Introduction
Education for the Thailand-RIS team is a necessary means to raise awareness about the growing yet invisible microplastics problem, to support the development of the emerging synthetic biology industry in Thailand, and to inspire younger generations to participate in scientific endeavors for the betterment of the world. With these objectives in mind, the Thailand-RIS team led multiple learning, outreach, and exhibition efforts aimed at students across primary and secondary schools, as well as the general public. Through sustained engagement with our school community and beyond, both locally and nationally, we created opportunities for a wider demographic of people to learn about plastic pollution, our project, and the broader applications of synthetic biology.
Implementation of the "Synbio Zoo" Activity in a Thai School
In 2023, team Thailand-RIS successfully established a connection with the elementary school section of Ruamrudee International school (RIS) and carried out a workshop based on a simple curriculum-aligned activity, with the aim of bringing awareness of synthetic biology to the younger generation. In the 2024 iGEM season, the Thailand-RIS 2024 team created and implemented the first iteration of the “Synbio Zoo” activity, combining elements of the University of Utah’s Build a Bird activity with synthetic biology concepts to further tackle the limited awareness of this field of science and the stigmatization surrounding GMOs. The team took steps to translate the workshop into Thai, collaborating with the Thai teachers at RIS to properly translate the materials into age-appropriate but academic language. However, the team was unable to carry out the workshop at a Thai school.
To put into perspective the reality of STEM education in Thailand, a Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 report, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), states that “only one in five boys and one in seven girls in Thailand who excel in math and science plan to pursue careers in engineering or science by age 30” (UNICEF, 2024). In comparison, for example, the results from a 2021 - 2022 survey conducted in Australia found that 42% (two in five) of boys and 21% (one in five) of girls wanted to pursue a STEM career (Department of Industry, Science and Resources, 2022). This indicates that student interest in pursuing a career in the STEM field in Thailand may be lower than in other countries, which may also be reflected by the smaller synthetic biology industry in the country.
To bridge this gap, a major goal for the Thailand-RIS 2025 team was to, in continuation of the 2024 team’s work, expand our educational outreach to a Thai school. With the help of the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), our team was able to visit Bo Thong Wongchan School in Chon Buri, along the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand, to raise awareness about synthetic biology and garner interest in the STEM field, or provide a unique opportunity to explore STEM for students already interested in the field. Through an educational but enjoyable activity, our team hoped to promote a wider interest in synthetic biology among a broader demographic outside of Bangkok to increase the diversity of participation in this area of science.
The workshop was hosted with the Grade 9 students at the school and was performed through two 1-hour sessions with 90 participants in total, organized into pairs sitting at six different tables. A brief introduction of who we were was followed by an icebreaker in the form of a Kahoot. This introduced basic biological concepts, which both gauged the students' level of understanding, but also served as a transition into the task that came next.
The main “Synbio Zoo” activity was a version of the one from the previous year, this time tailored to a Thai audience, with featured animals including various commonly known animals in SEA and specifically Thailand, most notably the water buffalo and monitor lizard, to increase the relevance of the activity. In the execution of this task, participants were assigned a specific animal along with a scenario of realistic environmental pressures (i.e., natural disasters and anthropogenic changes to the environment). Students were asked to help their animals adapt and thrive in their new environment by changing their traits via “genetic engineering.” For instance, if the animal you are given is a water buffalo, the situation could be: “It hasn’t been raining for months, and now there is a drought! The plants are starting to die, and the ponds are drying up. The only source of water is underground. Help the water buffalo adapt to get to this source of water and be able to survive in an environment that is hot and dry.” Based on the list of possible traits that could be given to the animal, students could decide within their team how the water buffalo should adapt based on its environmental pressures. Students could hypothesize that adding scales to the water buffalo, for example, may protect it from the hot and dry climate by reducing water loss. While it may be unrealistic, it would allow students to explore and more easily understand the broader synthetic biology concept of changing the traits of an organism for a specific purpose.
Subsequently, and perhaps the most crucial step, the students were asked to write a reflection on the traits chosen, where participants were instructed to provide their rationale for choosing the traits they did. We also used this time to speak with each group and clarify any potential doubts. Afterwards, selected pairs from each table came up and presented their ideas. As a closure to the activity, our team asked if any of them had learned anything new about synthetic biology and if they had enjoyed themselves. Some of the things we heard from the students were that the workshop was inspiring and that they had never known before that synthetic biologists could accomplish such things.
