Our Sponsors And Partners

Acknowledgement for cooperation

In the process of promoting the "Monkey King Fish Vaccine" project in East China University of Science and Technology, we have received a lot of support and help from many enterprises and schools. Their assistance has played a vital role in the smooth development of the project. Here, we would like to express our sincere thanks to them.

1. Corporate partnerships

(1) Qinhuangdao Zhenli Aquatic Products
Qinhuangdao Zhenli Aquatic provided us with a valuable opportunity to gain deep insights into the modern aquaculture industry. Through field research, we gained firsthand knowledge of the farm's overall layout, breeding scale, main species, and daily management processes. Particularly noteworthy were their advanced intelligent management system, which demonstrated IoT technology applications in real-time water quality monitoring and fish health status tracking. This experience has become crucial reference for optimizing our vaccination protocols and improving hardware design, while also clarifying innovation directions in key technical fields like automated injection systems.

(2) Hainan Wanning Linlan Group
As a leading aquaculture enterprise in Wanning, Hainan, Linlan Group has provided invaluable firsthand data and practical experience through its groundbreaking achievements in Oriental sea urchin breeding. By participating in their technical training programs, we systematically acquired cutting-edge vaccination techniques and engaged in in-depth discussions with experts regarding critical aspects like vaccine selection, optimal timing, and dosage control. This hands-on learning has deepened our understanding of achieving safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and ease of administration in developing the Miniatus Grouper vaccine, offering crucial insights for our project development.

(3) Shandong Guoxin Oriental Aquaculture Base
Through field research at Guoxin Oriental Aquaculture Base, we gained comprehensive insights into the full-cycle operation system of industrialized aquaculture. This included fish fry stocking, water quality management, disease prevention, and adult fish harvesting. The smart monitoring systems implemented provided tangible demonstrations of IoT technology applications in water quality control, fish behavior tracking, and automated feeding. Regarding vaccine immunization techniques, technical staff at the base engaged in in-depth discussions with our team about existing challenges in injection protocols. Their insights not only guided the development of our submerged immunization device but also enabled us to gather specific corporate requirements for cost control, vaccine storage conditions, and immunization effectiveness evaluation – all of which served as crucial practical references for our R&D efforts.

(4) Laizhou Mingbo Aquatic Products Co., LTD
Mingbo Aquaculture is renowned in the industry for its advanced breeding techniques, intelligent management systems, and sustainable development model. During our visit to their smart recirculating aquaculture nursery workshop, we gained in-depth insights into efficient seedling cultivation processes, feed feeding strategies, and pest control measures. Their advantages in water conservation and environmental protection provided crucial practical references for exploring vaccine immunization technology applications. Through specialized discussions with technical teams, we clarified the actual effectiveness, operational challenges, and scalability of existing vaccination methods. This experience has laid the groundwork for developing high-efficiency, cost-effective immunization technologies suitable for large-scale implementation.

(5) Yantai Tianyuan Aquatic Products Co., LTD
As a national-level premium flounder breeding farm and provincial-level original seed farm, Tianyuan Aquatic Resources holds industry-leading positions in marine fish breeding and aquaculture. The industrialized recirculating aquaculture system demonstrates significant advantages including water and energy conservation, as well as accelerated fish growth rates, providing crucial references for technological optimization. Regarding vaccination technology, the company's technical team addressed existing challenges in injection methods and highlighted the urgent need for innovative immunization approaches. This insight has clarified our innovation roadmap, directing R&D efforts toward automated injection systems, submerged immunization techniques, and oral vaccine delivery systems to resolve current bottlenecks in vaccination practices.

(6) Shanghai Xuhui Youth Center
The Shanghai Xuhui Youth Center has created a unique community platform for the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) iGEM team. Here, we engaged in in-depth discussions with science and technology enthusiasts about their competition project "Sun Wukong". Their insightful questions and cross-disciplinary perspectives—from technical details to interdisciplinary perspectives—provided fresh inspiration for optimizing the project. This experience highlighted the importance of aligning research initiatives with societal needs, infused new vitality into the team, and demonstrated the unique value of youth centers as platforms for innovative practice among young innovators.

