Team:Kyoto/Public Engagement

Education&Public Engagement

Public Outreach
Kyoto University Clock Tower, September 15th
We held a booth in an event called “Kyoto university Academic day 2019”. Our iGEM Team was selected from open competition to present at this event. We were the first undergraduate group to present at the Academic Day (http://research.kyoto-u.ac.jp/academic-day/2019/18/). This is an event where many researchers gather and tell about their research topics to the visiting public. Along with a poster describing iGEM and the history of our Team’s projects, we prepared 3D-printed encapsulin and CRISPR-Cas9, and a puzzle to identify gene mutation. Using these items, we shared our interest in practical synthetic biology and the goals of iGEM.Using these items, we told the interesting point of iGEM and synthetic biology.
The event also helped guide our project design and hardware. We questioned the public regarding their awareness of plastic fiber contamination and their source. We proposed hardware which would attach to laundry machines and release our engineered proteins. Many people found it acceptable; if it came pre-installed. They also provided perspective on how much they would be willing to pay for such a device and re-fillable protein solution. These honest opinions from prospective users were valuable as they allowed us to consider the practical application of our project’s hardware.