Education

Education - A Meaningful Responsibility

The topic of synthetic biology is widely unknown to the general public. Most have never even heard the term, which is not only alarming considering it holds a vast number of possibilities to contribute to solving global challenges but is also present in people's everyday lives. The ones that do know the term oftentimes work within the field themselves. Seeing this knowledge gap, we, the iGEM Team of Münster felt the responsibility to take action.

Engaging with the general public was important to us not only because we wanted to convey knowledge, but also to get an impression of the level of knowledge on synthetic biology. To achieve this, we set up information booths in public places in Münster. These allowed us to discuss with people their knowledge, opinions, and concerns regarding synthetic biology, biotechnology, and our project. Although biotechnology plays a huge role in everyone’s life, we noticed that the majority of people were not aware of its presence. Moreover, synthetic biology was almost completely unknown, even though it is very likely to play a huge part in overcoming uprising global challenges. Despite that, these two fields often suffer from a negative public perception. In our understanding, this perception is, in most cases, based on a lack of knowledge about biology in general. Therefore, we designed our booths to convey the basic principles of microbiology and synthetic biology with experiments and easily understandable materials. Especially children, who had their very first encounter with these topics, were amazed by isolating DNA and seeing microscopic lifeforms. Additionally, we were engaged in various conversations with many people which resulted in a better knowledge of synthetic biology. As we intended, our outreach to the general public at the information booths brought people of all ages closer to a field of science that is of importance and rapidly growing.

Thinking of the future of synthetic biology and biotechnology, the younger generation is essential. The students sitting in the classroom will eventually influence how synthetic biology is viewed and if society as a whole can take the next steps towards a more biobased industry and a more sustainable way of living. Knowing how little education regarding synthetic biology we experienced in school, we felt a responsibility to act. We decided to not only educate on synthetic biology and our project but spark interest by taking a more practical approach. However, practical educational attempts often prove difficult due to restrictions by law, especially in Germany. Through our experiment, we allowed the students to experience synthetic biology in a more fun and engaging way and by doing so sparked their interest in the topic.

The Schiller-Gymnasium in Münster gave us the opportunity to plan a 90-minute lecture. To meet the students at eye level, we prepared a survey they could fill out in advance of the lecture. This helped us to assess their knowledge of synthetic biology, biotechnology, and genetic engineering, and plan our lecture accordingly.

While providing comprehensive information and laying the foundation of understanding the field, we wanted to create a memorable experience for everyone involved. We planned an experiment to provide hands-on experience, involving common procedures when working in a wet lab. Bearing in mind, Germanys strict laws on genetic engineering, choosing an experiment to be presented was quite a challenge. As we wanted it to come as close to working with synthetic biology as possible, we prepared an experiment regarding horizontal gene transfer between two Escherichia coli K12 strains. As horizontal gene transfer is not considered genetic engineering, we were allowed to conduct it inside a common classroom at school. This sets our experiment apart from other approaches that are either only allowed to be conducted in a laboratory or provide no insight into genetic concepts. Furthermore, we could plan the experiment, which normally takes several days, in a way that allowed the students to take part in the whole process within an hour. The students were excited to work with laboratory equipment and to see things that they had only heard of in theory, happening right in front of them. We hope that our experiment will be replicated by other iGEM teams in the future since we want more students to get this special chance of collecting as much practical experience as possible.

Education and information about synthetic biology in Germany mainly focus on young people, and the access to basic biology and knowledge has always been limited among our senior citizens. This gap exists even though senior citizens are a major part of our society. Therefore, it was important for us to also address and involve elderly people in our education program.

We visited a senior home and a senior sports group. Our goal was to provide an insight into synthetic biology, biotechnology and the industrial use of microorganisms. Our main aim was to present these topics as relatable as possible and give participants a connection to their everyday life. We achieved this by using fermentation as a gateway. Most seniors had experience in that regard, having eaten fermented foods their whole life. This was a great opportunity for us to open the doors to the vast and diverse world of microorganisms. We discussed the ambivalence of microorganisms, having risks and benefits for humans. To provide hands-on experience, we performed an experiment, showing the difference in microbial growth before and after the usage of disinfectant. Furthermore, we looked at the process of kefir manufacturing, which emphasized the industrial use of microorganisms. To facilitate the exchange and to promote further understanding, we used posters. Our methods worked very well since the elderly showed great interest in the experiments and were amazed to learn how various products from their daily life are produced by the tiniest of lifeforms.

Connecting with people of all age groups through synthetic biology was definitely a memorable experience for us and for them. Not only did we get overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding the understanding of synthetic biology and the importance of biotechnology for our society, but also learned new things ourselves. Connecting with the elderly was especially giving, as they recalled stories of their lives where microorganisms were involved, even if they were so unknowingly. Including this often left out group into science education was just rewarding, as it was important to us. While students receive more chances of acquiring knowledge about synthetic biology, our concept differed from others by providing practical experiences with genetics. All our educational approaches combined fulfilled our goal of bringing synthetic biology closer to the public.