Introduction:
All along our journey through ups and downs, our team has been inspired by the work of other iGEM teams. While admiring their work on social media is one aspect, we have also been lucky enough to establish direct communication that allowed us to exchange ideas, deepen our passion, and build meaningful collaborations that shaped our journey. Much like individual stars forming constellations, these collaborations connected our project with others, creating patterns of shared learning and inspiration.
Moreover, these collaborations not only strengthened our scientific journey but also built friendships and a sense of belonging within the global iGEM community. Through each of these exchanges, we didn’t just share our project — we grew as communicators, researchers, and teammates.
iGEM NYUAD “Empowering The Next Generation”
Early in the year on April 30, 2025, we were invited by GEM NYUAD alongside other invitees - iGEM Zurich and iGEM Patras - and shared our experience in iGEM to raise awareness about synthetic biology, learn more about our fellow colleague’s projects and, of course, to inspire future participants to say “yes” to synthetic biology and to take the first step to create their own university’s teams.
This event reminded us of the power of storytelling in science and the importance of inspiring the next wave of synthetic biologists.
Team Lead Teodors
Lab Member Everita
MSP “Vector”
After a two-year hiatus for the journal we were glad to partake in the meeting of the peer-reviewed journal Vector, kindly organized by Maastricht iGEM, by submitting our literature review on “Synergistic Roles of Biopolymers and Antimicrobial Agents in Burn Wound Therapy”. It was encouraging to see our work alongside that of other passionate iGEM teams in a platform dedicated to peer-reviewed science.
Contributing to Vector allowed us to take a step back from the bench and critically evaluate the scientific literature, strengthening our foundation for future experiments. We would like to thank the editorial team of Vector, especially Dr. Yevgeniya Nusinovich and Dr. Michael Funk, for their dedication in supporting a platform where iGEM teams can publish and share their work, as well as iGEM Maastricht for taking on the initiative.
Nordic iGEM Conference
From 15th to 17th of August, 2025, we were fortunate to join yet again the Nordic iGEM Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, organized by iGEM DTU Biobuilders and iGEM Copenhagen. Throughout the intensive three days we had the privilege to learn more about science communication, get insight provided by the CEO of iGEM, as well as to present our poster and practice our presentation of the project.
Of course, a large part of the experience was not only presenting our own project, but learning from the other teams in attendance, such as iGEM Lund, iGEM UiOslo, iGEM ABOA and iGEM Vilnius. We were lucky to learn more about their projects, exchange ideas, ask questions and earn valuable feedback from people who are going through the same struggles and successes as us. The feedback we received not only improved our project but also gave us a deeper appreciation of the diversity of approaches within iGEM
Above all, NiC reminded us that iGEM is not just a competition, but a vibrant network of innovators.
Poster Session
Nordic iGEM Conference