Team:RIS BKK/Human Practices
Human Practices
This section, Human Practices, refers to the various impacts our project has on the world. Our ultimate inspiration for beginning this project is to improve the quality of life of Thai farmers. With approximately 40% of the Thai population is working in an agriculture-related job, increasing agricultural productivity could benefit the overall living standards of the Thai population [1]. The current option of increasing productivity, chemical fertilizers, can be damaging to the environment. Tackling this problem as synthetic biologists, we wanted to contribute to the improvement of agricultural productivity by genetically modifying plants to allow them to be able to fix nitrogen with less dependence on the environment surrounding them.
Integrated:
In the researching process, our team approached multiple scientific experts in the fields of agriculture and microbiology and received valuable feedback. We did our best to integrate all their comments, appreciation, and suggestions to improve our project.
Public Engagement:
After completing our project, we wanted to raise awareness about the issue on agricultural productivity in Thailand to the community in Ruamrudee International School. Moreover, with a small proportion of people who are interested in Synthetic Biology, we want to introduce and inspire future generations to the field of Synthetic Biology and iGEM.
Our team performed a presentation to the staff and faculty members in the school. In the presentation, we talked about the issues we were concerned about, regarding Thai agricultural productivity, and presented our approach to a possible solution with the use of Synthetic Biology.
Moreover, we featured in the school’s AD Astra magazine where we wrote about the iGEM competition so other students in Ruamrudee can be inspired to enter the competition in the future. In the magazine, we mentioned about the project’s goals, processes, and execution, as well as reflected on our experiences in the iGEM competition.
[1] Luedi, Jeremy. “Extreme Drought Threatens Thailand's Political Stability: GRI.” Global Risk Insights, 23 Jan. 2016, https://globalriskinsights.com/2016/01/extreme-drought-threatens-thailands-political-stability/.