, our collaboration with community artists not only added a unique and visually stimulating dimension to the book but also provided emerging artists with a platform to showcase their talents. The sensory-friendly considerations, such as neutral colors and simple figures, were thoughtfully incorporated to cater to children with varying sensitivities, ensuring that every child can engage with the story comfortably.

We hope that this endeavor sparks curiosity, fosters compassion, and sets the stage for a lifetime of learning and responsible citizenship among the youngest members of our society. Together, we can build a brighter and healthier future for all.

What WE have learned

We will be incorporating a feedback form within our book, so that any parents or even older children who have any thoughts may engage with us. Furthermore, we learned how to communicate complicated projects and issues in a way that everyone can understand, and how to do so in a way that is mindful of the needs of young populations.

For Future Teams: We have included some screencaps of the book above, and will also be bringing copies to share at the Grand Jamboree!

Conclusion

We based all of our education efforts on our desire to make a true impact by identifying and focusing on key, deserving groups and reflecting on our values, we ensured that we were thoughtful and intentional in all the initiatives we delivered. We emphasized connection, discussion and engagement to ensure that learning was happening in a two-way system. Finally, we included and plan to add to a long list of resources for future teams to use in their educational initiatives.

We strongly believe that education has the power to create true change in the world, and hope that we have done our part in advancing that change.

“Education is the premise of progress, in every society.”