Education

Overview

For all of our projects, the following goals were prioritized:

• Make education accessible for everyone, regardless of age, country, or physical abilities.
• Promote mutual learning between the participants as well as between the participants and the organizers.

In addition, the projects aimed to achieve at least 1 of the following goals:

• Increase opportunities for hands-on lab experiments in Japan, especially for youth.
• Improve accessibility, have a wider and more diverse audience by utilizing online outreach.
• Create educational tools to increase the involvement of youth in synthetic biology, and leave materials for future iGEM teams to build upon.
• Increase recognition and involvement of synthetic biology in our community on 3 levels. (Hiroo Gakuen Junior High & High School, Tokyo, and Japan).

To achieve this, we constructed and executed events for elementary school students, middle school students, high school students, university students, and the general public to spread the knowledge of synthetic biology, Jabara, and Narirutin. Our in-person events were held at our school and at several locations throughout Tokyo, and our online events reached people of all ages and nationalities, including the UK and Hong Kong.

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Lab Workshop

Organisers: iGEM HG - Tokyo & ADvanced Lab

Date: 23rd July 2025

Audience: Middle and High School Students in Japan

Location: Leave a Nest Lab

Target Group: Middle school and high school students (12-15 years old) with little to no prior knowledge of synthetic biology or synthetic biology lab equipment.

Aim: In Japan, science classes are taught mostly through lectures, and there are little to no opportunities for laboratory experiments. Especially when it comes to synthetic biology, we rarely see a school that has it in their curriculum. We felt the best way to learn is through hands-on experiments and discovering the answers to scientific questions on your own. Therefore, we decided to host a lab workshop with a lecture, a lab experiment, and Q & A session.

Our main aim was to teach participants how to use the equipment often used in biosyn lab, such as micropipettes and an autoclave, while also piquing the participants’ interest in biosyn. The target age group was 13 to 17 years old, and all of them had little to no prior knowledge of synthetic biology or synthetic biology lab equipment. (We were successful in reaching beyond our target audience, since the participants ranged from 14-16.)

The lab workshop consisted of creating a colony of E coli bacteria with GFP proteins fused into their plasmid, along with a slide show lecture, discussions, and Q&A sessions.

We started by giving the participants a lecture on what synthetic biology is and how it is applied in society. Next, we explained that despite it being useful and revolutionary, it could cause negative effects to the existing nature, and how there are laws and rules to prevent synthesized organisms from harming natural life.

To teach the participants how to use the lab equipment, we explained and demonstrated how each tool was used and why they were used before starting the actual procedures of the experiment.

To avoid confusion, we presented a summary of the experimental procedures before beginning the lab. The detailed steps were explained as we progressed through each step of the experiment.

Within the procedures, if there were some unfamiliar terms, such as pipetting or heat shock, we explained the definition and why it was necessary. In each step of the procedure, we also explained why each substance, such as CaCl2 and SOC medium, was used, and how it affected the samples at a molecular level.

To enhance learning as much as possible within the limited time we had, and to ensure safety among the participants, we assigned one member to each participant, allowing the participants and the members to engage in a rich and engaging one-on-one teaching/learning. This was effective for the experiment to run smoothly, as participants could quickly ask a question about the tools or the procedure to their assigned members.

Later, to encourage the interaction between participants and between participants and members, and to foster the participants’ curiosity in synbio, we held a Q&A session during the waiting times. The participants asked thought-provoking questions such as “why the E.coli samples are a liquid if they’re bacteria” and “why frozen E.coli samples must be thawed using ice water instead of room temperature water.”

Since this was a one-day lab, we could not incubate the participants’ samples for 24 hours. We made up for it by showing the participants a pre-made sample that had been made and incubated by the members.

By looking at the pre-made samples, the participants analyzed and discussed the results with their fellow participants.

The participants left comments such as “It was good to have the opportunity to engage with synthetic biology because it isn't common in Japan,” and the lab went smoothly overall. However, we were unable to collect a large number of participants because the date the registration for the workshop opened was close to the date of the workshop.

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Deaf Lab

Organisers: iGEM HG-Tokyo (Linna Sato, Ryota Kamikura)

Date: 5th August 2025

Location: Hiroo Gakuen Junior and Senior High School

Audience: 2 High School Students from Hiroo Gakuen

Target Group: Middle school and high school students (12-15 years old) with little to no prior knowledge of synthetic biology or synthetic biology lab equipment.

