Inspiration

In the initial phase of the project, we reached audiences of different ages and backgrounds for the first time through the “Decoding Life: A New Chapter of Synthesis” Off-site event and a series of Science Popularization Month activities. During these events, we designed an interactive segment where participants were asked, “How much do you know about STEAM education?” A small number of participants indicated that they had never encountered the concept before, while others demonstrated varying levels of familiarity and understanding.This finding gave us a preliminary understanding that the overall awareness of STEAM education among Chinese university students and the broader public still has room for improvement, revealing a clear educational gap.

This phenomenon prompted us to reflect:

Is the lack of STEAM education not limited to a specific group or region, but rather indicative of broader regional and structural characteristics?

To verify this idea, we systematically reviewed multiple international and regional research studies, extracted key data from them, and created four sets of charts to visually illustrate both the widespread nature of the issue and its underlying structural dimensions.

Through the visualization and analysis of teacher survey data, we first focused on the structural barriers on the supply side of education. Teachers generally believe that the current STEAM education curriculum system is incomplete, lacking interdisciplinary integration and systematic design. The teaching workforce is weak, with insufficient training and support mechanisms. There are significant regional disparities, with high-quality educational resources concentrated in a few developed areas. Moreover, the teaching content is disconnected from real societal needs, making it difficult to truly cultivate students’ comprehensive innovative abilities. These issues reveal deep-rooted bottlenecks in the institutional design and practical implementation of STEAM education in East Asia, aligning closely with the UNESCO report’s observations on unequal distribution of educational resources and the limitations of teachers’ mindsets[1]. This indicates that the root of the problem does not lie at a single level, but rather in a systemic shortage of supply and structural imbalance.

At the spatial distribution level, the significant disparity in STEAM curriculum coverage between urban and rural schools further highlights this structural deficiency. Urban schools have a coverage rate as high as 80%, while rural schools lag behind at only 55%. This pronounced regional gap indicates that the challenges faced by East Asian regions in promoting STEAM education extend beyond insufficient curricula and teaching staff; they also involve long-standing issues of uneven spatial distribution. High-quality courses and experimental resources are concentrated in urban areas, making it difficult for students in rural and less developed regions to access cutting-edge educational content and practical opportunities. This directly undermines the foundation for educational equity and the cultivation of innovative capabilities.

After analyzing the two major structural issues of the supply system and regional disparities, we then turned our attention to participation rates and gender gaps. A comparison of macro-level participation rates reveals the phenomenon highlighted by UNESCO (2020): the overall participation rate in STEM fields in East Asia and the Pacific is significantly lower than the global average. This gap not only reflects the lag in overall educational development but is also evident in the persistently low proportion of female participation in STEAM. It underscores the systemic shortcomings of regional education systems in curriculum development, resource allocation, and educational innovation mechanisms.

From a longitudinal perspective, as students progress through different educational stages, the participation rate of girls in STEAM fields shows a gradual decline, with the gap reaching its peak at the higher education level. This trend indicates a lack of continuous support and guidance across educational stages, leading to the accumulation and amplification of gender disparities over time. The formation of gender gaps is not a single event but the result of the long-term interplay of institutional, resource-based, and cultural factors.

Through a systematic analysis across multiple dimensions, we reached a clear and profound conclusion:

There are deep systemic deficiencies in gender equality and regional coordinated development within STEAM education in East Asia.

These structural deficiencies have become the source of inspiration and the starting point for our STEAM education initiatives. We aim to break this imbalance by exploring new pathways and solutions through innovative educational practices, cross-regional collaboration, and gender-inclusive curriculum design.

To further examine these unresolved issues, we invited Professor Yingjian Liu , an education expert from Beijing Normal University, for an in-depth interview. From both theoretical and practical perspectives, Professor Liu pointed out that the core problems go beyond the lack of curricula and resources. A key issue lies in the fragmentation and one-way nature of the education system. In traditional teaching, scientific knowledge is often broken down into isolated modules, disconnected from real research contexts and students’ active exploration. Teachers tend to focus excessively on rote instruction, with limited interaction and hands-on practice.

In response to these structural issues, Professor Liu proposed the educational concept of “Interactive Learning.” She emphasized that achieving balanced development of STEAM education across different regions and groups requires breaking the boundaries of single classrooms and disciplines, and fostering multi-directional interactions among students, teachers, communities, and technology. Learning should not be a closed process of knowledge transmission; instead, it should revolve around real-world problems. Through collaboration, discussion, and practice, students can actively engage in understanding how knowledge is formed and enhance their integrated STEAM competencies. This concept has become key theoretical foundation for our Rural Science Popularization and Teaching Support Program（named “DAYSTAR”） and our teacher training mechanisms.

