TARGET AUDIENCE  

Students, university professors, high school teachers, general public

AIM

1. Creating a useful tool for professionals and the public to use in order to learn or expand their knowledge in Basic Terminology of Synthetic Biology.
2. Raising awareness in Greece about Synthetic Biology.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL  

Online dictionary, webinar, e-book & printed pocket-size dictionary.

One of the most essential tools anyone can have while studying is a dictionary. A good dictionary can help individuals comprehend the area of study and improve the communication status by ensuring that the words are used appropriately. Since we understand that the Greek population is unfamiliar with the scientific discipline of Synthetic Biology, our team decided to create an online Greek Dictionary of Terms. We chose to build a website as, in the digital world we live in, anyone can easily have access to it.

After reading a plethora of scientific papers and books we decided to gather as many words and definitions that are relative to the subject and can aid in further explaining the discipline of Synthetic Biology. Following the collection of a total of 54 terms, we started considering practical ways we could and inform as many people as possible, both scientists and others who aren't familiar with the field. Therefore, we decided to create a website since, in the current digital era, it is easily accessible to everyone. To make sure our definitions were as precise and coherent as possible, we regularly consulted academics in scientific areas including synthetic biology, biotechnology and academic writing. In our effort to improve science accessibility, we went a step further and asked our fellow iGEM teams to provide us with definitions translated into the most widely spoken languages around the world! After collaborating with the other teams, the translated definitions were released online in an effort to create a more inclusive community, in which language is a bridge not a barrier. Our objective, in the end, was to develop a multilingual dictionary for iGEM and synthetic biology. The official presentation of our website occurred through a webinar. The webinar took place on the 2nd of September and was broadcasted to a large number of people both in and out the scientific community. The presentation was held in Greek since we decided to present only the Greek version of our dictionary. We invited many prestigious professors from a variety of scientific fields to hold speeches and inform our audience about the latest updates on synthetic biology and the many opportunities and benefits it can provide for the future. At the end of the webinar, attendees received the dictionary not only as a website but also as an e-book version, which is presented below.

Visit our Dictionary

TARGET AUDIENCE  

Artists & scientists from other fields

AIM

1. Integrating arts into our project.
2. Communicate SynBio to other scientists.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL  

Handicraft materials (cardboard boxes and packages, wool, glue, drawing markers, scissors, arduino, cables), pitch, prototype, live presentation.

Being a scientist does not automatically make someone knowledgeable in all scientific disciplines. Our involvement in the S+T+ARTS Hackathon (Science + Technology + Arts) demonstrated to us that researchers in fields such as architecture, economics or mechanics are unaware of the synthetic biology field and the international iGEM competition.

The S+T+ARTS Hackathon was a stochastic competition that encouraged open social innovation combining arts and various fields of science and promoting interdisciplinary collaborations. Designers, artists, architects, humanitarians, policy makers, scientists, professors, and entrepreneurs participated in the contest that was about rethinking and redesigning systems regarding circularity.

Figure 1. Organizers and participants group picture.

The goal of each team at Hackathon was to propose solutions that combine science, technology, and art for a sustainable future for all. For three days, soft skill training activities for the participants and the mentors were organized, workshops were held on the implementation potential of our idea as well as inspirational speeches based on the circular economy. Through our interaction with the mentors from various scientific disciplines, we were able to not only explain synthetic biology to them and the potential uses for it, but they also assisted us in integrating economic and architectural ideas with synthetic biology.

Our creation and the 1st award

Inspired by our project, our purpose was to raise awareness for the protection of aquatic ecosystems and the phenomenon of water pollution due to the excess of nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrates. For that reason, our team came up with an imaginative proposal based on circularity that involves the construction of a floating platform that would serve as a cultural center and will carry plants that through their roots will absorb the excess nutrients from the water bodies and use them for their growth. All materials on the platform will be designed to be eco-friendly, biodegradable and reusable, made of "mycelium" in particular, a biomaterial derived from fungi. On board of the floating structure, young and old will have the opportunity to carry out various activities such as meals, educational workshops to learn how to use this biomaterial in everyday life and various cultural and artistic events. At the hackathon, a handicraft from recycling materials in a prototype scale, made us stand out among the contenders. The participation in the Circular Futures Hackathon-Open Call from Onassis Foundation rewarded us, as our team won 1st place.