Aim: By simulating the experiences of deaf and mute people in the lab, we aimed to increase awareness of the deaf community in Japan and promote a more inclusive learning environment, while also providing Japanese students with more opportunities for hands-on lab experience.

The aim is to simulate the experience of deaf and mute people in the lab, and to help our team and the participants to understand the obstacles they face when participating in labs. We decided to focus on the deaf and mute community because verbal communication plays such an important role in our laboratory activities, and therefore we believed that addressing the hardships they face could contribute to making participation in science more accessible.

Summary

After a pre-lab interview, the participants were put into pairs, and asked to put on headphones/earphones and play music so that they could not hear any outside voices or sounds. The participants were then given the experimental protocol, and followed the protocol to complete 3 simple experiments. The first experiment required the participants to use yeast to blow up a balloon, the second required the participants to extract the DNA from fruits, and the last experiment was a simple sketching exercise using a microscope and an amoeba sample. The first two experiments did not yield the results that were expected, as the balloon did not blow up as large and we were not able to observe the extracted DNA from the fruits. However, these results were likely due to the multiple errors that occurred during the experiment, such as misusing equipment and trouble with consulting each other during the experiment. This likely could have been avoided if the participants were able to freely communicate. Furthermore, the participants did not notice when they dropped a lab apparatus on the floor. Luckily, the entire event was monitored by the two facilitators who ensured the safety of all participants throughout the entire event, and it was only a plastic funnel that fell, so therefore it did not bring much danger to any of the participants. However it would have been a major hazard if a fragile apparatus, such as a glass test tube or a beaker, was dropped when there was no supervisor.

Mutual Learning

Through this activity, participants not only learned the experimental procedures, but also experienced the communication barriers faced by individuals who cannot speak easily in a laboratory setting. The organizers learned about these obstacles by directly observing how students struggled to communicate well during the experiment.

Data Collection

Data was collected through a pre-lab interview, observations during the activity, and a post-lab interview.

PRE-LAB QUESTIONNAIRE: ANSWERS SUMMARIZED

Q. Do you have a deaf/mute friend/worked with them to accomplish a task?
→ No.

Q. When do you communicate during lab classes?
→ When getting materials, telling people what to do, discussing the results.

POST-LAB QUESTIONNAIRE: ANSWERS SUMMARIZED

Q. What was the most difficult part of this activity?
→ Using the funnel in experiment 1. We attempted to use the funnel to pour the sugar into the bottle, however the sugar obstructed the funnel’s path, due to its large amount.

Q. What kind of cues did you use instead of verbal to communicate?
→ Typed using a mobile phone. This was the most effective.
→ Hand gestures.
→ Pointed at protocol.

Q. What tools/help would you like if you were to do this task again?
→ It may have been easier if we had decided on the definitions of certain signs.

Q. What would you have used if you did not have access to your phone?
→ Pen and paper.
→ If our hands were dirty, we would mainly use hand gestures, since that would be faster.

OBSERVATIONS BY FACILITATORS:

• Sugar got stuck in funnel and had to redo the funneling task
• May have been prevented if participants could speak and pay close attention to their partner’s actions, and the participant pouring the sugar could ask their partner to confirm that their actions are correct
• Participants did not notice when they dropped the funnel on the ground
• May have led to injury if a more hazardous object was dropped
• Trouble with receiving advice from facilitators
• Facilitators tried to suggest the participants to use a stick to unclog the funnel, however it took time for the participants to understand the gestures of the facilitators
• Trouble with some steps of the experiment where the protocol was unclear
• Communication between the participants and facilitators was challenging, as neither the participants nor the facilitators knew sign language.
• Hand gestures were used, however it was inefficient
• Trouble consulting other participants about how to dispose the trash
• Due to how none of the participants nor the facilitators knew how to dispose fruit in the laboratory
• Took off headphones when asking the teacher → May have caused trouble if a deaf student asks a teacher who does not know sign language

Materials for Future Use

We have created a protocol including the procedures for the 3 experiments performed in this activity. The experiments are rather simple; they do not require much prior knowledge. We believe that this protocol could be used not only when future teams host the same activity, but also when teams need a series of simple experiments to teach young children, or to obtain data about another matter.

