1. Team PI Information

The first component of the team application is the PI information. This includes a personal email address and phone number so we can contact the PI directly if there are any problems throughout the iGEM season. The team PI will need to verify contact information. If your contact information is incorrect, you will have the opportunity to update it before proceeding with the application. Each team must have at least one (1) PI on their team roster at all times throughout the competition. Visit the Team Requirements page to learn about the role of the team PI.

2. Team Name

The next component of a team application is the team name. If your team has participated before, we recommend you use the same team name. If you are a new team, your team name should be brief and descriptive. It is limited to a maximum of 20 characters. Your team name should indicate your school, city, state, country (or region). A team name must also follow these rules:

• be 20 or fewer characters (including letters, and underscore/hyphen)
• should indicate your school name(s) and city, state, country and/or region
• only contain letters A-Z, and a-z
• may contain numbers 0-9
• can contain underscore (_) or hyphen (-)
• cannot contain the year (i.e. "21", or "2021")
• cannot contain spaces
• cannot include the words iGEM, team, or synthetic biology
• cannot include the team's project name
• cannot include the name of your school mascot
• cannot include sponsor names

Note that your team name will need to be approved by iGEM HQ. Failure to follow these rules will delay your team approval.

We have formalized this requirement and show it in the team requirements section on your Team Information Page. Your team name will be easily approved if your team has participated in the past and you use the same team name. If you are a new team or if you are using a new team name, then iGEM HQ will manually approve your team name.

Why is your team name important? Your team name is the official name that you will use throughout the entire iGEM season. After the competition ends this name will be used as an historical record of your team. Your team name is your team identity.

For examples of team names, you can see the 2020 team list.

3. Team Kind

In iGEM 2021, teams will register as one of three team "kinds", and each kind will have different registration requirements. The three team kinds are:

• Collegiate:
  Teams consist primarily of collegiate students. You may also have postgraduate students and/or high school students on the team.


• High School:
  Teams consist of only high school students and students who will graduate high school in 2021. High School teams compete with other High School teams in the High School Track and Section. Please visit the High School Consent Form page for information about and access to the consent forms.


• Community Lab:
  Teams consist of members of a community lab. This can include anyone. Community Lab teams compete with Collegiate teams in the Traditional and Special Tracks and in the Undergraduate and Overgraduate Sections based on the team members' ages.
  Each community lab team must complete the following additional requirements and send the applicable documentation to documents AT igem DOT org:
  1. demonstrate access to a BL 1 lab
  2. demonstrate an adequate safety training program
  3. must be an incorporated entity (for profit or not-for-profit)
  4. must have a legal entity which has the ability to sign contracts

4. Team Information: Affiliation & Location

The team application asks for team’s school affiliation and geographic location. This helps iGEM HQ track team development, and other individuals, including potential team members, find teams near them. Please include the following:

• School name
• School mailing address
• City, state, country (area or economy)
• School website URL

If more than one school is represented on the team, please list every school.

Below the school field, please select the country (area or economy) that your school belongs to, as well as the region.

5. Shipping Information

Your team’s shipping information will be needed in order to send you materials during the iGEM 2021 competition season, such as the DNA distribution kit and part requests.
The shipping information is found on your Team Information page, accessible after the team application is submitted.

6. Consent Forms (High School teams only)

Every High School team must complete and submit consent forms as part of their team application. iGEM Headquarters must receive these specific forms before we can approve a team:

• Principal consent form for every school represented on the team
• Participant consent form from the primary PI of the team
• Department head consent form (if the team is working at a laboratory outside of their high school)

Visit the High School Consent Forms page to access the forms.

7. Team Fee Payment

Each team pays a team fee, which provides the team with a team wiki, associated materials and support, one presentation slot at the Giant Jamboree, and one poster slot at the Giant Jamboree.

Team fees for iGEM 2021 are:

• Regular registration: $5500 USD (ends April 30)
• Late registration: $6000 USD (ends May 28)
• Multiple team discount: a discount of $1000 USD
• Phase II team discount: a discount of $1000 USD

Instructions for submitting your team fee are available on the Team Fee page.

8. Next Steps

Once you have submitted the team application, team fee, and relevant consent forms, your information will be sent to iGEM Headquarters (HQ) and we will review it and either accept it, or contact you for more details. Note this is a manual process, not automatic, so it may take a few days! We will be as efficient as possible when it comes to accepting iGEM team applications. You can contact us with questions at hq AT igem DOT org