2. School partnerships

(1) University of Liverpool West
During an exchange event, the Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University iGEM team shared their cross-college selection mechanism and international talent development model. They emphasized enhancing team collaboration efficiency through modular division of labor. Their case study in biomedical industrialization demonstrated pathways bridging academic research with industry needs, providing valuable insights for optimizing team composition and succession mechanisms while advancing project implementation. This initiative has facilitated knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation among university iGEM teams in synthetic biology.

(2) Nanjing University of Technology
The iGEM team from Nanjing Tech University shared their experience in building disciplinary expertise-based talent pipelines, offering fresh perspectives for optimizing team composition and succession mechanisms at our university. Their engineering platform development insights provided valuable references for technology implementation in our projects. Furthermore, Nanjing Tech University's practice of aligning projects with local industrial demands inspired our university to refine the "research-society" two-way empowerment model. This collaboration strengthened inter-university cooperation consensus and expanded the team's multidimensional understanding of iGEM competition objectives.

Once again, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the enterprises and institutions that have supported and assisted us. Their participation and contributions have been instrumental in achieving today's accomplishments. Moving forward, we look forward to collaborating with like-minded partners to advance sustainable aquaculture development and contribute more effectively to addressing global challenges in aquaculture diseases.

Introduction

Collaboration is at the heart of synthetic biology innovation. Throughout our iGEM journey, the ECUST team has actively engaged with diverse stakeholders - from industry leaders and small-scale farmers to academic institutions and youth organizations. These partnerships have not only enriched our "Smart Vac" project but also contributed to the broader goal of advancing sustainable aquaculture practices.

Our collaborative approach spans multiple dimensions: technical knowledge exchange with industry partners, grassroots engagement with local farming communities, academic discourse with peer institutions, and international outreach at global exhibitions. Each interaction has provided unique insights that shaped our project's development and enhanced its real-world applicability.

Industry Partnerships

Hainan Wanning Linlan Group Collaboration

Our team conducted extensive field research and participated in breeding training at Hainan Wanning Linlan Group, a leading aquaculture enterprise specializing in high-value species like Oriental sea urchins and red seabream. This partnership provided invaluable insights into industrial-scale breeding operations and vaccination protocols.

Tianyuan Aquatic Products Research Partnership

We established a research collaboration with Tianyuan Aquatic Products, a pioneering company in recirculating aquaculture systems. This partnership focused on understanding advanced vaccination practices and automated injection systems, directly informing our Smart Vac system design.

Community Engagement

Liaoning Huludao Individual Farmers Exchange

Understanding the challenges faced by small-scale operators was crucial for our project's accessibility goals. We conducted in-depth interviews with over 20 individual aquaculture businesses in Huludao, ranging from small family operations to medium-sized enterprises.

These exchanges revealed critical insights: most small operators rely on basic pond systems without modern environmental controls due to financial constraints. This finding reinforced our commitment to developing cost-effective, scalable solutions that could benefit farmers across all operational scales.

Academic Exchanges

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Exchange

Our offline exchange with Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University focused on interdisciplinary collaboration strategies and talent cultivation models. This interaction helped optimize our team structure and project management approaches.

Nanjing Tech University Collaboration

The exchange with Nanjing Tech University provided valuable insights into engineering platform construction and echelon team building. Their experience in translating academic research into practical applications significantly influenced our implementation strategy.

Shanghai Guanghua United Team Online Exchange

Our online academic exchange with Shanghai Guanghua United Team fostered deep technical discussions on synthetic biology applications in aquaculture, particularly focusing on vaccine delivery systems and AI-driven disease prediction models.

International Outreach

2025 China International Industry Fair

Our team's debut at the China International Industry Fair marked a significant milestone in transitioning our research from laboratory to market. The Smart Vac system attracted considerable attention from global industry leaders, validating our approach to intelligent aquaculture automation.

Shanghai Xuhui Youth Center Exchange

Our collaboration with Shanghai Xuhui Youth Center extended our outreach to young innovators and future scientists. This engagement strengthened university-community ties and inspired the next generation to pursue careers in biotechnology and sustainable development.