Conclusion/Future Improvements

Our main findings include how the loss of the option of verbal communication, in high schoolers who have no experience in sign language, causes many problems in the lab, such as inducing minor errors that would have not occurred if the participants could communicate, as well as provoking major safety hazards. These findings could suggest that people who cannot communicate verbally, such as those who are deaf or mute, may have similar troubles, especially because sign language could not be used when both hands are occupied during an experiment. To combat these difficulties, we believe that a new efficient way of communication, as well as help from technological devices (such as a visual alarm that activates when it detects the sound of glass breaking), could be useful.

Deaf Lab Report

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Electrophoresis Lab Workshop

Organisers: iGEM HG-Tokyo

Date: 20th September 2025

Audience: Middle School Students in Japan. The target age group was 12 to 15 years old, and all of them had little to no prior knowledge of synthetic biology or synthetic biology lab equipment.

Location: Hiroo Gakuen Junior and Senior High School

Aim: We had failed to collect a large number of students in the last lab workshop involving E.coli and GFP. We thought some of the reasons were that the date the registration form opened was too close to the day of the workshop, and the schedule of the workshop was too long for busy students. Therefore, we decided to open the registration form about 3 weeks in advance and shorten the time required for the workshop to 1.5 hours. In the end, we were able to gather 4 times the number of participants.

Our objective for this experiment was to introduce synthetic biology to middle school students who have very few, or have never had, the opportunities to interact with this field of study. Through using micropipettes to eject solvents into wells of agarose gel, which imitates the processes of electrophoresis, we aimed to provide students with hands-on experience working on the experiment using equipment in biosynthetic labs and discover their passion for working in these fields.

Summary

The workshop consisted of using micropipettes to transfer premade colored samples into the wells of an agarose gel plate, along with a slide show lecture.

We started by giving the participants a lecture on what synthetic biology is and how it is applied in society. Next, we explained that despite its application being useful and revolutionary, it could also cause negative effects to the existing nature, and how there are laws and rules to prevent synthesized organisms from harming natural life.

Because our main aim was to get the participants accustomed to using lab equipment when experimenting, we explained why and how each tool was used before starting the actual procedures of the experiment.

To avoid confusion, we presented a summary of the experimental procedures and the logic behind why and how it works, such as the characteristics of DNA and electrophoresis, before beginning the lab. Four members from the team participating in the experiment interacted with the participants by demonstrating the works of equipment such as micropipettes. Within these smaller groups, both parties engaged in Q&A sessions and more detailed discussions regarding electrophoresis or synthetic biology.

This experience was beneficial for both our team and the participants. The participants had the opportunity to use lab equipment they wouldn’t have otherwise and gained hands-on experience working with them. And for us, we managed to further pique our interest in the field of synthetic biology and conduct experiments with fellow students. Before and after the event, we conducted a survey. Around 85% of the participants responded that they are more interested in both synthetic biology and working in labs than they were prior to the workshop. Around the same percentage of participants answered that they had fun, as well. There were a few returnees from our previous lab workshop as well as a few others interested in joining our team.

Since this was a workshop, we could not use DNA ladders or actual plasmid samples. We made up for it by using different colored waters and mixtures of them since electricity should separate them as well. However, we were also unable to use electricity in the experiment as time did not allow us, and consequently, we resorted to showing them a video on how it should’ve turned out. For future experiments, we learned that students our age are interested in medical-related lab experiments, using actual plasmid and DNA samples, or turning bacteria into red fluorescent bacteria.

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ICL Online Seminar

Organiser / Collaborators: iGEM HG-Tokyo and Team Growf (Imperial College London iGEM Team)

Date: 26th August 2025, 8:00–9:30 PM JST (12:00–1:30 PM UK time).

Location: Google Meet

Audience: While this online seminar was primarily aimed at elementary and middle school students interested in synthetic biology and the iGEM competition, it was also open to a wider audience interested in the applications of synthetic biology.

Aim: For students living in Tokyo, it may be easy to access our events like the lab workshops.

However, we felt there needed to be educational opportunities for people outside of popular cities like Tokyo, and across the globe, so we decided to hold an online seminar with Imperial College London.

The aim is to make synthetic biology approachable for beginners and to share both teams’ projects interactively, showing the social value of research and future learning opportunities.

Summary

There were 40 people registered in advance (10 elementary, 19 middle school, 4 high school, 2 university students, and 5 working adults), and about 25 effective participants on the day. The seminar began with HG-Tokyo introducing iGEM and synthetic biology in simple terms. Imperial College London then presented their cultivated meat project, explaining how they aim to address environmental and animal welfare issues by producing growth factors with Pichia pastoris to reduce costs. HG-Tokyo followed with our project against hay fever, describing our dual approach of narirutin biosynthesis and fusion peptides, as well as our efforts to design a recyclable and inclusive nasal spray container. The seminar concluded with an interview and Q&A, where participants from elementary to university level asked questions and both teams responded, creating an active two-way exchange.