As the first time the synbio workshop was hosted outside of our school community, the aim of this project was to increase awareness and inclusivity of synthetic biology, particularly among younger Thai students who are foreseeably on track for post-secondary education in a couple of years and are the future leaders and workers of Thailand. While the “synbio zoo” activity was intentionally fictional and exaggerated to simplify it for students to understand, our team constantly clarifies and explains that real-world synthetic biologists operate within scientific and ethical limits, and that they have yet to create such drastic changes in animals, such as de-furring a polar bear.
RIS-Based STEM Activities and Curriculum Alignment
A notable aspect of RIS’s vision and mission is the values and learner outcomes reflected in the “Portrait of a Phoenix,” aimed towards nurturing intellectual development as well as moral character in students. In an effort to embrace and promote the qualities of a “Curious Scholar” who “thinks critically, explores creatively, and applies knowledge for meaningful impact,” and a “Globally Minded Leader” who “leads with empathy, embraces diversity, and takes responsible action,” our team launched educational activities in the primary and secondary school sections to not only expand awareness and future participation in synthetic biology, but to foster a generation of passionate, responsible global citizens.
ES: Season 3 of the Synbio Zoo Workshop
In continuation of the Thailand-RIS 2024 team’s collaboration with Ms. Mina Park, Elementary School Science Head of Department (2024) and Grade 3 Teacher, the Thailand-RIS 2025 team hosted a workshop in the Elementary School section of Ruamrudee International School. With the ES workshop now being an established part of our school’s iGEM program, we made sure to consult feedback from previous years to revise and polish our workshop storylines. As a step towards increasing the inclusivity of synthetic biology in a diverse range of age groups, our team built off of the “Synbio Zoo” activity from the 2024 cohort to better align it with synthetic biology concepts and global issues.
Based on feedback from last year, we decided to add a layer to the activity by changing the allele-based concept of having a chromosome template and two genes that code for a trait, to a codon-based concept where a triplet of certain colored blocks coded for a gene. While this is still scientifically inaccurate, it would clear up any misconceptions about genetic engineering happening at the chromosome level, and instead correctly shift the concept to occur at the DNA level.
To ensure that the level of our activity was still appropriate for Grade 3 students, our team had a dialogue with Ms. Mina Park, in which she mentioned that the students were currently learning about patterns and that the colored block system would give an opportunity for them to apply that knowledge. She also emphasized the importance of focusing our workshop around a central objective, so as to also focus the students’ attention and understanding. This shifted our subsequent efforts to align each individual aspect of the workshop to the objective of expanding the students’ awareness of synthetic biology and how it can be used as a tool to create solutions for global issues or campaigns, including animal conservation, if used responsibly.
Rather than the icebreaker simply being an activity to get the students’ attention, we used a game of four-corners to prompt the students to start thinking about the goal of animal conservation, environmental issues that may affect animals, and what traits might help the animal better survive. This served as a segue into the main activity, where students were asked to discuss the scenario of the animal given, what new traits they wanted to give the animal to help it survive in its new environment, in comparison to the traits the animal already had, and their rationale behind it. Students were then instructed to cut and glue parts of a “DNA strip” that reflected the original traits of the animal, and change out sections or specific colors in the sequence to match the code for the new traits. The act of cutting and inserting new colored blocks, rather than simply choosing all of the “genes” like last year, better simulates the concept of replacing or inserting new genes in genetic engineering, in a simplified manner. Throughout the activity, a member from our team guided each table through the process and answered any questions the students had, in order to create a supportive, inclusive environment where students could express their ideas and learn from each other and their own mistakes. In our efforts to make this workshop a co-curricular activity that enhanced the students’ classroom learning, rather than simply an extracurricular activity, previous class concepts of traits and adaptation were interwoven into our discussions with the students. More specifically, our activity was designed to connect with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) used in the Elementary School curriculum of our school.
The themes and standards for Grade 3 students that align with our activity, and how students were able to develop their Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts, have been summarized in the table below:
As a reflection, our team has been able to identify several strengths as well as limitations of the effectiveness of our workshop, in terms of the planning, execution, and outcome. To identify some strengths, which were reciprocated by the Grade 3 teachers supervising the workshop, we were able to improve the scenarios so that they better reflected realistic situations and connected to the students’ prior knowledge about environmental changes. The students were engaged throughout the activity and, with our guidance, were pushed to think critically about what traits they wanted to give their animal and why. The resources for the activity were also shared with the Grade 3 teachers, along with guidelines for how it would work, so that they could reuse the activity. These resources are also included below to enable other teams or educators to use and build upon them. While our workshop was tailored for Grade 3 students, the main activity can be adapted for a wide range of ages with minimal changes.
