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- | <justify>
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- | Outreach<br />
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- | As part of the project we looked to spread synthetic biology throughout the community. We approached this feat through several different avenues.<br />
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- | One such way was our invitation to invite an A-Level student, Lucie, to explore the world of synthetic <br />
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- | biology by granting her an in depth view of our project. Lucie spent two weeks with us over the <br />
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- | summer exploring several advanced techniques within the field. She gained experience in DNA <br />
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- | coding through use of several programmes (including Geneious and ApE) and spent time working <br />
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- | with the team to remove a restriction site from a coding region from one of our gene blocks. [Insert <br />
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- | pic here]<br />
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- | In addition, she gained insight into how A-Level mathematics can be used to help set up equations <br />
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- | that can govern the use of a biological system. She worked alongside the modellers of the team in <br />
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- | order to see how they came up with the equation, and they also introduced her to the software that <br />
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- | they were using to analyse the equations.<br />
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- | Lucie also spent some time in the lab, observing what lab work at undergraduate level looks like and <br />
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- | the differences it bears to school. [Insert pic, find out more about what she did in lab/what to claim <br />
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- | We felt that this was a very beneficial way of approaching the issue of synthetic biology as there is <br />
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- | currently talk about introducing topics within the GCSE and A-Level syllabi. We felt that by providing <br />
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- | hands on experience we have given Lucie a “boost” in this respect, but also allowed her to open her <br />
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- | options to perhaps continuing study within the field at university. By providing pathways such as <br />
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- | this, it also allows the student to gain valuable experience to help with university applications within <br />
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- | scientific fields and it was regretful that we could not have offered this opportunity to more <br />
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- | students. [insert something Lucie said about how awesome we are and analyse in context]<br />
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- | We also looked to create awareness amongst our peers. Although university students, we felt that <br />
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- | most were not in fact alert to this new and emerging field of synthetic biology, and upon speaking <br />
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- | with students through lecture shout-outs and social media [get lecture shout out pic] we discovered <br />
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- | this was indeed true. As a result, we will be establishing a brand new society at the university, <br />
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- | SynBioWarwick. <br />
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- | The aim of our society would be to promote synthetic biology amongst students but also across the <br />
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- | local community by holding several types of events. These would range from obtaining guest <br />
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- | speakers to speak on the subject to current PhD students giving talks on the subject of their <br />
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- | dissertations. We would also look to increase knowledge about iGEM. We would very much like to <br />
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- | share the experience with others, and as we were the first Warwick team, we would like to provide <br />
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- | advice to the subsequent teams who will follow. To this end, we aim to hold talks about our project, <br />
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- | to gauge interest, but also hold seminars and workshop classes to teach students the relevant skills <br />
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- | prior to actually beginning their project in the summer. These would include classes on: practical lab <br />
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- | work skills (such as: mini-prepping, loading gel, etc.) to modelling (such as: constructing systems of <br />
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- | equations, looking through literature to find suitable parameters, etc.). [insert generic pic here to <br />
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- | break up text]<br />
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- | We felt that by taking a two-pronged approach to this by first doing our “market research”, and then <br />
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- | deciding to set up a society was a much better line to take. It allowed us to make an informed <br />
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- | decision about whether it would be worth setting up a society, and also if we decided we would (as <br />
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- | we did) it gives us support in our application by seeing so many people interested within the field. <br />
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- | This also will line us up to help the wider local community because it is common for guest speaker <br />
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- | talks to be aimed at the general public as well as at students. By doing this and establishing links, we <br />
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- | will be able to hold said events with regularity, and thereby be able to increase public knowledge <br />
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- | within a field little is currently known about.<br />
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- | Our survey allowed us to explore questions pertaining to our project as well as to synthetic biology <br />
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- | as a whole. Due to use of an online third party survey constructor, we were able to send the survey <br />
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- | far and wide. We spread the survey through social media, through email amongst the university, to <br />
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- | other iGEM teams and also across the world through strategically placed contacts the team had. <br />
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- | We will not talk much about the survey here as there is a whole section dedicated to the results <br />
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- | obtained from it, however it was a very worthwhile exercise and I would encourage all iGEM teams <br />
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- | to undertake a survey as part of their Policy & Practices, as it allows for the understanding and <br />
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- | observation of responses from a wide collective. Moreover, with strategic questioning, there is a lot <br />
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- | to gain and perhaps from an iGEM perspective even collaboration because we began talks with <br />
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- | M.I.T. regarding delivery mechanisms for their project as a result of our survey. [insert some sort of <br />
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- | pic here] <justify>
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