iGEM: A New Era of Scientific Education

The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition is the premiere undergraduate synthetic biology competition and has grown from 5 teams in 2005 to over 170 teams in 2011. This showcase of a new generation of researchers focuses on open-source science, international collaboration, and novel solutions for today’s challenges. As the inaugural team from Arizona State University, we observed the nature of the iGEM phenomenon from within the competition. We found that not only is this open source environment ideal for scientific exchange, but also it presents a unique opportunity to discuss the responsibility we have as scientists to build the global knowledge society. Currently this flow of knowledge to the general public is limited by the disparity between public interest in scientific matters and the scientific community’s presentation of relevant information. To address this issue, we implemented an international multi-team collaboration at the 2011 iGEM competition called CommunityBricks. This initiative aims to centralize more engaging approaches to science education in an open-source online community. We have already received 18 submissions from six countries. The lack of immediate applications for fields such as synthetic biology can discourage public involvement. By implementing the same collaborative approach exemplified in the iGEM competition to human practices, we have challenged the status quo and offered a new avenue for science education.