WHO DID WE REACH OUT TO?
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
The response to these workshops was overwhelmingly positive, with a high number of students expressing their interest and enthusiasm to participate. However, a logistical challenge loomed large in the form of limited laboratory space, which constrained our ability to accommodate a larger number of attendees. Regrettably, we could only accommodate a limited number of participants, leading us to host three separate workshops, each hosting a group of eight students. The central focus of these workshops was to impart essential skills in molecular biology, specifically colony PCR and gel electrophoresis, while also fostering an in-depth comprehension of the outcomes obtained from gel electrophoresis analysis.
Facilitators drawn from both the NTU iGEM wet lab team and the Bio-Makerspace team played a pivotal role in guiding and mentoring the participants through the experiments. The core experiment involved the use of plates containing both red and white colonies. These plates were integral to the learning process, as they enabled the participants to carry out colony PCR and employ gel electrophoresis to discern differences in band size among the colonies.
Notably, the plasmid used in this experiment, identified as p132777, harbored a fascinating genetic alteration. In its original state, this plasmid carried the gene encoding Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP), hence the presence of red colonies indicated successful RFP expression as dictated by the plasmid's genetic blueprint. However, this plasmid had been meticulously engineered with a substitution: the RFP gene had been replaced with pegRNA. As a consequence, RFP expression was nullified, resulting in the emergence of white colonies—a captivating demonstration of gene edting in action.
To maximize the participants' engagement and learning experience during the one-hour incubation period required for colony PCR, we invited members from the Wet lab team to present an overview of the iGEM team's ongoing project and delve into the intricacies of prime editing.
Following the conclusion of the workshops, we initiated a feedback mechanism by sending out evaluation forms to the participants. This step aimed to gauge the extent of their newfound knowledge and insights acquired from the workshop, ensuring that the event was not only a hands-on learning opportunity but also a means of gathering valuable feedback for future enhancements.
According to Data 1, it can be seen that we have achieved:
81.81% of satisfactory where participants were very and extremely satisfied with the whole program design by the Bio-Makerspace.
However, the remaining 18.19% participants expressed their satisfaction to be somewhat satisfied with the experience they had.
As the workshop is designed to provide an experiential and practical learning opportunity, we discovered that only 25% of the participants fully understand the principle of colony PCR. However, to our surprise, 75% of the participants fully understand the concept and purposes of gel electrophoresis to be used in synthetic biology. As we move on to recognizing DNA bands with respect to the DNA ladder to observe the band size during gene pairing, 75% of the students were able to grasp and understand the practices.
With 72.73% participants were able to achieve their learning goals through this workshop where we acknowledge the participants objective is to gain exposure to synthetic biology experiment and understand what NTU iGEM will be embarking in this field.
According to Data 2, while 5% of the participant has no interest in returning to our event and 9% of the participants remained neutral, 86% participants have shown their interest in joining any future events which provide them the opportunity to have a hands-on experience.
Data 1: Satisfaction of participants towards the workshop
Data 2: Percentage of participants interested in future workshops