TARGET AUDIENCE  

Kindergarten, elementary school students, general public.

AIM

1. Highlight the deteriorating condition of local freshwater ecosystem such as Pineios River.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL  

Collages, animated stickers, glues, scissors, markers, informative leaflets, banner.

One of the biggest local cultural events in Thessaly is the "Pineios River Festival”, which is held on the riverbanks of Pineios. The festival attracts visitors of all ages and backgrounds who take part in a variety of activities. Our team participated in the Pineios River Festival in an effort to educate local people about the riverine environment. Our intent was to teach individuals that a healthy river is one whose social and ecological functions are balanced. In our role as scientists, we explained to them the environmental issue that Pineios has been facing for the past few decades, namely eutrophication, its consequences, and the significance of maintaining a healthy river ecosystem.

During the event, some of the team members informed citizens about the bad ecological status of the river and explained to them the eutrophication phenomenon while others were engaged with the children. Instead of simply drawing we made collages: the children were given A4 sheets of paper with a river landscape we designed , and small square cutouts of the animals' illustrations to stick to the paper. The kids were free to choose the placement and the number of the animals in the picture. It was very engaging to see the children communicate and cooperate with each other, parents spending quality time with their young ones, and older kids helping their siblings place the animals where they thought best thus creating beautiful pictures. We were also pleasantly surprised because groups of teenagers were also interested and decided to take a seat along with us and make their own collages as well.

TARGET AUDIENCE  

Primary-Junior, High School and Collegiate Students, Adults.

AIM

1. Kindergarten students about water pollution and the ways to protect the living aquatic ecosystems.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL  

Paper hats, whistles, colouring papers, markers.

In our region, environmental problems such as eutrophication are not often one of the main topics discussed in a preschool curriculum. Therefore, we decided to address children, in order to teach them about water contamination and how to stop it. We visited, as a team, the "Raptou Kindergarten School" in Larissa city where we applied an educational approach based on playing, storytelling and practical activities, such as drawing. The aim was to give the children an insight into water pollution and give them an opportunity to learn about the phenomenon of eutrophication in a playful way.

INSPIRATION

This idea was inspired by the image of the scientific paper shown below. The illustration was so understandable and explanatory that it motivated us to consider a way to explain it to preschool kids as well. And first we wondered: What are young children so obsessed with? The obvious answer is games. Therefore, we decided to conduct a game that would teach them about eutrophication in a playful way. However, taking into consideration the logical progression of the educational process, the children should be given an introduction first. A fairytale seemed like the best way to approach the kids. Our idea was to narrate a fairytale about eutrophication, based on the image below, to grab their attention, and then develop that story into a chasing game where they can put what they've learned into practice.

Figure 2.Inspiration for game development

FROM A FAIRYTALE TO AN INTERACTIVE GAME

At first, we sat in a circle, and we told our little friends a story about the Pineios river:

“Once upon a time there was a river called Pineios, where different little creatures lived. Some of them were harmless, like little fishes, and some others were a bit naughty and were called bacteria. However, the naughty bacteria did not bother at all because they slept all the time and thus did not cause any trouble. Everything was flowing smoothly in the river, until one day some people came across and threw “magic balls”, which symbolize the pollution source, into the river. These “magic balls”, suddenly, woke up the bacteria from their slumber and transformed them from quiet to mischievous creatures. They began to chase the little fishes to catch them. The little fishes got scared and ran to hide and save themselves. Then the river became very sad to see all that was happening in its waters and changed its color! It turned green! Imagine a river being green! Is this natural? Since then, it has remained sad and green because no one saw its condition, and no one stopped the spread of bacteria”.