One of the major realizations we had was the difficulty of working with a much larger cohort of students–the entire Grade 3, which consisted of 61 students. Not only were there simply too many students to focus on, but the combined noise of all the talking made it more difficult to communicate with the students. Future iterations of this workshop should revert to the class size model, which allowed for greater flexibility and adaptability to each student’s needs. We also recognized the importance of better time management, as we were not able to conclude the activity with a discussion about what the students had learned, any questions they had, and other applications of synthetic biology, as we had planned.
However, overall, our team was able to achieve our goals of exposing the younger generation to simplified synthetic biology concepts, expanding the students’ understanding of the concepts they learned in class, and hopefully, inspiring them to consider synthetic biology as a possible force of good in the world. With further improvements, we believe that we can promote greater mutual learning between students and our team and increase participation in synthetic biology in the future.
MS: From Science Fair To Forensics
MS Workshop On Google Spreadsheets - Developing Analytical Skills
For our first round of interactions with the middle school students at RIS, we decided to host a series of workshops focusing on building the skills needed to analyze and visually display quantitative data using Google Spreadsheets. This was based on feedback from our meeting with the MS science teachers, Mr. Kom and Mr. Tyson, who raised the concern that many students lacked the skills to use spreadsheets and expressed a desire for their students to have a stronger understanding of this tool in preparation for the MS Science Fair. The use of spreadsheets is a crucial part of collecting, analysing, and interpreting data in the science field.
The first workshop was centered around introducing the concept of using Google Spreadsheets to analyze and display data, and focused more on familiarizing students with the tool and guiding them through some of the basic functions. We started the workshop with an introduction to our team and iGEM, clarifying what iGEM is and what we aim to do this year, while asking engaging questions along the way to connect with the students. We also took this opportunity to see if the students had any questions. Splitting up into smaller groups, one iGEM member led each group through the instructional spreadsheet containing questions and example data sets, to allow the students to develop data manipulation skills and spreadsheet skills in general. This format was chosen to 1. allow students to be more comfortable asking questions; 2. have the ability to check in with and closely guide individual students through the process; 3. be more flexible with the pace of the workshop based on the group’s progress; and 4. ensure that everyone has a strong understanding of the material and activity. While we weren’t able to close the workshop with a Q&A as we had planned due to the aftershocks of the earthquake that took place on March 28th, 2025, in Myanmar, the students were engaged throughout the session and, at the very least, realized the potential uses of Google Spreadsheets in their own projects.
Our team aims to continue hosting similar workshops in the future, which may focus on related topics such as creating different types of graphs and inserting trendlines or error bars in them, and using various statistical tests to further evaluate the strength of a conclusion drawn from the data. In addition, to make the content more memorable for the students, the activity can be enhanced to include more fun and engaging aspects, in an ongoing mission towards supplementing and integrating crucial elements of scientific practices into the school science curriculum.
MS Science Fair - Developing Science Communication
The Middle School Science Fair is an annual event at RIS where students in Grades 6-8 showcase their science research, methodology, and communication skills.
This year, the Thailand-RIS team supported the event by collaborating with the MS science department, helping to adjudicate projects, offering feedback, and managing the overall event. Through this activity, we expanded our efforts to strengthen the science curriculum and laboratory practices of our underclassmen, particularly in the area of scientific communication. We helped students reflect on how they chose to present, structure, and articulate their findings and results through questions and constructive feedback. Tied to the iGEM value of the importance of science communication, we emphasized that science can only have an impact on the real world when it is communicated effectively and responsibly. By focusing on communication, we highlighted the role of science as not just discovery, but also as a means of bridging the gap between experimentation and understanding. This focus emerged from earlier conversations with MS science teachers, where we identified scientific communication as a key area for growth. As such, we’ve centered our interactions with the middle school around this theme. Moreover, this experience gave us valuable insights into the specific aspects of scientific experimentation and communication, which we could lend our experiences to.
