Education

Our educational framework draws inspiration from the world of tattoo art and its artists. Just as a clip in a sketchbook holds images, sketches and ideas that spark creativity and guide artistic vision, our framework - CLIP (Communication & Collaboration, Lab, Ink and Publication) – serves as a foundation for expressing and sharing our synthetic biology research. Through this approach we communicate our project’s story and ideas, much like how an artist conveys meaning through ink. In doing so, we bridge the worlds of science and art, making synthetic biology more accessible and inspiring to a wider audience – artists, both school and university students, other iGEM teams and more.

We have hosted 30 students, collaborated with over 20 iGEM team members, one student organization, and contributed to 3 publications ranging from academic journals to high school newspapers. Additionally, we engaged with over 30 artists at the DreamInk Munich tattoo conference to discuss our project and organised an art competition to showcase the work of six inspiring artists.

C-Communication & Collaboration

In the same way a tattoo artist begins by engaging with the client to understand their vision and inpiration, our journey started with communication and active collaboration with the audience. “Communication & Collaboration” represents the foundation of our framework - building connection and shaping our message to resonate beyond the bench. We focused on introducing our project to a broader audience beyond academic settings and to achieve this, we developed interactive workshops, produced a radio show episode and collaborated with other iGEM teams.

Radio Show

We created and aired a radio show episode on our social media accounts to communicate our project to a wider, non-specialist auidence. This episode served as an accessible introduction to our work with over 735 views on our social media platforms, offering an overview of the project and clearly explaining our research goals. Beyond simply presenting the science, the episode gave us the oportunity to connect with experts in related fields, including Prof. Can Dincer, a leading researcher in sensors and wearables for healthcare. His insights helped us highlight the real world applications and potentials of the project, by highlighting possible biomarkers, challenges and application to our system. Through this collaboratative conversation, we had the opportunity to draw a connection between our project and enginneering.

Collaboration

Furthermore, complementing our radio show, we had the incredible opportunity to meet and collaborate with other student groups- both current and past iGEM teams. Through this interactions we exchanged valuable educational materials, shared insights, and presented our respective projects with iGEM teams - CJUH-JLU-China and FUDAN, additionally to the student organisation Herbion and the Alumni event with over 40 participants. This collaborative spirit not only broadened our perspectives but also strengthened the sense of community within the synthetic biology field.

Alumni Event

Additionally, to celebrate 15 years of iGEM Munich - including its origins as TU and LMU Munich- we organized in May the first iGEM Munich alumni event, making a special milestone in the team’s history with more than 40 alumni present. The evening was filled with excitement and inspiration as we revisited key achievemnts from the last decade and a half of previous projects. Notably several attendees now hold leadership positions in the synthetic biology field, underscoring the long-term impact of iGEM Munich such as Nicolas Keller from Stealth Startup. We additionally hosted a discussion panel- “Turning your project into a Start-up” with guests Kilian Vogele from Invitris, which itself started as an iGEM Munich project, and Jérôme Lutz from Smart Lab Architects. Alumni also reflected on their iGEM experiences, career paths, and advice for current members.

In addition to this reflective exchange, we presented our 2025 project, InkSight, to an engaged audience of alumni. This presentation sparked thoughtful questions and constructive feedback, enriching our work and reminding us of the collaborative spirit that defines the iGEM community.The event not only celebrated the team’s legacy but also fostered a strong sense of continuity, mentorship, and motivation as we look ahead to future challenges and innovations in synthetic biology.

”Herbion”

In March we hosted the Biotechnology Scientific Circle “Herbion” from Warsaw Univeristy of Technology (Poland), here in Munich. The visit provided an excellent opportunity for both groups to share experiences in conducting student projects within the fields of biotechnology and synthetic biology, as well as on teamwork and effective management in diverse group settings. With 30 participants present ranging from bachelor to master students, during the visit we had an opportunity to to introduce them to synthetic biology, as well as our educational work and activities within iGEM. Herbion presented their biotechnology student projects and shared insights into studying in Poland. In addition, one of the iGEM Warsaw 2025 members introduced their iGEM project HepaSwitch. The meeting was an inspiring setting to exchange perspectives on studying biology in both countries and to build international links between student communities.