After this educational story, it was time for action. We set up a game to try to save the river! We moved to the courtyard, which we defined as a river. Some kids took on the role of fish, while others took on the role of bacteria. Initially, every creature in the river was quietly resting. Unexpectedly, a person entered the scene and threw little colored plastic balls, which simulates nutrition excess and awakens microorganisms. The bacteria began chasing the fishes in an attempt to catch them, while the small fish ran for cover.

Before going home, we wanted to finish our mission. The kids and our team came to the conclusion that eutrophication would harm the river if we continue to throw a lot of balls into it, which symbolises significant water pollution from humans. The cyanobacteria will then awaken and "chase" the small fishes.

DRAWING TIME

In order to determine whether or not the children had an understanding of the distinction between a balanced and a eutrophic status of a water body, we provided them with drawings to colour a polluted riverine ecosystem on one side and a healthy river environment on the other side.

An unexpected side effect of our visit was seeing children's paintings in which some depicted cyanobacteria in the river and humans holding plastic balls as a metaphor for nutrient pollution. The feedback we got from the children and the kindergarten teachers showed us that the children not only had a great time, but that we also managed to teach the children what a healthy and polluted river looks like but also how to protect the aquatic ecosystem as well.

TARGET AUDIENCE  

Primary-Junior, High School and Collegiate Students, Adults.

AIM

1. Learning about Synthetic biology basic principles, laboratory equipment and possible circumstances in the life of a researcher in a fun and interactive way.
2. Boosting the players soft skills (creative thinking, time management, teamwork, problem solving).

EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL  

Playing cards, cubes (ATP Points), live presentation, online survey.

SynBioCraft is a card game designed to introduce individuals to the principles of Synthetic Biology in the most straightforward and entertaining way. Without a bio-related background needed, the game can easily be played by a larger audience being a fun and educational activity for everyone. The purpose is for players to not only get familiar with the principles of a synthetic biology system, but to put those concepts to use by building as many biological systems as they can with the available materials and by using their own imagination and creativity.

HOW TO PLAY

Each player is encouraged to create Synthetic Biology Systems that consist of a Microorganism (Chassis), a Reference Gene, a new ability and a Mechanical Device. The players need to gather and manage their resources (ATP Coins), choose their movements wisely and survive the possible attacks of the other players. Game's purpose is to collect ATP points by assembling the best Synthetic Biology System. At the end of the game, the scores are calculated and the player with the most wins.

TARGET AUDIENCE  

High school students and teachers, parents.

AIM

1. Career Guidance.
2. Raising Awareness in the context of Career Orientation about Synthetic Biology as well as the iGEM Competition.
3. Potential Creation of High school iGEM Teams.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS  

Ballon, baking yeast, video camera, arduino, ruler, strawberries, soap and alcohol solutions, leaflets, surveys.

Adolescence is a crucial period in the life span because individuals explore and make plans for future career endeavors based on their unique interests, talents and ideas. Career counseling is designed to facilitate students to make optimal choices regarding their preferences and the demands of the labor market. However, based on feedback from surveys distributed to several high schools, our team initially found that adolescents know little to nothing about the discipline of synthetic biology. Therefore, we made the decision to use educational initiatives to address the problem at its source. By educating students both in schools and during career orientation festivals, we intended to advise them about this Scientific Career Path and also informed them about the potential of a SynBio Career, such as generating projects similar to those we develop in this competition.

HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACH

Our first actions focused on informing High School students about the field of Synthetic Biology. First, we visited a Highschool in Larissa where we had the opportunity to talk with students of the 2nd Grade. We talked about the iGEM competition, demonstrated the students our project for this year, and reviewed the legacy of the University of Thessaly team in the competition. We also tried to speak with compassion about our own experiences choosing a scientific path when we were in the students' position. In addition, we were asked to answer a variety of questions related to the biosciences and engineering, the competition as well as their own reflections and concerns. Finally, we invited them to the Career Orientation Festival organized by our University so that they could follow up on the experimental activities we had planned.