MS Introduction To Key Synbio Technologies: Gel Electrophoresis Through the Lens of a Murder Mystery
Building off of our work with the middle school students last academic year, we hosted a “Murder Mystery” gel electrophoresis workshop on September 19th to introduce the concept of synthetic biology and enhance their understanding of more specialized laboratory techniques, such as gel electrophoresis and micropipetting. Similar to our first workshop, the Thailand-RIS team consulted with the MS science teacher, Mr. Kom, about our workshop idea and plan, and used his feedback to tailor the activity to suit his students best. Additionally, our activity was designed to align with the NGSS standards, which are also used in our school's middle school curriculum.
The themes and standards for Grade 6-8 students that align with our activity, and how students strengthened the corresponding Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts, have been summarized in the table below:
We began the workshop, attended by around 25 MS students, with an introduction to the “murder mystery” scenario of a mango that had been “murdered” and the four fruit suspects they had to investigate. Some students were asked to read some of the details out loud, so that the process could be more engaging. It also helped that our visuals were entertaining. This served as a springboard to the technique of gel electrophoresis as a part of synthetic biology.
While the current 6th graders were already somewhat familiar with synthetic biology from our previous team’s “Synbio Zoo” activity conducted during their Grade 4 year, this session was oriented towards providing all students with a deeper and more hands-on understanding of the subject. For this lesson, we specifically aimed to teach the students about the instrument of gel electrophoresis and the use of a micropipette. Using the murder mystery scenario as a fun way to engage the students, we were able to highlight one of the applications of gel electrophoresis in the field of forensics. The hands-on part of the workshop consisted of extracting DNA from strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and watermelon using various lab equipment, then using a micropipette to add dyed samples of it into the gel electrophoresis wells. While we were waiting for the gel electrophoresis to run, our team explained the function and purpose of gel electrophoresis in more detail. To ensure that students could interpret the results, a sample result was prepared in advance, taking into account the possibility that the students’ results might not be conclusive. We guided the whole class through band comparisons on the gel between the DNA sample results from the suspect fruits and the DNA obtained from the “crime scene,” allowing the students to think critically about how the fact that the DNA of each individual is unique would be reflected in the results.
All in all, throughout this workshop, we guided students in learning how to use a micropipette, how to extract DNA in a simplified model, how to set up and run the gel electrophoresis, and how to read the gel electrophoresis banding patterns. This workshop was highly successful in terms of the students’ engagement and enthusiasm throughout the activity. Even for those who had participated in past iGEM activities, the workshop helped deepen their understanding through a more hands-on and interactive learning experience, allowing them to gain valuable scientific knowledge and practical skills. Like our other activities, we closed the workshop with a reflection session, during which many kids expressed how exciting the workshop was. One student even noted that they learned that “synthetic biology is fun” from today's workshop and definitely wants to grow up to be a part of it in the future!
HS: Bioremediation in Plants & Microplastics Awareness Workshop
On October 8th, 2025, the Thailand-RIS team will present our iGEM project to our high school peers in an effort to inspire curiosity and promote a deeper interest in science and innovation. Our presentation will begin with a brief introduction to iGEM as a global competition that empowers students to solve real-world problems through synthetic biology. We will then share the outline and objectives of our project, explaining not only what we are working on but also why it matters. To provide context, we will discuss the inspiration behind our research, focusing on the urgent global challenge of plastic pollution and microplastics. Finally, we will highlight how the PETase enzyme, a remarkable biological tool, offers a pathway toward addressing these environmental issues, and how our project seeks to address this solution using synthetic biology. Aside from our peers, we have also invited the HS faculty, especially those in the science department, in order to solicit feedback on both our project and our science communication abilities. Building on our Human Practices work to close the feedback loop and recognizing that our project is a work in progress, we aim to enhance our contribution to and shaping of synthetic biology through our project. Our stance in this endeavor is to invite critical thinking and promote mutual learning, shaping our future steps towards creating not a perfected product, but one that incorporates ongoing feedback from society to ensure our project is responsible and beneficial for the world.
For the second part of this workshop, which spans approximately 30 minutes, we plan to incorporate interactive activities that allow our participants to engage with more in-depth information about the harms of microplastics. This session will also serve as a reflection and planning time for students to recognize their plastic usage and develop actionable steps toward reducing that consumption. With our team’s plastic rules providing a tangible model, students will be prompted to discuss how they can limit plastic usage in their own daily lives, which may be implemented in their clubs and committees. By doing so, we hope to foster a community that moves away from reliance on plastic and supports our advocacy for sustainable changes within and outside of our school.
