Collaborations

In order to inspire and learn from each other through communication, we have conducted extensive cooperation with other iGEM teams and organizations in China. We have conducted many online and offline communication activities with other iGEM teams. Through multiple exchanges, on the one hand, we introduced our project to expand its influence, and on the other hand, we also learned valuable lessons and experiences from other teams, thereby promoting mutual learning, learning from each other's strengths, and making progress together. The following are the exchange meetings we participated in and our exchange experiences with other teams and organizations:

1. The 7th South China Regional Meeting:

On May 21st, we went to Shenda Lihu Campus to participate in the South China Exchange Meeting hosted by the iGEM team of Shenzhen University and had a friendly exchange with the iGEM team from sister schools in South China. Among the dozen teams, there are not only teams from the same university as us but also several teams from other regions. In addition, there are high school and foreign language school teams. After the official opening of the meeting, we came to the eight-minute session where each team introduced their project in detail. Listening to other teams, we broadened our horizons and learned methods that we could apply to the preparation of iGEM to help us design experiments more creatively and plan HP work more efficiently and impactably in the future. Next, they answered questions from other students in the form of booths, which deepened the communication between different teams. This exchange will let the team members fully understand the charm of synthetic biology and a wide range of application prospects!

2. iGEM Greater Bay Area Industry-Academia-Research Forum (1st iGEM Greater Bay Area Industry-Academia-Research Forum):

On August 19, we, together with several iGEM teams from universities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as several professors and related enterprises, gathered at the Zhuhai campus of Beijing Normal University to participate in the first iGEM Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Synthetic Biology Industry-University-Research Forum. During this period, we listened to the introduction of many heads of pharmaceutical companies and learned about cutting-edge technologies such as stem cell therapy and liquid biopsy of cancer. Next, we communicated with a number of iGEM teams from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. In the in-depth conversations, we learned about many interesting projects and the rigorous experimental ideas behind them, and we learned how to do a good job in HP and the cooperation demands of biomedicine-related enterprises. On August 20, the second day of the exchange, we visited Tomson Bihealth, a well-known health products company, visited the production line of drugs, and conducted health tests, including glycosylation end product detection, bone density detection, and human substance concentration detection. Later, we came to Zhuhai University Institute of Science and Technology and saw the new foam cement developed by the UM team. By hand-weighing the new cement block and the traditional cement block of the same volume, we found that the new cement is significantly lighter than the traditional cement. The application of this cement greatly reduces the construction cost, and the load-bearing capacity is not inferior to traditional cement. From this example, we can fully feel the tremendous energy of industry-university-research cooperation. In this forum, our team has learned a lot, not only broadening our horizons but also inspiring new ideas for our follow-up competition, I believe that we will go further and further in the road of synthetic biology!

3. Our team arranges monthly exchanges with iGEM teams from other universities through online and offline means.

Up to now, there are a total of iGEM teams from Tsinghua University (THU), Lanzhou University (LZU), and Wuhan University (WHU-Antiphage). Not only to understand the research direction of other teams but also to state the research field of our team, in order to expand our influence. During this time, other teams gave us a lot of advice and help. For example, we reached a common concept of cooperation with the iGEM team of Lanzhou University, we helped them distribute questionnaires, and they gave us some hospital perception data of their affiliated hospitals. Our two teams also exchanged ideas about the work of HP, the clinical departments, and clinical directions so that the two sides could communicate with each other and improve the forms and programs of publicity. We learned a lot in lively discussions with several other teams. After that, we will better improve this work and let more people understand the charm of synthetic biology.

4. Popular science exhibition

Our team attaches great importance to the cultivation of synthetic biology concepts for children from an early age, so we came to Guangdong Science Center to spread the knowledge of synthetic biology to children.

We use posters and boards to educate kids about synthetic biology and the basics of our program, such as what bacteria, viruses, and phages are. To people's surprise, the children were very interested in the knowledge of life science. Many of them gathered around us to listen to our explanation. They listened carefully and actively asked us questions, and we answered them patiently.

Our activity lasted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., serving nearly a thousand children. Although this is a small amount in the total number of children, we have planted a small seed of synthetic biology in the hearts of these 1,000 children, and they will grow and continue to contribute to synthetic biology.

5. Online science popularization conference

In order to exchange and share the knowledge of synthetic biology with more people, we held an online science-sharing meeting with BNUZH-China and other teams.

We shared our knowledge about synthetic biology and our project with other teams and viewers online. The online audience is over 100 people, and in addition to the different teams, there are many friends who are interested in synthetic biology, and we introduce them, and accept their suggestions and inquiries. Synthetic biology and the related knowledge of the academy are expanded in a larger scope.