By presenting side by side, we gave the audience the chance to compare research at different stages. Pre-submitted questions and the live Q&A encouraged participants to take an active role, while the presenters responded with real student perspectives, making synthetic biology feel more accessible.

Educational Materials

This online seminar was recorded and will be released as a video. This will allow people who could not attend, as well as those who may develop an interest in the future, to access it as an educational resource.

Conclusion / Improvements

This online seminar provided a valuable opportunity to show both the social applications of synthetic biology and the real learning experiences of students. In the post-event survey, 80% of respondents said their understanding of synthetic biology had deepened, confirming the educational impact of the session. In the future, we will release the video to expand access to a wider audience.

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Wikipedia

Organiser / Collaborators: iGEM HG-Tokyo

Date: September 2025

Audience: General public (Anyone who comes across the page of Narirutin and Jabara)

Location: Wikipedia page

Aim: When we were researching Narirutin, we saw that there was limited information on Wikipedia accessible to users. Therefore, we edited the Wikipedia page for “Narirutin” and “Jabara” to spread information related to our project to the public.

The aim is to offer accurate and detailed information to people who are researching Narirutin and Jabara or any related topic.

For Narirutin, information on where Narirutin can be found and how it prevents the release of histamine has been added. For “Jabara”, information about its uses, including cosmetics and alleviating allergy symptoms, has been added.

The parts inside the red rectangle are the new edits.

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Video Game

Collaborator / Organizer: iGEM HG-Tokyo (Creator: Marika Shimizu)

Date: Developed in August 2025

Location: Online

Audience: Elementary and middle students without prior knowledge about synthetic biology

Aim:We believe that one of the most fun and engaging ways to teach young children is through online games. We also thought that by creating a game, it would make it easier for children to understand some of the complicated concepts in synthetic biology.

The aim of Cell Scavenger was to create an engaging, educational tool that introduces fundamental concepts of cell biology and synthetic biology through interactive gameplay. By transforming scientific learning into an accessible and enjoyable experience, the project sought to inspire curiosity about how living systems function and how synthetic biology can be applied to real-world challenges.

Summary

The player’s goal is to collect essential organelles (nucleus, ribosome, etc.) to build a complete and functional cell. As the player navigates the video game, they encounter question blocks that trigger Q&As about synthetic biology, ranging from the safety of genetic engineering to medical applications.

This interactive design combines the excitement of exploration with active learning, encouraging players to apply their knowledge as they progress. The game was developed as part of HG-Tokyo’s educational outreach initiatives to make synthetic biology more approachable for students and the general public.

How mutual learning was achieved

Throughout the development of Cell Scavenger, feedback from team members and test players helped refine the balance between gameplay and educational content. Multiple parts of the game (the sound design, accessibility to certain bricks, etc.) were updated as a result of feedback.

Educational materials that can be used in the future

Cell Scavenger can continue to serve as a versatile educational tool in workshops, classrooms, and public science events. The game’s question sets can be expanded or customized to align with different learning levels, and its modular design allows other iGEM teams or educators to adapt it for new topics in biology.

Conclusion / Improvements

Developing Cell Scavenger demonstrated that digital games can be powerful tools for science communication. In future iterations, we plan to enhance the graphics, diversify the quiz database, and add more complex storyline elements by creating new game levels. By doing so, we hope to make the game even more engaging and informative for a wider audience.

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Digital Postcard Project

Collaborator / Organizer: Team Growf (Imperial College London iGEM Team)

Date: September 2025

Location: Online (organized and shared through email and Google Meet)

Audience: Current iGEM participants around the world, as well as students and young people who are interested in synthetic biology and may aspire to join iGEM in the future.

Aim:Our aim in participating was to contribute to a creative, international initiative that connects iGEM teams through culture and synthetic biology. By exchanging postcards, we hoped to share our identity and project with a wide audience while also inspiring future iGEMers.

Summary

HG-Tokyo joined the Digital Postcard Project organized by Team Growf. Each participating team designed a digital postcard and an accompanying letter introducing their university, city, and project. We created our postcard and letter as a team effort, showcasing both our cultural identity and our pollen allergy prevention project.