Exhibitions and Public Awareness
In our work towards increasing public awareness of synthetic biology, as well as our project and the importance of tackling the problem of microplastic pollution, another significant portion of our educational outreach was dedicated to various exhibition opportunities around Bangkok. Two main activities were developed to enable a wide demographic of people to actively engage with synthetic biology concepts.
The first was the “Micropipette Art Activity,” which exposed the audience to a tool commonly used in a lab setting and served as an easy transition to the topic of synthetic biology. Although this tool is typical in labs, it is not as well-known amongst the general public. As such, our team’s goal was to close the gap in knowledge of laboratory practices and synthetic biology that otherwise tends to stay contained in the science field and its epistemic community.
Our second activity was the “DNA Bracelet Activity”, where a sequence of DNA (As, Ts, Gs, and Cs) was given to the audience as the template for a bracelet. Through this, we were able to teach younger children how to transcribe DNA in a fun, engaging manner, while also bringing attention to the importance of DNA and the key role it plays in synthetic biology.
These activities were carried out through our three exhibitions as follows.
RIS Fun Fair Booth - Raising our Profile at RIS
The 2025 Fun Fair, an anticipated food and game festival held every other year at RIS, has been around for multiple decades already. Team Thailand-RIS hosted a booth to raise awareness about what iGEM is as a competition and program at our school, as well as synthetic biology and its applications in addressing local and global issues. The two activities we prepared were one, the “Micropipette Art Activity,” and two, the “DNA Bracelet Activity.” Both activities were designed to be an interactive and fun way for visitors, especially the younger demographic, to engage with various concepts in biology and synthetic biology.
Specifically, the micropipette art activity exposed the wide audience present at the Fun Fair (including, but not limited to, students, parents, teachers, other friends, and families) to lab equipment, as micropipettes are essential lab instruments but not well known by the general public. Our team’s goal was to bridge the knowledge gap in laboratory practices and synthetic biology that often remains contained within the scientific community. This activity allowed our visitors to physically view and try out specialized lab equipment, while also serving as a segue into synthetic biology, the work we have done in the lab over the past years, and how it may, if used ethically, serve as a tool to help the broader community.
Similarly, the DNA bracelet activity is connected to the concept of DNA, complementary base pairing, and translation in protein synthesis. Our team provided guests with a sequence of DNA (A’s, T’s, G’s, and C’s) and their corresponding colored beads to use as a template for designing their own bracelets. Through this, visitors—especially younger students—learned how to transcribe DNA in a fun and engaging manner, gaining a deeper appreciation for the importance of DNA and its key role in synthetic biology. By educating our school community about iGEM, we hope to have generated interest in joining the program in the younger generation, as well as their parents.
Bangkok International School Education Fair
On the 22nd of March, 2025, the T-RIS team participated in the Bangkok International School Education Fair, organized by Education Fairs Asia at The Intercontinental Hotel. At the fair, our main focus was to promote synthetic biology and raise our profile to regional recognition, as the team was requested to participate in the fair as our school’s representatives, as iGEM represents one of RIS’s most advanced and internationally recognized STEM programs. Not only that, but we also won the gold medal and inclusivity award last year, further showcasing our innovation and impact. During the event, the team representatives had the opportunity to interact with various age groups, ranging from children aged 6 to grandparents aged 60 and above. In addition, we also had the opportunity to interact with numerous nationalities, from those local in Thailand to foreigners who are interested in sending their children to study in Thailand. During the allocated two-hour window, we introduced iGEM and our project to those who were visiting our booth through a presentation and provided brochures in both English and Thai. In addition, our team also planned several activities to interact with our audience. Specifically, one of our activities is a micropipette art coloring game, where the participants would use mixed watercolors to draw on a grid paper to draw shapes, animals, and many more. Another activity that we also complete at the fair is using multicolored beads to create a DNA bracelet.