Cultivation

Inspired by Professor Liu Yingjian’s STEAM teaching philosophy, BNU-China team launched two important pilot initiatives in the early stages of our educational practice: the Beijing No.5 High School Synthetic Biology Summer Camp and the G.L.O.W.S. Girls’ Education Program. These activities reached students from diverse backgrounds and aimed to help them grasp core concepts of synthetic biology through a combination of offline laboratory interactions and online course series. G.L.O.W.S Girls Education

Through these activities, we collected authentic feedback from students, which revealed several shortcomings in China’s STEAM education—particularly in curriculum structure, teaching methods, and gender and regional equity. At the same time, the feedback demonstrated that our teaching model can play a positive complementary and innovative role in actual classroom practice.

However, relying solely on the efforts of the BNU-China team is not enough to fundamentally change this situation. Therefore, we actively aligned with the teacher education system at Beijing Normal University and secured institutional support in areas such as teaching assistance and teacher training resources. On this foundation, we established a systematic and sustainable teacher training framework aimed at equipping teachers with interdisciplinary and interactive teaching skills, while deeply integrating synthetic biology with the concept of STEAM education.

We organized the “Symbiosis Stories” Teaching Workshop, inviting experts such as Zhang Junjie, Bing Jie, Hao Xiaoran, Yang Dong, and Tang Ruchun to serve as judges. During the workshop, team members and teaching partners presented and exchanged ideas on synthetic biology–themed courses, including Making Plants Glow, Probiotics and Health, Synthetic Creation, and Life Engineering Design. In these sessions, teachers explored how to transform abstract synthetic biology research outcomes into classroom activities that students could understand and engage with, while also experimenting with ways to effectively combine scientific content with STEAM education principles.

The expert panel provided valuable suggestions on content depth, teaching innovation, and interdisciplinary integration, which further enriched the course designs. Through extensive interaction and discussion, we collaboratively refined the teaching frameworks, summarizing a set of effective strategies and developing a continuous “Teaching–Feedback–Improvement” optimization mechanism. This process laid a solid foundation for the standardization and future dissemination of the courses.

Swipe up and down to view teachers' feedback on the workshop:

Teachers who had received instructional training during the teaching workshop, together with iGEMers, jointly launched “DAYSTAR” Program. Through this initiative, seven teaching support teams were formed across the country and sent to Chongqing, Sichuan, Fujian, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Qinghai, and Shaanxi, bringing synthetic biology courses to primary and secondary school students in rural and less developed regions.These courses—featuring themes such as Glowing Plants, Protein Folding, and Probiotics and Health—were tailored to incorporate local characteristics into their content design. Research achievements, such as V-CHARGEs technology, were effectively translated into accessible and engaging teaching materials. This greatly stimulated students’ scientific curiosity and creativity, providing more children with opportunities to learn about synthetic biology and the concept of STEAM education.At the same time, we established a feedback collection mechanism to continuously refine the teaching system based on input from both students and teachers, creating a positive feedback loop in our educational practice.

As our educational initiatives progressed, we received enthusiastic feedback from both students and teachers, demonstrating the effectiveness and scalability of this "Interactive Learning" STEAM education model. To better present and share these authentic voices, we organized and visualized the collected feedback by creating keyword word clouds and bullet comment displays. These vivid and intuitive visualizations not only showcased the recognition and appreciation of the course content by teachers and students but also provided strong support for future curriculum refinement and the broader promotion of STEAM education concepts.

Swipe up and down to view the Synthetic Biology Survey :

Swipe up and down to view Our Course Feedback:

Click to view morefeedback on Synthetic Biology and the V-Charges Project

To ensure the long-term sustainability and regional development of these educational outcomes, we established a non-governmental organization—United Digital Governance & Innovation Center (UDGIC)—in Shunchang County, Fujian Province, where our teaching support work had achieved remarkable results. UDGIC seeks to foster regional cooperation and alliance-building for STEAM education. It is responsible for coordinating curriculum replication and promotion, teacher training, and international cooperation projects. This provides the organizational foundation and institutional support necessary to sustain and scale our educational model, while also laying a solid groundwork for China–ASEAN regional collaboration in STEAM education.

Dissemination

To extend the influence of STEAM education beyond the classroom, the BNU-China team has built a multi-level dissemination system that integrates technological innovation with social participation. Through content innovation, digital empowerment, and international collaboration, we aim to truly make STEAM education "go global, connect widely, and come alive".

In terms of content dissemination, we sought to communicate cutting-edge synthetic biology knowledge and STEAM education concepts to a broader audience in a more accessible and creative way. We created a children's science picture book titled "The Secret of Energy Valley". Based on the core scientific principles of the V-CHARGEs project, the book transforms complex metabolic pathways and energy transfer processes into an engaging story about "candy making – house protection – collaborative factories".Using hand-drawn illustrations and storyboard-style narratives, we skillfully translated abstract scientific research into an adventurous journey that children can easily understand. Moreover, the content design of the picture book is highly replicable and sustainable, making it a valuable communication resource that can be passed down for continued use and promotion by future iGEM teams.