In return, we received postcards from other teams such as Team Growf and MIT-MAHE. These designs highlighted the diversity of cultural backgrounds, research interests, and creative approaches across the iGEM community. By collecting and sharing postcards, the project turned into a colorful archive of global participation.

How mutual learning was achieved

We learned about other teams’ projects, cultures, and ways of communicating science through their postcards. At the same time, our own design became a tool for sharing our project with an international audience in a simple, accessible way. This reciprocal exchange fostered both scientific and cultural understanding.

Materials for future use

Our postcard design and letter can continue to serve as outreach materials for introducing our project to younger students, sponsors, or the general public. Similarly, the postcards we received from other teams can be used in educational settings to demonstrate how synthetic biology is approached around the world.

Conclusion / Improvements

The Digital Postcard Project taught us that outreach does not always require laboratory work; creative expression can also connect people to science. In future iterations, we would like to expand participation and ensure that postcards are also displayed in physical exhibitions at schools or public science events, further widening the audience.

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Hand Gestures Project

Collaborators: University of Hong Kong (iGEM Team HKU-HongKong), HCY-PCMS High School (iGEM Team HK-HCY-PCMS), Southern University of Science and Technology (iGEM Team SUSTech-BIO)

Date: September 27th

Location: Notre Dame College, Hong Kong, Online

Audience: Teenagers with hearing difficulties

Aim: After the deaf lab held back in August, we realized that there were many obstacles for deaf people in the lab. We thought that there may be more challenges when it comes to learning synthetic biology as a deaf person. To combat this, we created videos of synthetic biology terms expressed in sign language as well as a short explanation for each of those terms. We aimed to introduce deaf students to foundational concepts in DNA and RNA.

Summary

The event was held in person in Hong Kong, with multiple iGEM teams internationally collaborating both in person and online. HK-HCY-PCMS provided an original card game (ATGCU) that matches DNA & RNA base pairs and a paper model of the DNA to explain its structure. HKU-HongKong was the main contributor in communicating and reaching out to Notre Dame College. They also held a dynamic lecture on basic concepts in gene engineering, by using simple analogies and real world applications. SUSTech-BIO created an interactive card game “Bio-Brick Creators” for the attendees to enjoy during the workshop, while learning about basic synthetic biology concepts. HG-Tokyo came up with possible hand gestures to describe words such as “Synthetic biology”, “Transcription”, “E. coli”, and more, and created clear videos with subtitles to explain basic synthetic biology concepts and words, so that it is easy to understand even without sound.

How mutual learning was achieved

This was our first time preparing materials for an audience with difficulty hearing. While the attendees learned about synthetic biology and DNA, we learned how to convey scientific concepts using only visuals. We received comments on our videos from teachers overseas, and ensured that our materials were easy to follow without audio.

Materials for future use

We created hand gestures to represent basic synthetic biology concepts and produced videos demonstrating them.The videos themselves could be used to educate others, and the idea to create hand gestures for clearer explanations could also be applied to other situations.

Conclusion/improvements

Science education should be fully accessible for all people. Through this event, we promoted equity in science education by providing resources for students with hearing difficulties. This international collaboration event was a great opportunity to teach students in Hong Kong, both hearing and nonhearing, about some basic concepts of DNA and synthetic biology using hand gestures and visuals. This event was made possible thanks to the international collaboration and cooperation of HKU-HongKong, HK-HCY-PCMS, and SUSTech-BIO.

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iGEM UTokyo Collaboration- Education Material for New iGEM Teams

Collaborator / Organizer: iGEM UTokyo

Location: Online (organized and shared through email, Zoom and Discord)

Audience: Future iGEM teams beyond year 2025

Aim: To inform the major struggles when starting an iGEM competition team and to introduce multiple ways that each team overcame them so that it would be a help for future iGEM teams.

Summary

As we were a new iGEM team which joined the competition this year, we were asked to help out with material made by the iGEM UTokyo team. Since we were the only high school team starting off in 2025, it would be a significant and unique experience to be shared. We shared how we tackled each challenge we encountered, and also shared how we did not face challenges that many other teams faced. This would be useful for not only new iGEM teams but for people who are considering starting an iGEM team.

