iGEM
iGEM 國際遺傳工程機器設計競賽
If you have ever wondered whether a bacterium could be taught to do something useful, you are already halfway in. Curiosity is the only prerequisite.
Synthetic biology the way a team actually lives it: a real problem, a designed biological system, a model, an experiment, and the responsibility to explain it to the world. The road from a first idea to a team standing at the Grand Jamboree, with the pieces prepared so that students can spend their energy on the science.
iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, is the largest synthetic biology competition in the world. Teams of students design and build biological systems to address a problem they choose, document the project on a public wiki, and present it at the annual Grand Jamboree. The competition is run by the iGEM Foundation, an independent non-profit, and has a section for high school teams; in recent years, seven to nine Taiwanese high school teams have taken part each year.
CompetiLab's iGEM program takes high school students in Taiwan along that whole road. It is an education in synthetic biology, team research and scientific communication, structured around the phases an iGEM project moves through, with modeling, Human Practices and documentation modules already built so that a team can start doing science in its first weeks. Students who form or join an official team register through the iGEM Foundation's own process; we make sure they arrive ready, and we stay alongside them through the season.
- Secondary school students curious about biology, engineering, computing or design. No laboratory experience needed.
- Students who want to form or join a high school iGEM team and see the whole project, from problem to Jamboree, before the season begins.
- Students who are drawn to living systems and want to build something real with them.
- 01Understand the core ideas of synthetic biology: parts, devices, systems, and the design-build-test-learn cycle.
- 02Identify a real-world problem and judge whether a biological approach is appropriate.
- 03Design an experiment, read a protocol critically, and keep a laboratory notebook that another person could follow.
- 04Build a simple mathematical model and use it to make decisions before and after experiments.
- 05Practice Human Practices: engage stakeholders, consider safety and ethics, and let what you learn change the project.
- 06Document and present a project clearly to scientists and non-scientists alike, to the standard a Jamboree judge expects.
Foundations
- Introduction to iGEM and its history
- Synthetic biology fundamentals
- Biological systems and experimental thinking
Project design
- Identifying real-world problems
- Research and project design
- Team formation and collaboration
Building and testing
- Laboratory safety and basic techniques
- Modeling and data analysis
- Measurement and reproducibility
Responsibility
- Human Practices
- Safety, security and ethics
- Science communication
Delivery
- Project documentation and wiki
- Presentation and competition readiness
- Team stories and featured projects
A project, phase by phase
Choose a problem that matters
Start from a need in a community or an industry, talk to the people who have it, and decide whether biology can help.
Design the system
Translate the problem into a biological design: which parts, which chassis, what should happen when it works.
Model before the bench
Build a simple model to predict behaviour, find the parameters that matter, and plan experiments that can actually distinguish outcomes.
Build and test
Assemble constructs, run controlled experiments, and record everything in a notebook that could be audited.
Human Practices
Return to stakeholders, examine safety and ethics, and revise the project in light of what you learn.
Document and present
Write the project up for a public audience, build the presentation, and rehearse the questions a judge would ask.
Mentors with backgrounds in molecular biology, modeling, bioinformatics and science communication work alongside student teams through the season. Where wet-lab work is involved, it takes place in properly supervised facilities under institutional safety rules. Modeling templates, wiki scaffolds and Human Practices interview guides are prepared in advance, so the team's time goes to the project.
We teach the process and the standards, and we help teams understand the Foundation's requirements for a high school team. Registration, eligibility, safety forms and judging belong to the iGEM Foundation.
Biosensors for local industries
A whole-cell sensor for a contaminant relevant to aquaculture, agriculture or drinking water in Taiwan.
Biomanufacturing from waste
Engineering a microbe to turn an agricultural by-product into a useful compound, with a model of yield and cost.
Diagnostics and detection
A cell-free detection system for a pathogen or marker, designed with clinicians or public health workers.
Software and modeling tracks
A tool that helps other teams design, simulate or document, built with user research.
01
Pick the enzyme before cloning it
Use protein structure prediction to compare candidate variants on screen, and clone only the most promising ones.
02
Predict a promoter's strength
Train a small model on published sequence-to-expression data to rank the parts a team is considering.
03
Count colonies with a phone
A computer vision model that counts and classifies colonies from a photograph of a plate, built by the team.
04
Fit the circuit to the data
Let a model fit the parameters of a genetic circuit to the team's own measurements, then predict the next experiment.
05
Draft the safety case, then check it
Use an AI assistant to draft and critique the safety section of the wiki, disclose it, and own every claim.
Duration, format, fees and application dates are confirmed during the inquiry conversation.
Can high school students compete in iGEM?
Yes. The iGEM Foundation runs a high school section, and high school teams present at the same Grand Jamboree as university teams. Eligibility, team requirements and fees are set by the Foundation and change from year to year; our journal guide summarizes what the rules have required, and igem.org has the current version.
Do students need lab experience?
No. We start from fundamentals. Hands-on work is introduced gradually and only in supervised settings. Much of a strong iGEM project, including modeling, Human Practices and documentation, happens away from the bench.
How is CompetiLab related to iGEM?
We are an independent educational studio that prepares and supports teams. iGEM is run by the iGEM Foundation, which handles registration, eligibility and judging.
What does a team need to begin?
Curiosity, a few students with different strengths, and a supervising teacher. We help with everything else: the problem, the design, the modeling, the stakeholder conversations, and the wiki.
Begin with a question.
Tell us what a student cannot stop thinking about. We will suggest where it could go.