Team:Groningen:PP:Events

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Policy & Practice > Events

First prize Falling Walls Lab

Falling walls is an annual science event which has its finals in Berlin where researchers can tell how their idea breaks down the walls of humanity’s biggest problems. The day before the Falling Walls Conference, the Falling Walls Lab is organized, where young researchers can pitch their work. Speakers get three minutes to tell the audience about their project, and convince them of its importance.

On our behalf, Andries went to the qualifying round in Groningen where he won us the first prize! After the iGEM finale in Boston, he will fly back to Amsterdam, take the train to Berlin, and tell a large international audience about our bandage on November 8th.

For more information visit [http://www.rug.nl/news/2014/09/andries-de-vries-wint-nederlandse-voorronde-falling-walls] or [http://www.falling-walls.com/lab/programme]

GFP Project

Three students from the Zernike College are working on a project about GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein). They want to explore the usage of GFP within the biological sciences. They asked us whether we wanted to help them with some experiments related to their project. On Tuesday the 21st of October the three students will visit our lab, to transform a plasmid with the GFP gene to E. coli. Later that week, we will have a look at the cells through the microscope.

Groningen national meetup

After the success of the first national meet up, we (iGEM team Groningen) decided to organize a second national meet up. We enjoyed the hospitality of the Wageningen team, and liked the conversation and the set-up of the first meet up. We liked the whole day, but one thing: The travelling! Going to Wageningen was not the problem, but returning home was the hard part. Once we were in the mood for an even more fun evening, it was already quite late, and we needed to travel back. We decided it would be more fun to extend the day even more. Therefore we decided to organize a second meet up, with a more informal set-up including a sleep over. At the 13th of September the day started with some drinks, while sharing our progress. After the talks about the project, we went to the pizzeria with all the teams present (unfortunately the Delft-Leiden team could not be present). We showed all the teams some nice and cheap places to stay in Groningen beforehand, and the Wageningen team decided to spend the night in Groningen. All in all an informative day!

DIYBio: Introduction to synthetic biology

On the october the 24th, the iGEM-team of Groningen hosts a night for all interested Do-It-Yourself biologists. It is a night in which we shortly explain synthetic biology and its (possible) uses in everyday life. To start from scratch we will make some agar plates and see what bacteria live on various parts of your room/phone/body. A first essential step used everyday in synthetic biology!

For more info visit http://www.diybiogroningen.org/ or http://www.djog.nl/

High school visit

On the 24th of September, students of the CSG Wessel Gansfortcollege who were in their final year of high school, paid the iGEM-team Groningen a visit. The meeting was arranged via ScienceLinx, an organization within the University of Groningen, which is supporting high schools and their students. They like to promote science among high school students, and this year they asked us whether we would like to help them to organize a practical in the synthetic biology. At nine in the morning the students arrived, and after an introduction talk we brought them to the lab. The group was divided in two: one group was able to transform pSB1C3 (the most commonly used plasmid within the iGEM competition) to E. coli DH5α. The other group was working hard to do exactly the opposite. Their task was to isolate pSB1C3 out of E. coli DH5α. Once the practical work was done, the students were told about iGEM, and the bandage we (the Groningen team) are making for the competition this year. The students were very enthusiastic, and interesting questions were asked. In the end the students made a comic about the practical work. A nice result of one of the comics is shown here on our wiki. The day was closed in a proper way by having a drink and discussing the day.

For the other comics check our facebook page

Presenting at TEDxTwenteU

At the 10th of October the University of Twente organized an independent TED event. The theme of the day was “find your creative spark”, and we were welcomed to share our idea of LactoAid. During the day there were several talks about many different topics. From music to cooking in a hot air balloon, from soccer to medical devices. Thomas Meijer represented us here, and told the public a more about the synthetic biology and LactoAid. An inspiring day where our creative spark was found!

For more information on this topic visit http://www.tedxtwenteu.nl/.

