Collaborations

The NeoMineX team believes in innovation, for which collaborating and sharing knowledge within the synthetic biology community is key. To strengthen our project and contribute to the broader iGEM community, NeoMineX actively engaged with other teams. We participated in several iGEM meetups and held individual meetings, during which we were able to exchange ideas, feedback, and best practices; as well as discuss challenges and build collaborations. Below is a figure summarizing our collaborations:

Overview of our collaborations with time-line for the meetups and a sumup of the other teams we collaborated with.

Collaborations with iGEM teams

We worked directly with some iGEM teams, joining forces to develop outreach projects together.

Meeting with TU-Eindhoven iGEM Team

Image of our team captain with the Eindhoven team

Our team captain, Jena, went to Eindhoven to pay a visit to the iGEM TU Eindhoven team. There, they discussed matters related to iGEM and shared their experiences between the teams.

This visit was part of an initiative organized by Technovation Hub, who planned the trip with the KU Leuven student teams. This visit's purpose was to exchange insights between the universities about the functioning of their student teams and facilities.

During the visit, there was also an opportunity for informal interaction. Jena shared lunch with their iGEM team which allowed for further networking.

Collaboration with Athens iGEM Team

Image of the poster for the survey on electronic waste

iGEM Athens and iGEM KU Leuven share one of the same goals: finding a solution to the dwindling supply of heavy metals. Given our projects’ similarity in metal recovery, we held an online meeting where we discussed our projects, shared challenges we faced, and established a human practices collaboration. Together, we authored an online survey to gauge the public’s knowledge of heavy metal pollution, electronic waste and environnmental policies. You can find the results of this on our human practices page .

Meeting with iGEM Michigan Team

Given the similarities of our projects in that we are both working on industrial wastewater contamination, we met with iGEM Michigan to discuss our projects and exchange ideas. We discussed differences in team organization and addressed common issues we were facing in the laboratory. We were also invited to participate in their Environmental Symposium. You can discover more about it in the meetups section.

Collaboration with CNPEM-Brazil iGEM Team

Image of the poster: Why water matters? Selfie of our team member Gabriella with a member of the Brazil team.

Our team collaborated with the CNPEM iGEM team from Brazil since they are also competing in the Bioremediation Village. While they are addressing the issue of microplastics contaminating water, we are focusing on heavy metal contamination. Considering both projects share similarities, we decided to collaborate and create an Instagram post about water issues in Brazil and Belgium. The post was shared to both Instagram pages.

Collaboration with Supetai Team

Image of the members of the Supetai team together with the villagers of a village in Kenya where they helped with their water well.

We collaborated with the KU Leuven KICK Supetai project in Kenya, which focuses on improving water quality in a village in Kenya by working together with local elders.

This year, they broadened their research questions beyond water purification to tackle challenges such as reject water management, waste management, local business empowerment, and innovative solutions for water disposal and repurposing. What remains is their transdisciplinary approach and commitment to social entrepreneurship.

Working together with organizations like KU Leuven KICK for the Supetai Project, allowsed us to explore applications of our technology that help real-life communities, making sure that we have the opportunity to contribute towards a sustainable future.

Collaboration with Münster and BHF iGEM Teams

During the international meetup in Münster, we had the opportunity to join the podcast of the Münster and BHF (Bielefeld, Hamburg, and Frankfurt) teams to discuss our experiences in our project. We adressed iGEM related activites such as meetups, collaborations with other teams, tips for future teams, things we learned and our overall experience.

Meetups

Collaborating with other iGEM teams was a key part of our journey. We participated in meetups both online and in various European cities. These valuable interactions with the iGEM community broadened our perspective and helped us improve our project. At these events, we translated our posters into different languages which were accessed through a simple QR code. With this, we aimed to make information more accessible and to promote inclusivity .

BFH European Meetup (Bielefld)

We participated in the BFH European Meetup in Bielefeld, Germany. This event was organized by the iGEM teams of Bielefeld and Hamburg. During the meetup, Jena and Juan had the opportunity to network with the other iGEM teams, present our project and learn about other projects. This meetup was insightful for receiving feedback on our poster, project and presentation.

9-11/07/2024
Madrid meetup Madrid meetup

Dutch Meetup

(Utrecht)

Our team members participated in the Dutch iGEM meetup in Utrecht. Anna, Imane, Jena and Wout presented our project during this event and exchanged ideas with the other iGEM teams. This exchange is essential for the improvement of our presentation skills and project. We also attended two interesting talks about sustainable innovation and patenting.

16-17/08/2024
pictures of the Munster meetup

UK Meetup

(Sheffield)

Our team attended the UK Meetup in Sheffield. It was a great opportunity to learn more about other teams' projects.

The Sheffield team gave a very interesting presentation on Wiki Accessibility. In addition to that, Jena and Gabriella had the chance to participate in a scavenger hunt, a plasmid challenge, and listen to inspiring women in science (Alice Hudson, Marta Marcheluk, and Ayla Masoud). We were happy to share ideas on inclusivity with the participating teams.

At the meet-up, we also presented our project and won the award for the best presentation.

If you want more information about this meetup you can follow the link: https://community.igem.org/events/igem-at-uk-meetup-2024

12/09/2024

iGEM Michigan Meetup: Environment Symposium (Virtual)

We participated in the Environmental Symposium hosted by iGEM Michigan. We were happy to be able to interact with teams across continents, including teams we hadn’t met before. We particularly appreciated the drop-in question session at the end, where all the team representatives had the opportunity to share experiences and advise each other on team management, organization, human practices and funding.

7/10/2024
24-26/05/2024
pictures of the bielefeld meetup pictures of the bielefeld meetup
pictures of the bielefeld meetup

European Meetup

(Madrid)

The European iGEM Meetup of 2024 was organized by the RePET- iGEM Madrid (UCM). We are proud to have won the Sustainability Prize at this meetup. During the event, Jena and Enrique attended presentations on computational biology, biophysics, and epidemiology. We also had the chance to ask questions to PhD students and current iGEM ambassadors, Alsonso Segura and Yassin Somoue Chafik. In addition, we presented our project and engaged with other iGEM teams to exchange ideas. These moments were great opportunities to brainstorm ideas and receive feedback on our project.

12/07/2024
pictures of the Dutch meetup pictures of the Dutch meetup

International Meetup

(Münster)

We participated in the Junior Jam International Meetup in Münster, Germany. At the event, Jena and Julia had the opportunity to hear from speakers from the biotechnology sector and panel discussions about SynBio projects with judges from iGEM. We also presented our project and showcased our poster, answered questions from the public, and received feedback. At the end, we participated in the podcast of the Munster and BHF (Bielefeld, Hamburg, and Frankfurt) teams to discuss our experiences with our project

7-8/09/2024
sheffield meetup sheffield meetup

Sustainable Development Symposium

(Virtual)

We participated in the Sustainable Development Symposium organized by the MSP-Maastricht iGEM team. This meetup was especially interesting for our team since we have been committed to making our project sustainable since it’s conception. Jena and Anna were able to follow presentations about SDGs and other teams’ efforts to achieve them. Moreover, we were able to pitch our project and get feedback from ambassadors to Europe, Latin America and Asia & Oceania: Yassin Somoue Chafik, Kate Willis-Ureña and Rashik Chand.

22/09/2024
Sustainable Development Sypsonium Sustainable Development Sypsonium

BeNeLux & Germany Mini Jamboree

(Eindhoven)

On October 7th, we will go to Eindhoven to participate in the BeNeLux & Germany Mini Jamboree. This will be our final chance to practice our pitch and get feedback from professional judges before the final Jamboree in Paris.