Team:IISER Kolkata/Collaborations

Collaborations

“Non nobis solum, sed omnibus”

(Not for ourselves alone, but for everyone)


Only in harmony can we achieve success. Collaborations are an important part of iGEM and we strongly agree. Collabs bring people together, generate new outlooks and develop scientific temperament. IISER Kolkata collaborated with many teams across the planet and tried to strengthen the global scientific community.


  1. Mentoring iGEM MIT-ADT, Pune

We believe that iGEM is about growing and learning, and have tried to live up to the same. So we were more than happy to help when the debutant iGEM team of MIT-ADT, Pune reached out to us, asking us to be their mentor. Since IISER Kolkata is in its second year participating in iGEM, having already won the Gold Medal in 2018, we were in a position to both help and gain from mentoring MIT-ADT.

We kept in touch through Skype calls and WhatsApp and had a constant flux of information going in and out. Both teams explained their projects and their rationale during the first exchange, which was followed by constant updates on lab-work progress and trouble-shooting methods. We were lucky to meet them in person at the All-India iGEM Meet at IISER Bhopal. Our kinship strengthened over talks of genes, lab dynamics and future prospects. This collab was indeed one for the books

We also assisted MIT-ADT by filling out their survey form on analysing the menstrual waste crisis across the globe.

Skype Meetup!
Real life meetup!
  1. All India iGEM Meet

The All India iGEM Meet was hosted by iGEM IISER Bhopal on 20th and 21st of July, 2019, where all the Indian teams came together to exchange ideas, knowledge and visions. The goal of the session was not only to exchange insights in synthetic biology but also to receive feedback from different perspectives and gain creative solutions for difficulties faced by each team. Each team gave a presentation on their project, their thought process and progress in project work. We are proud to announce that IISER Kolkata won the Best Presentation Award at the All India iGEM Meet 2019.

Our Poster for the All India iGEM Meet
The group at the All India iGEM Meet
Proud Presenters!
  1. iGEM IISER Pune

Team IISER Pune India 2019 are working on developing an alternative tool for directed evolution so that it can be performed faster and more conveniently. The tool is a mutagenic plasmid that can attain tunability of mutation rates in E.coli using blue light as an external physical inducer. As a proof of principle, the team wanted to test its performance by evolving a heavy metal remediating gene to higher efficiency. They chose lead, as studies showed that lead pollution was highest in one of the local rivers of Pune. They decided that it was a good idea to analyze water samples taken from water bodies across the country to get an idea of the lead pollution across the country. They asked all the Indian iGEM 2019 teams to bring local water samples to the All India iGEM Meet.


We participated in this collaboration by bringing water sample from our local water body and giving them all the necessary information that they required: Link to the instructions file

  1. iGEM Warwick

iGEM Warwick contacted us for suggestions on improving their presentation after we won the Best Presentation Award at the All India iGEM Meet. Both teams shared their presentations and constructive feedback was exchanged in this collaboration. This collaboration helped us strengthen our presentation skills and method of putting forward vital information clearly and engagingly in preparation for the Giant Jamboree.

  1. iGEM Duesseldorf: Postcard project

We participated in a postcard project initiated by iGEM Duesseldorf, where every participating team designs a postcard which shows an image related to synthetic biology or their topic on the front and a small informational text on the back. Afterwards each team sends a package with their postcards to iGEM Duesseldorf, they are exchanged with the postcards from other teams, and the package is sent back. In the end, every participating iGEM-team will have collected postcards from all over the world. The received postcards can then be shared with people in the neighborhood, during public events, at the Giant Jamboree etc.

Our postcards
  1. iGEM Strasbourg: Food allergy questionnaire

iGEM Strasbourg team is working on the development of a detection kit for allergens which does not need antibodies. We collaborated with them by filling out their questionnaire on the impact and incidence of allergies in different countries.

  1. iGEM UAlberta: Demographic and Inclusivity Survey 2019

We filled the Demographic and Inclusivity Survey 2019 by the UAlberta iGEM team that aimed at investigating the age, sex, gender, and race demographics of iGEM teams, to examine if there are any inclusion disparities in iGEM teams, and learn more about iGEMers experiences so that any issues can be remedied.

  1. iGEM Costa Rica's SDG Challenge

The purpose of this challenge was to spread awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals as prescribed by the United Nations. We worked towards following these goals in relation to our project:1)No Poverty 3) Good Health and well-being 6) Clean water and sanitation. We also nominated some of our fellow iGEM teams to take part in this challenge

  1. How aware are you?

Leishmaniasis is classified as a neglected tropical disease. We wanted to know how aware the people around the world are about leishmaniasis. We sent out a carefully designed awareness form to various iGEM teams and students and people around the country: Our iGEM awareness survey

The following iGEM teams completed our awareness survey. Our Indian fellow iGEM teams also circulated the forms among the students of their institutes, thus reaching a larger survey audience.

  • iGEM REC Chennai
  • iGEM VIT Vellore
  • iGEM IISER Pune
  • iGEM IISER Tirupati
  • iGEM San Diego
  • iGEM Cairo University
  • iGEM NYMU-Taipei
  • iGEM Moscow