How mutual learning was achieved

Through online meetings, the participating teams including iGEM UTokyo, NCKU, RPTU, and ZZU-China - exchanged the iGEM experiences and advice for future years. Each team presented what worked well in the formation of the team process, and the difficulties they faced. iGEM U-Tokyo compiled all of these diverse perspectives into one document as an educational resource. We, iGEM HG-Tokyo also gained extremely valuable insights into university-level team management, fundraising strategies, and long-term sustainability which helped not only other university iGEM teams but also improved our own team management and operations.

Materials for future use

iGEM UTokyo created a booklet called “How to start iGEM?” that summarizes the collaborating teams’ efforts and struggles during the team creation phase. This booklet is aimed to help people create and manage their own iGEM teams in the future, and includes tips and experiences for recruiting members, fundraising, team management, and more.

Conclusion / Improvements

This collaboration led to strong connections among iGEM teams and developed valuable knowledge for future participants willing to form an iGEM team. This is what all iGEM starters should have as a guide and wished we also had such a guide to develop the flow smoother. As this is our first year in the participation of iGEM, our involvement helped represent the perspective of high school teams who are iGEM starters, contributing to the inclusivity and diversity of the resource. For future improvement, we are planning to expand the material with more visual examples and multilingual support so that it could be accessible to more teams worldwide.

Material made by iGEM UTokyo

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Spring Meetup

Collaborator / Organizer: iGEM Japan Community

Date: March 31st

Location: Shibuya QWS

Audience: Japanese iGEM teams (high school to undergraduate level) preparing for the Grand Jamboree.

Aim: The aim of the Spring Meetup was to foster collaboration and mutual learning among Japanese iGEM teams by providing a platform to share project ideas, exchange constructive feedback, and engage in discussions on stakeholder engagement and human practices. It also aimed to strengthen the sense of community and support between teams as they prepare for the iGEM Grand Jamboree.

Summary

Each team (ASIJ, HG-Tokyo, Kyoto, Sci-net, TSUKUBA, UTokyo, Waseda-Tokyo) gave a brief 2-minute presentation on their project, summarizing the problem they were trying to solve and their approach. After the presentation, each team set up a poster booth, in which the team members could ask questions and provide further details on their projects.

Later, groups were formed with members across different teams. Each group was assigned a research topic related to synthetic biology and participated in discussions to identify potential stakeholders related to the topic, as well as formulate questions to ask these stakeholders.

How mutual learning was achieved

Through the Q&A sessions, we received constructive feedback on our projects, and through the discussions, we learned how to determine stakeholders, which was useful for the human practice department. In addition, there were multiple small talks between the participants, which allowed us to share each other’s projects in greater depth, such as the specific events being planned out by the education department.

Conclusion

This meetup gave our team a chance to share our project and receive feedback from competing iGEM teams and alumni. Through this event, the ties between the Japanese iGEM teams strengthened. We hope to continue these interactions to help each other throughout the iGEM season and to create a larger impact on the world of synthetic biology in Japan.

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Open Campus

Collaborator / Organizer:iGEM Japan Community, Linoa, iGEM HG-Tokyo

Date: July 20th 2025

Location: Center of Garage, Japan

Audience: Other researchers and participants from companies like Astellas

Aim: Throughout the season, a lot of our projects were aimed towards younger generations such as middle school students and high school students. We wanted to interact with people of a wider age range and with different backgrounds, while promoting? and discussing the topic of synthetic biology. A few audience members at this event were researchers, so we were able to hold discussions on synthetic biology at a higher level.

Summary

As iGEM HG-Tokyo, we did a poster presentation on synthetic biology, our team, our Narirutin project, and a short introduction of the iGEM competition itself. In addition, we conducted a sticker survey to collect information on the opinions of the general public on using synthetic biology for food and medical practices, and handed out our logo stickers to gain recognition.

For the sticker survey, the majority of the participants agreed to use biotechnology and gene editing for medical practices, and the majority of the participants had little to no hesitation towards consuming GMO products and medicine made by organisms that went through gene editing.

On the poster, we also promoted our lab workshops and our social media accounts.

The audience of the poster presentation had a wide age range, from junior high school students to adults who studied synthetic biology at university. We exchanged opinions and knowledge on the ethics of synthetic biology.

Our poster presentation was chosen by one of the main speakers at the event, and received an award.

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Summer meetup

Collaborator / Organizer: iGEM Japan Community

Date: 17th August 2025 (online) and 19th August 2025 (onsite)

Location: Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo.

Target group: Japanese iGEM teams preparing for the Grand Jamboree.

