Collaboration

Overview

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This year, we established collaborative relationships with numerous teams and stakeholders through exchange activities.

Some may be focused on the iGEM competition, others on promoting the Sustainable Development Goals. We were connected by a shared desire to make the world a better place.

On a project-by-project basis, we exchanged experiences and received a wide range of suggestions across various areas, including experimentation, modeling, HP, and sustainability. These connections and collaborations have infused new vitality into our designs and provided us with a more diverse perspective. Their input has been crucial in shaping our projects.

In addition, we explored life and learning, enriching our perspectives through sharing.

What we appreciate most is that collaboration is a two-way street. We shared our sincere thoughts and received valuable advice.

Along the way, we forged friendships and engaged in meaningful exchanges. We sincerely thank everyone who collaborated with us!

Collaboration Details

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with BUCT-China

We invited BUCT to participate in the offline event as a co-organizer. The event was our first in-person meeting. Our tacit and efficient collaboration ensured a smooth and well-received event.

HP Experience Sharing:

• After the event, we discussed the reasons for its success. Students from Beijing University of Chemical Technology highly praised the game content. They suggested that increased publicity for the event could have enhanced its effectiveness.
• Inspired by this, we released a special newsletter after the event, including event content, a collection of cultural and creative highlights, and behind-the-scenes planning highlights. This effectively extended the event’s popularity, optimized the participant experience, and fostered a cycle of continued engagement with the science community.
• We established a deep friendship during this event and maintained close contact throughout the subsequent project design process.
• In April and June 2025, we had in-depth discussions on project design and teamwork.
• In July 2025, we had the privilege of visiting the Beijing University of Chemical Technology campus, touring their laboratories, and further discussing the latest progress of the project.

with BNU-China

Building on our shared focus on the synthesis of Viroid particles, we engaged in in-depth exchanges and collaboration.

• At the seminar, we each presented our project designs. BNU-China pointed out that we need to take into account the effect of the bacterial CRISPR system on incoming plasmids. To address this concern, we later carried out a theoretical validation. The toxin plasmid we selected originates from the pathogen itself, meaning its genes would not be specifically recognized by the bacterial immune system. The targeted killing effect of the toxin plasmid works by expressing the toxin gene within the pathogen, thereby disrupting its toxin–antitoxin system.
• In the field of education, BNU, as China’s leading normal university, has extensive experience in education and psychology. In our course design, we carefully incorporated one of their suggested formats: the “course package”. Accordingly, we developed a set of materials combining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 13, SDG 14, and SDG 15) with knowledge related to the CAU project, including PPT slides, course videos, and feedback forms. In subsequent educational activities, this course package was provided to the Communication University of China and Dali Gusheng Primary School, enabling online teaching to be carried out.

with Symbio challenge

During our science outreach roadshow, we were honored to collaborate with the SynBio Challenge to jointly host a synthetic biology showcase. The event not only featured a variety of interactive games and prizes, but also included a talk by Dr. Xiao Yi from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, who introduced participants to the history of iGEM.

with CHUNGENG program

We co-organized a seven-day CHUNGENG summer school together with several students from the College of Biological Sciences at China Agricultural University.

• Each evening, we rehearsed the next day’s teaching sessions with one another. For the course “The Synthetic Biology Journey of Chocolate”, some participants pointed out that over-simplifying concepts before introducing them could feel redundant. Instead, they suggested using direct analogies—such as referring to DNA as “the instruction manual of the cell”—to make the content more accessible for elementary school students. After we adjusted the course accordingly, the synthetic biology class was met with enthusiastic responses. Judging from the students’ answers, they developed a clear understanding of the basic logic and concepts of synthetic biology.
• Given the difficulty of the material, we also designed an engaging reward system: students earned “little stars” based on the number of correct answers they gave, and these stars could be accumulated for tiered prizes. This system effectively motivated participation. Inspired by our approach, other instructors adopted similar tiered reward mechanisms in their own classes, which greatly increased classroom interaction and activity.

Conversation

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Peking University Exchange Meeting

On August 2, 2025, we attended the Drug Targeted Delivery Exchange Conference hosted by Peking University.

