What iGEM is, and what it asks of a team

iGEM stands for International Genetically Engineered Machine. It began at MIT in the early 2000s as a course in which students built simple genetic circuits, and it has grown into the largest synthetic biology competition in the world, run by the independent, non-profit iGEM Foundation. Each year, hundreds of teams from universities and, in recent years, high schools, present projects at a gathering called the Grand Jamboree.

This article explains what the competition is and what it demands. It is written by CompetiLab, an independent educational studio. We are not part of iGEM, and the authoritative source for rules, eligibility and deadlines is always the Foundation's own site, igem.org.

The idea

Synthetic biology treats biology as something that can be engineered: genetic parts with defined functions, assembled into devices and systems that do something useful. iGEM asks teams to choose a real problem, design a biological system that addresses it, build and test that system, and document the whole thing in public.

The "machine" in the name is slightly misleading. Most projects are living systems, usually bacteria or yeast, modified to sense, produce or respond to something. Some are software tools, hardware, or measurement methods that help other teams.

What a season looks like

An iGEM season is long. Teams typically form in the winter or spring, register with the Foundation, and work through the summer toward the Jamboree in the autumn. The phases overlap, but roughly:

1. 01

   Problem and project design

   Choosing a problem that matters to a community or an industry, talking to the people who have it, and deciding whether biology is the right approach.
2. 02

   Design and modeling

   Translating the problem into parts, devices and a chassis, and building a model to predict whether the design can work before touching a pipette.
3. 03

   Wet lab

   Assembling constructs, running controlled experiments, and measuring results in a way other teams could reproduce.
4. 04

   Human Practices

   Engaging stakeholders, examining safety, security and ethics, and changing the project in response. This is a judged part of every project, not an add-on.
5. 05

   Documentation

   Writing the team wiki, the public record of everything the team did, and preparing a presentation and poster.
6. 06

   Jamboree

   Presenting to judges and other teams, answering questions, and being evaluated against published criteria.

How projects are judged

The Foundation publishes criteria each year. Historically, medals (bronze, silver, gold) have recognized meeting a defined set of requirements, while separate awards recognize the best projects in a track or a specific area such as modeling, education or Human Practices. Criteria change; teams must read the current year's rules rather than rely on what a previous team did.

What a team actually needs

Not every member needs to be a biologist. Strong teams combine people who can do wet-lab work, people who can model and write code, people who can talk to stakeholders and think about ethics, and people who can design, write and present. The hardest skills are organizational: keeping a notebook others can follow, meeting self-imposed deadlines, and making decisions as a group.

Teams also need institutional support. Wet-lab work requires a supervised laboratory that follows biosafety rules, and the Foundation requires safety forms and oversight. High school teams usually work with a school, a university lab, or a community lab.

Where CompetiLab fits

Our iGEM program for high school teams teaches the knowledge and the working methods described above. Students learn synthetic biology fundamentals, project design, modeling, Human Practices and communication, in the sequence a project moves through. Students who then form or join an official team do so through the Foundation's process; we help them arrive ready, and we are clear that we do not register teams, judge projects, or promise results.