The society was founded in 2014 by Imperial iGEM alumni and other students, with the aim to help develop the next generation of synthetic biologists and be the synbio social platform for students from Imperial and elsewhere. You can stay up-to-date on our activities via here.
Background
Despite the established presence of Imperial in synthetic biology, there is a knowledge gap in synthetic biology in the student community. Most undergraduates within the Life Sciences and the Biomedical Engineering degrees are only introduced to this field in their final years, and access to other students is very limited. There is a massive value lost from the delayed exposure of talent to synthetic biology, as well as limitation of access to individuals outside biological sciences, as interdisciplinary teams have been shown to excel in iGEM and in research. The society aims to bridge this gap by providing these groups access to synthetic biology education, and by allowing iGEM alumni to pass on their experience to new students and iGEM teams.
Activities
The society organises the following:
- Occasional synthetic biology lab practicals
- Mentorship for future iGEM teams - organising specific iGEM-related events by iGEM alumni
- Invited talks: guest lectures by prominent synthetic biologists on their work and other interesting synthetic biology topics
- Synbio careers development - organising research opportunities in academia and industry (UROPs and industrial internships)
- Networking and social events; to allow students to make new academic and industrial contacts, and encourage membership of new students interested in synthetic biology
Structure of the society
The society is run and organised by student society committee members, who take up responsibilities in their respective roles. The committee is elected once a year by majority vote.
To contact us, please send an email to synbic@ic.ac.uk.