K-Village (Kid-D Project) Fair
On June 21st, 2025, the Thailand-RIS team had the opportunity to booth at K-Village’s “Kid-D Project” fair for the whole day, along with the ISBICSKIS-BKK iGEM team. Our primary aim was to present our project, iGEM, and synthetic biology to a wider audience outside of our school community. Through this fair, we were able to interact with a diverse range of demographics, from children as young as 4 years old to their parents and the elderly. With a range of fun activities, we were able to appeal to different target audiences and garner interest in our efforts towards reducing microplastics via our project and synthetic biology in general. For our upper audience, including high school students and adults, we first introduced them to the “Our World’s Ocean” simulation, consisting of a bowl of water filled with glitter, serving as the microplastics and plastics that are present in the ocean. By challenging our audience to clean up the “microplastics” using a strainer and thereby demonstrating the difficulty of doing so, this activity served as a segue into the very real problem of plastic pollution, the harm it was doing to our ecosystem, and the difficulty faced in addressing it. From this, we transitioned to what our project was about and how it would address this alarming issue. Something we noticed while running this activity was that many visitors initially believed it would be easy to remove all the glitter; however, they quickly realized that this was nearly impossible. This allowed us to gain a better understanding of the awareness people had about microplastics–while many were already familiar with the issue of plastic pollution, some may have been less aware of the extent to which this was a problem and why exactly it was difficult to address it. We were further able to gain insights into the use, awareness, and perspectives on plastics of different people through a survey we conducted.
As a continuation of some of the activities from our Fun Fair booth, we included the “Micropipette Art Activity” and the “DNA Bracelet Activity.” Through these activities, we wanted to highlight the importance of introducing scientific concepts at a younger age in order to gather interest in this field, as well as demonstrate the significance of newer technology in today’s world.
As a memento from our booth, we handed out custom T-RIS x iGEM stickers and provided brochures about iGEM, synthetic biology, and the Thailand-RIS team, available in both Thai and English versions.
Educating the Public Through T-RIS iGEM's Wiki
Plastic Page
Plastic Page
Click to learn more about plastic and its impact!
This page helps educate the public through the explanation of both the origins and the impacts of plastic on us and our surroundings (the environment). At the beginning of this page, an introduction to the context of plastics is provided. Specifically, it conveys that plastic use is increasing at an unprecedented rate in Thailand due to the mismanagement of waste, enabling the reader to understand the national concerns regarding plastics. In addition, this page educates the public by addressing the science behind plastics, including the structure of PET, an introduction to polymers, and a discussion of plastic durability. The page highlights the environmental and health issues posed by microplastics, including examples such as soil degradation and the entry of microplastics into the food chain.
Education regarding the microplastics problem in Thailand is especially impactful, as many people in Thailand, and even people in specialized roles, have very limited awareness of microplastics. When our team conducted outreach initiatives and interviews with affected stakeholders, results showed that almost all groups, with the exception of plastics experts and people directly involved in producing plastics, were entirely unaware of the presence of microplastics in their daily lives. Our decision to include informational pages on not just our project, but the overall context of the issue, highlights our commitment to educating large groups in the general public online.
PETase Page
PETase Page
Click to learn more about PETase!
This page helps to educate the public through the explanation of both the discovery and the significance of PETase in the fight against plastic pollution. This page starts with an introduction to the context of PETase. Specifically, it conveys that the enzyme was first discovered in Ideonella sakaiensis at a Japanese recycling plant in 2016, where researchers showed its ability to break PET into simpler, biodegradable components. In addition, this page educates the public by addressing the conditions that led to the evolution of PETase, highlighting how plastic-rich environments created selective pressure for microbes to adapt. The page also explains the rarity of PETase in nature, its laboratory production through cloning, and the development of engineered versions with greater efficiency.
Plant Synthetic Biology Page
Plant Synthetic Biology Page
Click to see our plant transformation work and lessons to make plant synbio accessible.
Our Plant Synthetic Biology page documents the process of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation through both transient and stable ways. Beyond that, this page also documents learning points that the Thailand-RIS team learnt from our rounds of engineering and plant synthetic biology experiences. By pairing reflective explanations with replicable protocols, troubleshooting insights, and clearly linked outcomes, the page lowers barriers for new entrants and empowers teams and classrooms to build, test, and iterate in plant synbio—squarely addressing iGEM’s goals to make synbio education practical, transferable, and enduring.
Glossary Page
Glossary Page
Click to learn key scientific terms related to our project!
