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Team:Melbourne/Recruitment
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Thank you for your interest in the 2015 Melbourne University iGEM Team! Please read the following information about iGEM, the team, and what you need to do to get involved.
What is iGEM?
iGEM is a unique opportunity to get involved
in an enterprising
student research group and make a scientific impact.
iGEM is short for the International
Genetically Engineering
Machine competition. iGEM
is an undergraduate science
competition held each November in Boston. In the months leading up to
iGEM,
university teams use the latest tools from synthetic
biology/biotechnology to
create a novel single celled organism or “biological machine”.
iGEM is an international competition
based on the new science
of synthetic biology. Each year, students from around the globe form
teams at their respective universities with the goal of building a
biological system or tool, which they present at the iGEM global
conference in Boston. Students in the past have designed bacteria that
produce new types of drugs and biofuels, act as biosensors of toxic
pollutants, and even perform simple computation (for examples of past
projects, see https://igem.org/About).
iGEM teams manage everything from the
conception to the
execution of the iGEM project, with the aid of faculty supervisors.
The benefits to
participating in iGEM include:
-Get valuable scientific and
leadership experience
-Develop a useful, novel
biotechnology and gain experience
in the latest in interdisciplinary biological research
-Make
an impact
-Have an incredible
experience!
What is involved and what is needed
We are searching for enthusiastic
students with
an interest in science.
As
part of the iGEM team, you would help with the
following tasks:
·
Research
on the iGEM project ideas. The ideas
for the iGEM project are student driven, and team members often need to
answer
specific research question to design new experiments or come up with
new ideas.
This will typically involve doing quick searches of the literature
using Google
Scholar and reading scientific articles.
·
Help
with developing experimental methods. The
2014 team has built up a library of protocols and experimental methods.
However, the project for 2015 will likely require new methods. You will
need to
look up protocols in the literature and adapt them to the project
requirements.
·
Wet
lab work OR modelling/computation OR engineering
design. By joining the iGEM team, you will have an opportunity to
participate in
the lab and learn many standard techniques in molecular biology from
fellow lab
members. Alternatively, many iGEM teams make use of the skills of
engineers,
computer scientists, and other non-biological science disciplines. This
may
take the form of, for example, modeling
a biological
system using software like Matlab,
designing microfluidic devices with biological applications or
designing an electrical device which interfaces with a biological
system. If
you have an interest in interdisciplinary research between your field
and biology,
it is likely iGEM will be able to accommodate it.
·
The
scope of iGEM also extends into
non-traditional science areas, including biotechnology
entrepreneurship,
biotechnology ethics and the law, and science outreach, and so we are
actively
seeking students with business, law, design, and arts backgrounds. You
could,
for example, create a business plan for a
iGEM-created
company, examine bioethics within synthetic biology, or even explore
the
potential of biologically-inspired art.
There are several traits needed on
the iGEM team:
·
Research skills. IGEM is an
exciting
opportunity to undertake self-directed research in synthetic biology.
We will
therefore need students who are keenly interested and adept in
research. To
participate, you will need to have the capacity to quickly get up to
speed in
the field of biotechnology and to eventually excel in a lab with
limited
instruction.
·
We’re
looking for team members from a range of
backgrounds. iGEM is about cross-disciplinary research, so in addition
to
biological and biomedical science students, we welcome students from
engineering (electrical, mechanical, chemical, software etc.), computer
science, maths, physics, chemistry, and other physical sciences. Also,
students
from non-science backgrounds are very welcome to get in touch to
explore how they
can contribute to the team.
·
Participation
would be most suited to students
with a high level of academic maturity. Typically, this includes third
year,
honours, or Masters students,
but students
from all levels who can demonstrate an aptitude for research or
leadership are welcome
to apply.
A biological science background is
helpful, but not
required. Team members will need to use knowledge from second-level
biology subjects.
However, we have had team members without a biological science
background who
have excelled.
Recruitment
If you are interested in being a part
of iGEM, please email
Sean Lowe at MelbourneUniIGem@gmail.com and indicate the role(s) you
are
interested in.
Further information about iGEM and
updates about the
recruitment process will be made available at https://www.facebook.com/MelbourneUniIGem.
We are currently seeking expressions of interest from keen students who wish to get involved with iGEM. Over the summer, we are looking for students to form part of the founding team for 2015. As part of this team, you would work to set the framework and goals for next year. With the guidance and assistance of the current team, you would liaise with faculty and sponsors to set up support systems for the team. Most importantly, you will be need to be able to generate a vision for what a student-based science team can and should be, it’s potential and opportunities.
Recruitment is now open. Roles will filled in December and throughout the summer. If you wish to be involved over the summer, please get in touch with us as soon as possible and before 5 January 2015. Any positions on the team which are not filled over the summer will be filled in weeks 1-2 of semester 1, 2015. Note that applications at the start of the semester can be very competitive, so if interested, please get in touch over the summer.
If your skills and interests match up with the team, you will need to send a CV and answer a short questionnaire about iGEM (available by email).
Further information
Learn more about iGEM in general at: https://igem.org/AboutLearn about this year’s team by
clicking on the links above.
Also browse the previous
Melbourne Uni iGEM team
at:
http://openwetware.org/wiki/IGEM:Melbourne/2008
http://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/news/the-bioclock---bacteria-to-mark-time-for-melbourne-university-te