Meetup with CJUH-JLU-China iGEM Team

We held an engaging online meeting with the CJUH-JLU-China undergrad team from Beijing, where teams had the opportunity to present and discuss our respective educational frameworks. This exchange of ideas not only highlighted the diversity of approaches to public engagement and education within the iGEM community but also opened the door to meaningful collabration. We shared some of our key outreach and contribution tools, including our “Speed Dating Sheets”, which sparked interest and discussion around creative science communication. Additionally, we agreed to participate in their public engagement initiative by sending the following synthetic biology statements and truths concerting our project.

Meetup with FUDAN iGEM Team

Our meeting with FUDAN was inspired by our educational events and contribution of a software development livestream, where we explored creative approaches to science communication. We were sharing our educational materials, highlighting how we integrate art and software into our project. It was exciting to discover that Fudan’s team also embraced artistic elements, using playfull illustrations to comunicate complex scientific ideas through their childeren’s illustration book on yeast.

This mutual appreciation of combining science and creativity reinforced the idea that art can serve as a universal language in science outreach. The exchange not only deepend our understanding of interdisciplinary education, but also highlighted the potential for future collaboration built on shared values of innovation, accessibility, and artistic expression.

iGEM Meetup at Münster

From the 25th-27th of July, our team had the chance to attend the official 2-day iGEM Germany meet up held in person by the iGEM Münster team. There, each team presented their project in front of a judging comitee and the rest of the teams, allowing for an exchange of feedback regarding the projects.

We built meaningful connections, which we later revisited during subsequent Human Practices interviews, allowing us to engage in thoughtful, reflective conversations about the broader societal impact and ethical implications of InkSight - discussions that only deepend our understanding but also made the entire experience incredibly rewarding and intellectually stimulating.

L-Lab

As part of the CLIP educational framework we opened our lab to students, offering hands on experience with fundamental experiments and bioinformatics techniques used in synthetic biology. Much like how a tattoo artist shares their craft to inspire others, we aim to ignite curiosity and confidence among young students. These events aimed to inspire young women in STEM, as well as students interested in pursuing STEM-related studies, by showcasing the current state of synthetic biology research, our project and highlighting the practical lab skills essential for bringing scientific ideas to life, just as an artist brings a sketch to ink.

Girls Day & iGEM@School

For both events, we welcomed 15 young girls aged 15 and older into the lab to introduce them to the exciting world of synthetic biology. These workshops were designed to make cutting-edge science both accessible and engaging, especially for students who may not yet had exposure to hands-on laboratory experiences.

As part of the laboratory experience, by using the miniPCR bio™ Sleep Lab kits and gel electrophoresis, the participants extracted their own DNA to investigate a specific gene called Per3, linked to whether someone is a morning person or a night owl. This approach connected genetics to an everyday topic the students could easily relate to, making science more personal. Recognizing that many students may not have prior experience in a molecular biology lab, we prepared a pipetting crash course to support their introduction to lab work. For the main experiment, we provided a protocol adapted from a miniPCR bio™ resource, which we expanded with additional safety information, contextual explanations, and a complete German translation tailored to our course setting.

In the second part of the event, we introduced the girls to the fundamentals of bioinformatics and Python programming in small groups. The students translated a DNA sequence into its corresponding amino acid chain and later used this information to visualize the resulting protein structure in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). This hands-on coding experience provided an insight on how modern day research in synthetic biology is done and most importantly our project. The girls were excited to learn a new skill and also visualize their given Protein in 3D.

On Girl’s Day, we additionally ended the exciting day with a presentation by Prof. Dr. Cathleen Zeymer, who develops biocatalysts in her lab. She gave valuable insights into her path into an academic career in STEM as a woman and encouraged the girls to follow their academic interests and consider a future in science.

Throughout the events we learned a lot about how to effectlively connect with a younger generation of students and explain concepts that are beyond highschool academic level. We used playful designs and interactive learning platforms to help them visualise experiments and grasp better concepts connected to our research. We loved sharing our passion for science and hope to inspire future careers in research!

After the event, we took extra care to reflect on our activities, failed approaches and documented ways to tackle these problems in our future education events.

I-Ink

The “Ink” element in our CLIP framework is directly correlated to our work with artists and our belief in the power of visual storytelling. So, inspired by converations with artists as part of our Human Practices work, we developed an art competition. Through this competition we wanted to use art as an essential communication tool, a way to translate complex scientific ideas into something creative and thought-provoking.