Aim: The aim of the Summer Meetup was to provide Japanese iGEM teams with a platform to present their projects, receive in-depth feedback, and engage in discussions that integrate both scientific and societal perspectives. It also aimed to foster collaboration, inspire critical thinking, and deepen understanding of synthetic biology's real-world applications through peer exchange and expert insights. It was also an attempt to strengthen the bond between the iGEM teams in Japan.

Summary

HG-Tokyo took part in both the online and onsite sessions of the 3rd Japan Summer Meetup.

Day 1 (Online): We presented our project and received a number of questions from other teams. These questions covered research design, technical approaches, application prospects, and social considerations. For example, we were asked about alternative candidate compounds, the reason for designing a fusion peptide, methods for purification and host selection, linker stability, and whether our outcomes could be developed as a pharmaceutical or a supplement. Other questions focused on stakeholder engagement and how our work might eventually be applied in society. These gave us important points to reflect on and reminded us to consider both scientific and social perspectives.

Day 2 (Onsite): We presented again and listened to the presentations of other teams. Hearing the variety of approaches helped us think about areas where we could improve our own project. In addition, keynote lectures were delivered by Mr. Takashi Ebihara, COO of GeneFrontier Corporation, and Professor Hirokazu Ichihashi, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo. They shared insights into the current directions of synthetic biology research and its industrial applications, which encouraged us to see our project in a broader context and think about its relevance to society.

How mutual learning was achieved

Through the Q&A sessions, we received constructive feedback from other teams, and during the onsite session we learned from the diverse presentations of others.

Materials for future use

Our presentation slides and the questions we received can serve as useful resources for refining our project and for future training or outreach events.

Conclusion / Improvements

The Summer Meetup showed us that refining a project requires more than laboratory data; it also involves understanding social impact, considering ethics, and building collaboration. Going forward, HG-Tokyo will carefully review the feedback we received and incorporate it into both our experimental plans and our implementation strategy. We also hope to strengthen our ties with Japanese iGEM teams through joint educational and outreach activities, turning the Summer Meetup into the starting point for longer-term cooperation that will help increase awareness of synthetic biology in Japan.

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Student Fair at Hayabusa Racing

Collaborator: CHANGE HOLDINGS Hayabusa Racing

Date: 10th August 2025

Location: Tokyo Innovation Base

Audience: High school teams aiming for robotic competitions

Aim: In Japan, there is little interaction between competitive teams that cover different subject areas. This student fair, which collected high school teams for multiple competitions, appealed to us as a great opportunity to reach out to high schoolers who are passionate about activities like robotics or mechanical engineering. Therefore, our aim was to educate Japanese high school students, university students, and adults interested in robotics and mechanical engineering about synthetic biology, through a presentation and a booth.

Summary

Our team was invited to the “Student Fair” hosted by a STEM Racing™ team Hayabusa Racing. Other than HG-Tokyo, 6 other high school teams were invited. As our team was the only iGEM team, as well as the only team working in a biological field, we were able to introduce synthetic biology and our research to those not actively participating in this field. The other teams were high school teams for robotics competitions, racing car competitions, and the “Tori-Ningen” competition. Other than the participating teams, the audience, including university students and adults, came to watch the presentations and visit the booths.

Our members had the opportunity to deliver a 10-minute presentation, and we utilized this opportunity to speak in front of individuals who are interested in machine engineering by helping them understand the basic idea behind synthetic biology. We also had a booth at the venue, and there we presented our project using a poster, inducing dialogue between the members of our team and the listeners.

Mutual learning

The presentation included some interactive elements, such as a quick poll on how many people in the audience have hay fever (about half), and how many people know what synthetic biology is (less than 10%). As these polls were collected in-person and involved everyone in the audience, there were some of our first polls that had minimum effect from certain selection biases. On the other hand, the audience learned the basics of synthetic biology from our presentation which we revised and edited to suit high school students.

For the poster booth, lots of mutual dialogue and learning occurred because of the interactive nature of the event. Not only were we able to educate people further on synthetic biology and on the biological concepts behind our project by talking to them individually, we were also able to learn which parts may be difficult to understand, and how we can explain the concept of synthetic biology in a way that it is easy to understand for people who are not participating actively in this field,. We also adapted our explanation style based on what we learned. We noticed that people had a relatively easy time grasping the concept of synthetic biology when provided the example of the biosynthesis of insulin using E. coli, so we used this explanation for further events such as the food coloring electrophoresis workshop.