The Thailand-RIS team also prepared a glossary page, transforming complex technical concepts into accessible, student-friendly language that supports both public engagement and team learning. By clearly defining key terms used across our project—from molecular cloning techniques to plant-specific transformation processes—the glossary empowers non-specialist audiences, such as high school students and community partners, to understand our research goals and methods without prior biological expertise. It also functions as an internal educational tool, ensuring all team members maintain a consistent scientific understanding when communicating across subteams. In aligning with iGEM’s emphasis on making synthetic biology more inclusive and comprehensible, the glossary demonstrates our commitment to educational accessibility, interdisciplinary learning, and scientific literacy.
Importantly, because all of these pages are hosted online on our team’s wiki, the public can easily access this information from anywhere at any time. This ensures that our educational content—whether it’s about plastics, PETase, plant synthetic biology, or key scientific terminology—remains an accessible and lasting learning resource for anyone interested in understanding synthetic biology and its applications.
Exposure Through Governance
Meeting with French and Thai Delegations
On October 9, 2025, the Thailand-RIS team will deliver a two-hour presentation designed to showcase both who we are and our mission to His Excellency Jean-Claude Poimboeuf, Ambassador of France to Thailand along with members of the French Embassy delegation, including Mrs. Lise Talbot-Barre (Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Action), Mrs. Muriel Schmit (Attaché for Cooperation in the French Language), Mr. Ludovic Andres (Attaché for Scientific and University Cooperation), Mr. Théo Dulac (Project Officer for Scientific and University Cooperation), and Mrs. Phiraya Phatthanakhuha (Secretary to the Press Attaché). October 27, 2025, just prior to our participation at the iGEM Grand Jamboree in Paris, we will also meet with the Charge d'Affaires, Ms. Tida Sukeelap, at the Thai Embassy in France to continue these conversations on an international stage.
Our primary goal in meeting with the French Ambassador to Thailand and the Charge d'Affaires at the Thai embassy in France is to expand awareness of synthetic biology and strengthen international collaboration for the T-RIS iGEM team. These visits enable us to demonstrate how student-led research can address global challenges, such as microplastic pollution, and to establish relationships that could support future partnerships, mentorship, and outreach. We will then share the history of Ruamrudee International School (RIS) and of the T-RIS iGEM team, highlight how our journey has shaped our work, introduce iGEM as a global competition, and present the goals of our current project. Through these presentations, we aim not only to inform but also to inspire meningul connections that will help grow synthetic biology education and impact in Thailand and beyond.
These meetings also represent a key step in our governance and public engagement efforts. By engaging with the French Ambassador in Thailand and later the Charge d'Affaires at the Thai Embassy in Paris, we seek to raise awareness of issues that could be mitigated using the extensive research done by the Thailand-RIS iGEM team, gain policy insights and mentorship, and explore opportunities for international collaboration, policy implementation, and long-term support. Engaging with government representatives allows us to connect our scientific work to broader environmental policy goals and build partnerships that can help scale our solution beyond Thailand.
Administration Committee & Sustainability Presentation
Sustainability Page
Click to learn more about Adco Presentation & sustainability in general!
The sustainability and entrepreneurship team within the Thailand-RIS presented to our school’s Administration Committee (Adco) to advocate for a reduction of plastic use on campus, as well as to educate administrators on the detrimental effects of plastic, including heating plastic containers and the sustainability aspect of plastic.
We conducted some field research beforehand to determine which plastics our school still used/sold. Through our research, we found that two cafes in our school sold food packaged in plastic containers and used plastic straws. We then researched to identify viable alternatives available. We found that some of the food vendors used Hong Thai Packaging, a company that offered paper versions of the products the cafe was already using. We then carved out time to meet with the administration committee. We prepared our presentation, compiling visuals that showcased our proposals, along with an introduction to what iGEM is and what our project entails, as well as highlighting some of the harmful impacts of plastic containers and straws. We prepared the presentation to be this way to highlight our main objective, to teach our administration. We wanted to inform them about who we are, what we did, and why we did it. In order for them to consider our proposals, we need them to understand not only how microplastics affect the environment, but also how they impact themselves and the hundreds of students who attend Ruamrudee.
The administration had some good questions, some being about costs, if the product is locally sourced, why did we pick these specific proposals, why we were passionate about these ideas, and they even ended it off with them being very interested in our project. As a result of our presentation, some vendors began reducing their plastic usage, and the cafes stopped microwaving food in plastic containers and switched to using paper bowls instead. To read more in depth about the proposals and the overview of this project we did, check out the sustainability page Action 3 titled: Combatting Microplastics in our Campus.