• The participating teams engaged in in-depth discussions on critical issues such as biosafety. During the meeting, we presented the vision of our project and provided updates on our human practices and modeling work.
• We also attentively followed the presentations delivered by teams including BNU-China, PekingHSC, BIT-China, BUCT-iGEM, UCAS-China, and Peking.
• In the interactive sessions, we openly shared the challenges we encountered in experimental design, human practices, and modeling, and gained valuable insights from the advice and experiences offered by more seasoned teams.
• Our lead modeler sought guidance from the Peking to address specific modeling challenges. The Peking University students provided us with detailed advice on strengthening the connection between modeling and experimental work. Following the exchange, the modeling team conducted a comprehensive review and group discussion.
• After five months of HP work, we identified prevalent issues in science education, and solicited feedback from participants at the exchange session.

CCIC

The 12th China iGEMer Conference (CCiC 2025) was held from August 6 to 8 at the Beijing Zhongguancun Exhibition Center Conference Center.

• Centered around the theme “Youth Research × Cross-disciplinary Boundaries × Industry Perspectives”, embarking on innovative initiatives, the event attracted 108 teams.
• Building upon CCiC’s distinctive youthful energy and community atmosphere, this edition incorporated more industry guests, interdisciplinary discussions, and thematic workshops, creating new pathways from “scientific exchange” to “ecosystem development”.
• During the conference, we engaged in project interactions and exchanges with teams including NUDT-CHINA, SUSTech-BIO, BUCT-CHINA, BIT-China, HKUST-CHINA, CUG-CHINA, CUHK-Shenzhen and Uprize-1.

Wet Lab Experience Sharing:

• At the CCiC conference, through in-depth discussions with teams including Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech-BIO), we further solidified the technical pathway for integrating the longer T7 phage genomic DNA fragments into the chassis bacterial genome.
• We recognized that constructing the pKD46-sacB system to perform single-exchange and double-exchange homologous recombination constitutes the core procedure for achieving this integration, and clarified the pivotal role of the Red homologous recombination system in this process.

Dry Lab Experience Sharing:

• Through exchanges and discussions with various teams at CCiC, we have identified two core directions for our modeling work: first, pioneering innovative modeling from the ground up, and second, creatively integrating and applying existing resources.
• We also recognized that integrating cutting-edge AI technologies is an inevitable trend. Based on the above, we have gained greater clarity on optimizing and advancing our software development.

HP Experience Sharing:

• At the CCiC Conference, we engaged in in-depth exchanges with several teams.
• In terms of experimentation, we further clarified the technical pathway for integrating T7 phage genomic fragments into the chassis bacterium genome and recognized the critical role of pKD46-sacB and the Red homologous recombination system in this process.
• In modeling, we identified two core directions: developing innovative models from scratch and creatively integrating existing resources, while also acknowledging that combining modeling with cutting-edge AI technologies is an inevitable trend—thereby providing clearer guidance for software optimization.
• In human practices, we exchanged experiences and cultural products with teams such as Uprize-1, NUDT-CHINA, and SUSTech-BIO, gaining valuable inspiration and opportunities for collaboration.

NAU - Traditional Culture Exchange

At the invitation of NAU’s educational initiative ICII (Into China, Into iGEM), we delivered a presentation on the theme “A Dialogue Across Millennia—-The Modern Silk Road of Synthetic Biology”, sharing the story of how our project connects traditional culture with synthetic biology.

• Originating from the Silk Road, the tomato stands as a vivid testament to the exchange between Chinese and foreign civilizations, carrying profound significance in Chinese history and culture. Its plump, red appearance symbolizes good fortune and prosperity in traditional New Year paintings and paper-cutting art, while its homophonic link to the word “shi” conveys wishes for “success in all endeavors”.
• Yet bacterial speck disease poses a severe threat to the tomato industry. To address this, we designed phage-like particles that hold promise in safeguarding the production of tomatoes and other crops—-thus bridging not only agricultural resilience but also cultural memory and collective sentiment.

Afternoon interaction with The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China

On the afternoon of September 16, we held a project exchange with the RDFZ-China.

• We introduced the RDFZ iGEM team to the rules of our iGEM cardiovascular card game and played it together. The game was met with unanimous praise and enthusiasm.
• The RDFZ students expressed their appreciation for our design approach and even shared the idea of creating a customized card game for their own team.

Conclusion

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Through collaboration and conversation, we gained the opportunity to view our work from more diverse perspectives and continuously refine our project. By engaging with different ideas and approaches, we were introduced to a wide variety of creative iGEM project designs, from which we greatly benefited.

In the end, we feel deeply honored to walk this journey together with you — embracing the warmth and friendship that the iGEM community has brought us.