Education

Education is an important part of our project. For this we reached out to several schools across Nordrhein-Westfalen to talk to students of different ages groups about antibiotics and their effect on modern medicine.

For this we had the opportunity to introduce our project at the Erich Kästner Realschule in Gladbeck and at the Grashof Gymasium in Essen. At the Erich Kästner Realschule we presented in front of a grade 8 class which brought its own challenge of explaining microbial concepts in a way they could understand. A different situation presented itself to us when we were at the Grashof Gymnasium. There we presented in front of a grade 11 class which participated in a biochemical specialization.

We introduced the kids according to their age and level of understanding, about bacteria how to treat them with antibiotics and what our iGEM project is about. We also explained to them the save usage of antibiotics and the problems with improper antibiotic use. The slides used can be downloaded below.

To make our presentation especially interesting for the students we did a simple, safe and easy experiment at the end. We instructed the children to use LB-plates to take smears of their unwashed and then sanatized hands. Furthermore, they used several everyday objects like their phone or coins were tested to do smears on LB-plates. We also educated the teachers about what to expect and how to involve this presentation into their regular classes.

VAAM

We had the honor to present our project at this year's VAAM conference. The VAAM (Vereinigung der Allgemeinen und Angewandte Mikrobiologie) is a group that specializes in the connection between scientists in the microbiology field and tries to showcase projects and results that are important for the welfare of society and the environment.

To help us in this endeavor, the group "Mikrobielle Biotechnologie" from Prof. Dr. Dirk Tischler gave us guidance for our presentation and the coordination of this event.

Danko from our team showcased our project and gave a presentation at this event. We took part in this amazing experience in our student career, and we want to thank everyone who supported us with this endeavor.