Art Competition

As Prof. Dr. Maria Torres-Padilla, recipient of the 2024 Leibniz Prize, noted down during our Human Practices meeting:

This captures the entire idea behind “Ink”. By inviting artists to engage with our research through this competition, we aim to explore how our system could potentially look like in the future and showcase that our project is not only practical but could also be something beautiful. Throughout the submissions we aim to see each artist’s interpretation of our system. At the end of the competition we will showcase each submitted design at the Jamborree and people will be able to vote on their favourite design. Our aim is for these designs to ivite personal interpretation, imaging a future where a tatoo functions not only as art but also as a diagnostic instrument.

The requirements for entries in the art competition were as follows:

• Minimalistic target area - While the overall tattoo design can be detailed or intricate, the specific section using our ink for health monitoring should maintain a minimalistic style. This ensures that any contrast changes remain clearly visible.
• Line work- Solid, clearly visible lines are preferred for optimal function and readability.
• Shared motifs - If you are submitting multiple designs feel free to add a shared visual element corresponding to the health monitoring part of the tattoo (e.g., a recurring symbol or shape).
• Let us know what type of health issue, therapy or medications you would like to be monitored through your design and what your opinion on the project is overall.

They highlight the delicate system of the hydrogel with embedded mammalian cells and its distinction from the traditional tattoo ink. The following portfolios were compiled in a digital scrapbook created using Canva. Each Artist contributed personal notes alongside their designs, providing valuable insight into their interpretation of our project. We ivite you to epxlore their designs now and also look into them during the Jamboree!

DreamInk

InkSight is, at its core, an artistic endeavour in the realm of synthetic biology. Considering tattoos are our key platform, we envision practicing tattoo artists as the the primary end-users of our new technology. Their expertise is not formally cataloged in academic literature but is instead based on years of hands-on, practical experience (read more on current regulations of tattoo studios in our Policy Analysis.

Our feedback from the DreamInk Tattoo fair was overwhelmingly positive, which surpised us in a very positive manner, and has directly influenced our project as otices in our HP. At the same time, we appreciate how, from an Education perspective, we were able to explain the project to different audiences, emphasizing the merging of art and biology in our activities. Many artists expressed genuine curiosity and excitement about integrating such a tool into their creative workflow. This shed some relevant perspectives on the market desire and interest in applying InkSight within these spaces. In summary, the meeting helped us to advance with greater confidence, channeling our efforts into overcoming technical and implementation hurdles identified by the end-users themselves. But most of all, it was a vital effort that allowed us to share the ideas, implications and core motivations of our project within spaces where synthetic biology is not always present.

P-Publication

As the final part of our framework “Publications” solely concentrated on communicating our research and outreach efforts through written publications. Some of our collaborations included a school newspaper, TUM Magazine and the Vector Journal directed by iGEM Maastricht. Through these various publications we had the great opportunity to reach diverse audiences - ranging from high school students and university students to the international synthetic biology community. Each publication allowed us to present our project, current state of research and even some of our survey results. It was incredible working with a young writer and collaborations like this exemplify the “Communication” and “Publication” components of our CLIP framework.

School Newspaper

When a student from the Albert-Einstein-Highschool in Munich reached out to collaborate with iGEM Munich, we were eager to jump into the opportunity and share our experience and project development. The student was later on invited to join us on site in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Technical University of Munich to learn more about iGEM and the state of our project. During his visit we introduced him to the core concepts behind our system, shared insights into our experimental designs and gave him a behind the scenes look at our day-to-day work as a student research team. As part of the experience, we also offered tour of the campus and also a one-on-one talks with team members. The article is divided into two parts, featured section of the iGEM Team Munich which contains two articles, one for synthetic biology and one is an interview with two of igem munichs team members.

Vector Journal

We participated in the initiative led by the MSP iGEM team and contributed an article to the journal Vector. Our paper presents our project concept, its public perception, and results from a survey conducted as part of our human practices efforts. Additionally we peer reviewed another teams article. The journey will be distributed in print at the Grand Jamboree thanks to the MSP iGEM 2025 team.

TUM Magazine

We had the incredible opportunity to be a part of the nex addition of the TUM Magazine. iGEM Munich has been shared among TUM Media for a while now and we were eager to jump into the opportunity when TUM Magazine reached out to write a feature about InkSight. Although the feature will be published after October in the next issue, we had such an amazing time talking to the interviewer about the future of our project, the artistic aspect of it, the core of our research and also be a part of a photoshoot taking place in our lab space in the Munich Institute of Biomedical Engineering. This was such a valuable experience, which showed that even after the competition has ended, our research and passion will still be shared among the academic media.