RIVM: Responsible use of synthetic biology day

At the 17th of September all the Dutch iGEM teams went to the RIVM (the Netherlands national institute for public health and the environment) in Bilthoven to talk about the possibilities of synthetic biology. You can compare this institute with the FDA and CDC. The idea came from the RIVM to start a yearly information market about synthetic biology. They just started following all the Dutch iGEM teams more closely and want to close the gap between the teams and some companies. They also wanted to introduce iGEM to people who might be able to help the teams in several ways. Furthermore, this meeting gave an opportunity to discuss the possibilities of an iGEM application. The day was such a success, that the RIVM wants to make yearly event of it. This year it started small with only a few companies, and they hope to enlarge this in the next few years. We got some really useful information regarding our project and we liked the fact that the RIVM was willing to get to know synthetic biology. Until next year!

Night of Art & Science

Due to the 400 year existence of the University of Groningen, ScienceLinX organized several expositions throughout Groningen, and one spectacular evening, with all kinds of artists and events. The evening, better known as the “Night of Arts and Sciences” took place on May 24.
We were lucky enough to get a spot in the Der Aa-Kerk in the centre of the city during the “Night of Arts and Sciences”. Throughout the exposition, the project of the iGEM 2012 team of Groningen was shown to warm the public. At the night itself, we introduced synthetic biology, the iGEM competition, and our bandage to the public. People were able to win a small consumable prize if they answered a sufficient amount of questions from our quiz correctly. All in all a successful night!

For more info visit http://www.denachtvankunstenwetenschap.nl/

Discovery Festival

On the 26th of September four of our team travelled all the way to Amsterdam, to the inspiring Discovery Festival. A night where people were asked to extract their own DNA and visualize the most dirty bacteria they could find by leaving them to grow on agar plates. Great night with great music and an interested crowd!

For more info visit http://www.beyondbiennale.nl/discovery%20festival/home/ or https://www.facebook.com/discoveryfestival

Fundraiser

On the 23rd of September our team invited family and friends to come and visit our lab, and to explain to them what we had been working on the past few months. We still had to contribute quite a lot for our trip to Boston, so a fundraiser could help us on the financial side. Everybody who was interested could come, get a drink and listen to some relaxing music from the band Frankly no Helix. We started off with a short presentation, after which people were given the opportunity to ‘take a tour’ through our lab. A great way to show them the work that we have been doing! After the lab-tours were finished (a lot of people wanted to do this!) we started an auction. The things that went up for auction (lab-slaves, arm candy, boatrides) appeared surprisingly appealing to many of the audience. At the end of the day we had collected 850 euro, but more importantly, we made our project visible to the people around us. This could be repeated in the upcoming years!

For more info visit: http://www.ukrant.nl/uncategorized/deadline-nadert-voor-igem-team.html

Wageningen national meetup

In the beginning of this year’s iGEM competition, every Dutch iGEM team received an invitation from iGEM team Wageningen. They suggested to share our ideas and give feedback to one and another. After the formal presentations they welcomed us to have a barbecue with them, and the other teams.
Held on June 21, this day started with all the presentations at the university complex in Wageningen. This formal part consisted of several talks. First of all there were the talks of every individual 2014 iGEM team, questions were asked and advice was given. Some “old” iGEM members were invited as well, to tell about their project and to share their experiences. Some people from the RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) were also invited, and they were given an opportunity to speak. They offered a cooperation between the iGEM teams and the RIVM, because they want to inform more people about the synthetic biology and its opportunities. However, they considered it very hard to promote the synthetic biology in a proper way. They arranged an information marked on the 17th of September with all the Dutch iGEM team, and invited several people to visit this day. You can find more about this day on this page. After all the formalities we went to another part of Wageningen, where we enjoyed a well-organized barbecue. The teams started to get to know each other, and several people spoke about organizing a second meet up. In the end we (the Groningen) team decided to organize a second meet up in a more informal setting.
It was a very successful day, and a nice first introduction to the other teams and their projects!

Eurosonic Noorderslag

Due to our collaboration with SienceLinX we are invited to amuse some festival visitors with some science during Eurosonic. This festival will take place from January 14 to January 17. After the success of Discovery Festival, we happily accepted this invitation, and we are looking forward to go to a festival again.

For more info visit http://festival.eurosonic-noorderslag.nl/nl/