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Team:Braunschweig/HP
From 2014.igem.org
Policy & Practices
An important part of the iGEM competition, aside from working in the lab, is getting in contact with people outside of our team. Not just for fun, though, but in order to spread the idea of using synthetic biology for the benefit of humanity.
For direct contact to people not familiar with synthetic biology we participated in our university’s open house, in an event dedicated to the improvement of teaching (“Tag der Lehre”), and in the European Researchers’ Night. We introduced the iGEM idea and the many-sided facets of the competition as well as our project to the visitors. We also had some simple experiments prepared to be carried out by the younger ones to give them an impression of biological lab work. We used these occasions to examine the general attitude towards and inform the public about synthetic biology, for example by conducting surveys or taking part in science slams. Naturally, our cow mascot Carola Wilhelmina was always present!
Not only did we get in contact with the broad public but also with interested individuals. For example, for two weeks in August we were visited by our lab intern Benjamin who was eager to broaden his biological knowledge and acquire some basic experimental skills. This was a request we obviously could not refuse!
Spreading the Word
At the open day of our university, we presented the iGEM idea and our project for this year’s competition to a wide audience consisting of people from all age groups and professions.
The European Researchers’ Night is an annual event “dedicated to popular science and fun learning”, as the organizers put it - and we were eager to live up to that!
At the “Day of Teaching” we waved a flag for the integration of synthetic biology into our curriculum. iGEM poses a prime example for the benefits which would follow from that.
Opinions
By posting news from the lab, facts about forthcoming events and other interesting information around iGEM, we kept in touch with our followers and gained lots of new fans.
We gave a lot of thought to the ethical issues concerning our project, from climate change over animal welfare to economical aspects. Get an overview here!
"No one can say with any certainty how many of these parts are themselves entirely free of patent claims." Find out about the proposal concerning intellectual property.
How many people would eliminate beef or dairy products from their diet for the sake of the climate? By asking this question we wanted to put out a feeler and test the possible impact of our project.
To get a feel for what people expect synthetic biology to provide for society we conducted a survey at the European Researchers’ Night. The to some extent surprising results can be found here.
Public discussions are a great opportunity to address a broad range of people while simultaneously getting an impression of their opinions. We therefore, used this opportunity whenever possible.