Data Collection

During our pitch, we had the opportunity to take a poll where we asked the audience to raise their hands if they know what synthetic biology is. Only a few people, including a former iGEMer, raised their hand, showing that synthetic biology is not very well known among high school students interested in engineering.

Conclusion

Overall, through participating in this event, we were able to not only teach people about synthetic biology and our project, but also lower the bar of participation in synthetic biology. After interacting with other high school students, we asked them if they are interested in participating in iGEM or in research relating to synthetic biology, and many people said that after hearing our explanation, participation in iGEM or in research related to synthetic biology actually sounded realistic and interesting.

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Synthetic Biology Presentation at Keyaki Festival

Organizer: Miho Totsuka (HG-Tokyo, Education team)

Date: 4th and 5th October 2025

Location: Hiroo Gakuen Junior and Senior High School (Keyaki Festival)

Audience: A wide range of visitors, including elementary and middle school students, parents, and members of the local community who attended the school’s cultural festival (Keyaki Festival).

Aim: The Keyaki Festival is a popular festival among families who wish to enter Hiroo Gakuen Junior and Senior High School. As this festival usually welcomes more than 10,000 guests over the two days, we decided that we could use this opportunity to reach out not only to elementary school children, but also to groups of people whom we have never reached out to before, such as the parents of these children. Our goal was to introduce the concept and applications of synthetic biology to people of all ages, using simple explanations and real-world examples, and to encourage curiosity and understanding about how biology and technology can connect to society.

Summary of the event

The presentation took place during the two-day Keyaki Festival at Hiroo Gakuen and attracted around 20 audience members each day. It introduced the basics and history of synthetic biology, explaining how the field developed from early genetic engineering in the 1970s to the technologies used today. To make the concepts easier to understand, familiar examples such as plant-based meat and lab-grown milk were used. At the end of each session, a short Q&A encouraged discussion between the speaker and the audience. Questions included topics such as the ethics of modifying life and how synthetic biology could help solve environmental problems.

How mutual learning was achieved

Through this event, the audience gained a better understanding of synthetic biology, while the HG-Tokyo team learned how people outside the science community perceive the field. The interaction allowed both sides to recognize how accessible explanations and relatable examples can help bridge the gap between researchers and the public.

Educational materials that can be used in the future

The slides used in this presentation can be reused in future outreach events or as classroom resources to introduce synthetic biology in an accessible way.

Conclusion / Improvements:

This activity provided a valuable opportunity to communicate science to a wider audience and to make synthetic biology approachable for people of different ages and backgrounds. Based on the feedback received, HG-Tokyo plans to improve its educational materials and continue developing new ways to present science in a more inclusive and engaging manner.

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Social Media

Date: June 2025 ~ October 2025

Platform: Instagram, X, Note

Audience: People with little to no prior knowledge in synthetic biology/people who are interested in our team’s activities/people with hay fever

Aim: Introduce the general public to synthetic biology, Citrus jabara, and iGEM

Summary

We have created several social media posts considering synthetic biology and our team project. One of the first things we did was to make Japanese posts on Instagram since our audience mostly consists of Japanese people. We have made posts introducing iGEM, synthetic biology, and Citrus jabara, the core of our project. Other than that, we have made posts on a platform called “Note” where anybody could write and publish articles. We made 4 articles in total, each addressing our team and iGEM, synthetic biology, our wet lab project, and our ideas regarding the nasal spray.

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Unfinished/ Failed Projects

Art contest

Audience: Japanese elementary school students

Aim: Promote the idea of synthetic biology to a young audience.

Summary

We set up an art contest for elementary school students titled, “Draw any imaginary microorganisms or plants you would like to create” to promote the idea of synthetic biology to younger students through art. We decided to create this contest because synthetic biology, or the idea to “build” new organisms using biology, is not very well known. We believe that the idea of being able to “build” new organisms could help foster creativity in young children, while introducing this concept of synthetic biology to them. However, we failed to gather participants, partly because the aim was unclear and there were no rewards for entering this contest.

Card game

Audience: Families and friends of all ages

Aim: Utilize the concept of synthetic biology to create a fun and educational card game

Summary

We created a card game to help people of all ages learn about synthetic biology while having fun. We aimed for the card game to be a casual, entertaining, and educational tool that could be played at any time of the day, anywhere. The demo for the card games were created, however we failed to find an audience who could play with the card games. We also originally planned to let the participants of the lab workshops play with the card games, but due to time constraints, this was not achieved.