Swipe up and down to explore the picture book:

To bring our science communication efforts to a broader stage and reach more people, we identified the Beijing Science Communication Competition as an excellent opportunity and actively participated in the 2025 Beijing Science Communication Competition – Science Speech Contest, where we promoted STEAM education to the general public.Our presentation followed the narrative thread of "Glowing Plants", beginning with the natural bioluminescence of fireflies, then delving into the mechanism of luciferase, followed by gene transfer and the DBTL cycle. Through this layered storytelling approach, we vividly demonstrated to a wide audience how STEAM education organically integrates scientific knowledge, engineering thinking, and creativity cultivation.In the process, we not only disseminated cutting-edge synthetic biology knowledge but also explored new interdisciplinary narrative methods to translate scientific content into educational resources that are easily understood by the public, thereby further expanding the project's social impact.

In terms of digital dissemination, the BNU-China team developed a digital mini-program platform for teachers and students called "Micro Yi-Class Seed Workshop". This platform serves not only as a collection of curriculum resources and teaching tools but also as an interactive space for promoting STEAM education concepts and connecting educators and students across different regions.Within the platform, we built a high-quality teaching resource library, which includes carefully refined interdisciplinary courses and activity designs. Teachers can easily access and adapt these materials for their local classrooms. We also developed iGEM Navigator, a public-facing tool powered by large language models, as a key hub linking knowledge resources, educational innovation, and public communication. With iGEM Navigator, high-quality educational content is no longer limited to individual teams or regions but can be widely shared and applied. Leveraging semantic search and intelligent generation capabilities, educators can break through disciplinary boundaries to develop innovative STEAM courses that integrate elements of science, engineering, art, and society. Meanwhile, students can interact with the model through natural language to learn about the scientific principles and social significance behind iGEM projects—shifting from passive recipients to active explorers. This creates a virtuous cycle of "science communication – public participation – educational innovation."

Through these education dissemination efforts, BNU-China team has not only advanced local and regional educational practices but also amplified the voice of Chinese youth on the international stage in the field of STEAM education.

In terms of international outreach, team representatives were invited to deliver a public speech at the 25th Anniversary Conference of the UNESCO Earth Charter Education Chair (ECI), held at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. The speech introduced the BNU-China team's project progress and educational achievements to over 300 delegates from around the world.The team also successfully persuaded ECI and ECI China to leverage the ESD Global Education Network to help establish a regional STEAM education alliance. Ms. Fang Hong, ECI China's full representative and Chair of the ECI China Office, expressed strong support for co-building the alliance. She sent out an initiative to partner universities in China, as well as the ECI Laos and ECI Indonesia centers, to collaborate on STEAM education, girls' education, and related initiatives.Taking this opportunity, the BNU-China team also upgraded the Daystar Network from a single rural education action program into a regional cooperation and coordination platform, further expanding its impact and reach.

Team representatives were also invited to participate in the 2025 China–ASEAN Education Cooperation Week, where they launched the initiative to establish the "China–ASEAN iGEMers STEAM Education Alliance". The proposal received enthusiastic responses and strong support from representatives of multiple ASEAN countries. At the same time, we also gained the recognition and support of Mr. Ji Hongtao, Executive Director of the Department of International Exchange and Cooperation of the Hainan Provincial International Exchange Association.

Through this series of international outreach and collaborative initiatives, we expanded our educational efforts from local actions to regional impact, and elevated our work from individual projects to a coordinated alliance, thereby building a platform for China–ASEAN cooperation and dialogue in STEAM education. This laid a solid foundation for future educational dissemination and regional innovation.

Summary

Through an in-depth analysis of the systemic issues in STEAM education in East Asia, particularly regarding gender equality and regional coordination, the BNU-China team developed an action framework centered on the "Inspiration – Cultivation – Dissemination" cycle.

Starting from field research and outreach activities, we identified significant regional and gender-based gaps in STEAM education awareness and resource distribution, which became the starting point of our educational initiatives.

We proactively established a teacher training system, organized the "Symbiosis Stories" teaching workshop, and formed multiple teaching support teams to deliver well-designed STEAM education courses to different regions. This created a positive feedback loop linking curriculum design, teacher development, and classroom practice. Building on this foundation, we further expanded our impact through digital platform development, content innovation, and the open sharing of interdisciplinary educational resources.

To truly “go global”, we leveraged three key platforms:Institutional support from Beijing Normal University’s teacher education system,Domestic collaboration networks, and International organizations, such as the UNESCO Earth Charter Education Chair and the China–ASEAN Education Cooperation Week.Through these efforts, we initiated the China–ASEAN iGEMers STEAM Education Alliance, promoting cross-regional cooperation. This comprehensive set of measures achieved a cascade amplification effect, moving from problem identification to systemic response, effectively bridging the structural gaps in STEAM education related to regional development and gender equality. It also laid the groundwork for building a more inclusive, collaborative, and sustainable STEAM education ecosystem.