Our biology team member is an alumni in Aiglon College, Switzerland. Therefore, we used this opportunity to reach out to extraordinary Aiglon Biology department and introduce iGEM to them. Aiglon College biology team consists of highly motivated teachers and students who are looking for new challenges! Therefore, we are looking towards them joining the iGEM competition and seeing the unique ideas they come up with.
Our engineering team member is an alumni HLC International, India. Therefore, we were more than happy to reach out to the friendly and inspiring biology team. They were very excited to hear about the idea. Our next step is going to be attending the meeting with the vice principle and biology team in order to introduce them to iGEM competition details and answer any questions. Overall, we are very eager to see the ideas they come up with.
Given the underrepresentation of women in STEM, we believe introducing girls and nonbinary individuals to the opportunities and possibilities in STEM at an early stage is vital for progression in the field.
About weSTEM
WeSTEM is passionate about increasing access to STEM education here in the UAE. WeSTEM challenges the inequities within the community, providing a platform for empowerment for all and creating resources for women and non-binaries to excel in their STEM careers.
In collaboration with weSTEM and HackAD, we will be hosting an event for high school students. Unfortunately, due to campus restrictions, the event could only be hosted at the end of October. In our section of the event, we will highlight the background, fundamental principles, and significance of cloning in a short presentation. We decided on this topic because cloning is an integral part of synthetic biology, and it plays a sizable role in our own iGEM project. Using a fun and interactive cloning activity [https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/], we will teach the students how you can clone a mouse. We also believed that this would be a good option for an outreach event for many students because it requires few materials from them (if they don't have a computer or laptop, they can be provided with one) and it is a completely safe way to immerse yourself in the biology world for the first time. It can be overwhelming at times when you enter a lab because there are many different steps and materials that can be used, as well as the hazards and safety concerns to be aware of, so this was a good way to have an overall fun experience with the students. Instructions for each step are very clear and the animations with the mice are entertaining and engaging to look at. STEM can seem like an intimidating field dominated by men, which can deter more students from pursuing their interests within the field; however, by fostering a more inclusive environment, we hope to allow students to explore their options and passions.
