Team Recruitment and Composition
Figure 1: Group Photo
From the outset, fostering a diverse and inclusive team culture has been our core pursuit. We deeply recognize that bringing together members with different academic backgrounds and thinking perspectives can not only effectively stimulate innovative thinking but also help us develop more comprehensive and systematic problem-solving approaches. Based on this consensus, we established the fundamental principle of interdisciplinary collaboration during the team formation stage.
Our recruitment efforts spanned the entire university, ultimately resulting in a team composed of students from three faculties: the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Intelligent Engineering, and the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science. Notably, a significant portion of the team members come from computer-related majors. They proactively crossed the boundaries of their own disciplines, integrating the methodologies of information science into biological research, thereby achieving substantive knowledge intersection and skill expansion.
Regarding the selection mechanism, we consistently adhered to the principles of fairness and transparency. Every candidate who submitted an application was granted an interview. Core team members conducted comprehensive assessments focusing on technical competencies, project enthusiasm, and developmental potential. We employed a unified set of interview questions to ensure consistent evaluation criteria for all applicants, leading to objective and impartial selection decisions.
Today, we take pride in having built a research team comprising eight undergraduate students from three faculties. Members with different professional backgrounds and academic stages converge here, forming an open, inclusive, and mutually inspiring collaborative atmosphere. Here, every perspective is fully respected, and every voice receives earnest attention.
Co-creating XJTLU-Software
Figure 2: Group Work
When we initiated the iGEM project, almost all members started from scratch in the field of synthetic biology. Although we were the university's second-year dry lab team, the availability of referenceable experience remained limited. This, however, prompted us to embark on a path characterized primarily by independent exploration. Our advisors also encouraged us not to fear trial and error and to actively construct our own cognitive frameworks—this support strengthened our belief that genuine growth stems from hands-on exploration.
Lacking a systematic background in biology, we began by reading literature, gradually building our project framework step by step. In this process, there were no "natural experts"; everyone needed to self-learn, self-review, and self-validate. We repeatedly proposed complete concepts, only to collectively overturn and restart them after in-depth discussions. These iterations did not weaken the team's confidence; instead, they fostered an egalitarian and mutually supportive learning ecosystem.
During our weekly meetings, every member enjoys ample opportunity for expression. Whether progress is smooth or encountering obstacles, everyone can candidly share, ask questions, and seek help. There are no hierarchical distinctions, no "silly questions," only the shared belief in moving forward together. It is this inclusivity and trust that have enabled genuine intellectual growth from the ground up on the fertile ground of interdisciplinary work.
MAKING SCIENCE INCLUSIVE OF ALL
The core of iGEM is not merely the competition itself, but also bringing synthetic biology closer to the public. Our team's goal extends beyond merely completing the contest; we hope that more people can appreciate the scientific charm behind the projects. For different audiences, we have organized a variety of science outreach activities: we carefully created the picture book "Introduction to Antimicrobial Peptides" for elementary school students, using vivid and engaging methods to spark their interest; we provide in-class explanations of the iGEM philosophy and scientific knowledge behind various projects to high school students, stimulating their curiosity; for college students, we conduct both offline poster promotions and online live presentations to broaden the scope of dissemination; for the general public, we provide detailed presentations of our projects and discuss important topics such as biology-related ethics and compliance with teachers from different schools. We are committed to enabling more people to understand the SPADE database project and offer suggestions, thereby learning and growing from diverse perspectives.
To better share our project and scientific knowledge, we have established multiple social media platforms for communication, aiming to allow every interested individual to participate, transforming from passive observers into active participants.
Multilingual Accessibility of Our Project
We are committed to ensuring that our project website maintains high accessibility for researchers and the public who speak different native languages. To this end, our database, SPADE, features a comprehensive five-language interface. The interface language automatically switches based on the user's IP address, and users can also manually switch languages at the top of the page at any time. All translated content was completed through collaboration between team members and native speakers, followed by thorough proofreading, to avoid semantic inaccuracies often associated with machine translation.
In terms of interface design, we have carefully considered the layout adaptability challenges posed by the varying text lengths of different languages. We employed a responsive architecture and flexible layouts to ensure that both short and long texts are displayed clearly and completely. Furthermore, icons and navigation structures are designed to be as culturally neutral as possible, avoiding potential usage barriers arising from cultural differences.
Through these design choices, we aim to break down language barriers, enabling scientific content to be conveyed equitably and smoothly to a diverse global audience.
Figure 3: Multilanguage Support