We are dust, we are nothingness.
All we do is nothing but the wind.
我们是尘土，是虚无。
我们所做的一切不过是风。
This year, we are thrilled to continue the YiYe Academy, founded by Aimee Liu who has been an advisor of iGEM since 2017, she began to provide scholarships for outstanding students of iGEM high school teams. It is hard for a high school student to carry out the entire procedure of raising a question, designing an experiment, doing the experiment, analyzing the results, and promoting the project. Also, it is harder for them to raise funds than their undergraduate and graduate counterparts because high school students have less experience in doing research. Still, through collaboration with their teammates, many students overcame all the difficulties and carried out outstanding iGEM projects meaningful to the science community. The overview of YiYe Academy is below:
Introduction
YiYe Academy Foundation Education Awards (YAFEA) is proud to offer quarterly awards to the ambitious students who have demonstrated high skills and academic achievements in their respective fields and who have participated in the iGEM high school teams in the world.
Application Fund Policy
YAFEA will grant selected applicants a financial award for their compelling essays on science, outdoors, and adventure activities.
You can submit your application via the YAFEA Foundation Education Award Application Form. To apply, write an essay (up to 1500 words) focusing on one of the questions on the form. The check for the awards will be sent directly to you.
Applicants must submit their application via the YiYe Academy Foundation Application Form.
Total Award Amount: 30000 RMB per year.
Application Deadlines: All applicants must submit their forms and their essays prior to January 1st.
Application Email: aimee_liut@hotmail.com
Application Deadlines
· 1st Quarter: Award recipient is announced by mid-April, for all applications submitted from January 1 through March 30.
· 2nd Quarter: Award recipient is announced by mid-July, for all applications submitted from April 1 through June 30.
· 3rd Quarter: Award recipient is announced by mid-October, for all applications submitted from July 1 through September 30.
· 4th Quarter: Award recipient is announced by mid-January, for all applications submitted from October 1 through December 31.
2021 YAFEA Winners
· Spring: 2017 iGEMer Carisa ZENG (now at the University of Chicago)
· Summer: 2017 iGEMer Chenyu HOU (now at Nanyang Technological University)
· Autumn: 2019 iGEMer Shuzhou LI (now at Cornell University)
· Winter: 2021 iGEMer Katherine TANG (now at the University of Virginia)
2022 YAFEA Winners
· Spring: 2019 iGEMer Zinuo Yang (now at the University of Michigan)
· Summer: 2020 iGEMer Guojing LV (now at the University California Davis)
· Autumn: 2020 iGEMer Zihe LIU (now at New York University)
· Winter: 2020 iGEMer Carolyn Xiao (now at the University of Washinton in St. Louis)
Menstrual Pads Donation
Dawu is a historically significant area with a rich revolutionary heritage, known for its association with the Chinese Revolution. However, it is also designated as a national poverty-stricken county, characterized by a substantial population of migrant workers. Consequently, a considerable number of children in Dawu find themselves in challenging circumstances, including being being raised up only by grandparents, coming from divorced single-parent households, or even being orphaned. These children may exhibit a range of behaviors, some displaying boldness while others are more reserved, but they all share a common experience of lacking the love and warmth typically provided by a stable family environment.
We recognized the economic challenges faced by Dawu County, including a notable issue of menstrual poverty. Understanding that proper menstrual hygiene plays a crucial role in maintaining gynecological health, we decided to take action to support the girls in this community. To address this need, we initiated a fundraising campaign with the goal of procuring and donating a total of 155 packs of daily-use menstrual pads, 62 packs of night-use menstrual pads, and 31 packs of pads to girls’ dorm. In total, 84 girls received these sanitary napkins.
Figure 1 Students from Dawu School received the those menstrual packs