CAREER ORIENTATION FESTIVAL

We had the honor to participate in the first Career Orientation Festival in Thessaly which was held at the Cultural Center of Volos. The Career Orientation festival was an event held by the Career Office of our university as an initiative in order to help young students in order to achieve their future aspirations and learn about the new opportunities ahead. This event had a large audience with some of the attendants being high school students, teachers and parents. Our goal was to show our audience the application of science to the real-world while also providing visitors with an example of our laboratory experience as members of an iGEM team. In order to achieve that, we took the chance to showcase the conduct of two experiments. Firstly, the strawberry DNA isolation experiment was carried out by Wet lab members using the appropriate laboratory equipment. Next was the experiment of alcoholic fermentation in fungi and its monitoring through the application of microcomputer code and screen performed by the Dry lab members. In this way, we wanted to highlight the connection between Engineering and Biosciences, as well as the use of technology to improve monitoring and provide more accurate measurements. We were also provided with our own information booth, which served as our touchpoint with the attendants, allowing us to hand out informational material (such as brochures) and have constructive discussions regarding the departments that our team members attend, the specifics of our research project and the field of Synthetic Biology as a whole.

TARGET AUDIENCE  

Medicine students, Professors.

AIM

1. Understanding the one health approach (interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment).
2. Awareness of the negative effects of eutrophication on one health (toxins).
3. How synthetic biology can provide a solution.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS  

Live presentation, surveys.

It is well known that, during the eutrophication phenomenon, the formation of the Harmful Algal Blooms creates a toxic environment that can be detrimental to human and animal health if the toxins are ingested, come into direct contact with the skin, or inhaled. Taking into consideration the importance of this public health issue and given the lack of awareness among young doctors, we decided to inform them about the phenomenon and what role synthetic biology may play in combating this.

We participated in the 28th annual Scientific Congress of Hellenic Medical Students, where we further elaborated on our presentation “Eutrophication’s impact on human health: A SynBio approach”. During our presentation, we talked about the creation of the phenomenon as well as the possible effects on human, animal, and environmental health. Furthermore, we explained how our project, through Synthetic Biology, can possibly give a solution. With this presentation our team aimed to educate medical students about the One Health approach, since it is a concept that is encountered by them during their undergraduate studies and can thus help them guide their future research. Finally, we believe that an environmental problem such as eutrophication has yet to be correlated with human and animal health. Therefore we encouraged our audience to consider the collaboration with human, animal and environmental health experts in order to achieve the best health outcome.

Following our presentation we decided to receive feedback on the information shared and create anonymous questionnaires for our audience. Through this we wanted to collect data in regards to the acknowledgement of the phenomenon as well as the awareness around the field of Synthetic Biology. Moreover, we wanted to ensure that the knowledge we provided was straightforward and communicated successfully.

TARGET AUDIENCE  

Farmers, experts in the agriculture, general public.

AIM

1. Raise Awareness about current environmental problems that affect agriculture.
2. Encourage the use of more sustainable farming methods.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS  

QR-coded booklet, webinar presentation.

Nowadays, agricultural practices can be one of the main causes for various environmental problems such as eutrophication. After interacting with experts in the agricultural sector, we soon realized the gap that has emerged between farmers and environmental education. This is why our team decided to create a booklet that can be used as a short guide for farmers and experts in the field in order to learn more about protecting the aquatic environment through agriculture. Moreover, we found it crucial to focus on sustainability and how scientific advances such as synthetic biology can contribute to the solution of these problems. This booklet contained information about the current situation in agriculture, how that contributes to the creation of the phenomenon, its indicators and how we can introduce new sustainable farming methods in order to solve such issues.

We believe that targeting the farming community with this booklet, can help with further deconstructing the current environmental situation and eventually introduce sustainability into this field. This is why we wanted to formally present our work hosting a webinar in collaboration with the Averofeio Agro-food Technological Park of Thessaly, a non-profit organization that works closely with the farming community. Our audience consisted of professors related to the topic, farmers and the public. During this online event our team presented its project and the booklet, highlighting the importance of Synthetic Biology and how it is considered to be a sustainable and effective solution to the problem. Lastly, after discussing with our audience and receiving feedback upon our work, we then provided the booklet to the organisation and participants in order to have it for future use.