Team:Bulgaria/HP/Gold Integrated
Integrated Human Practices Gold
Help our colleagues
We were quite happy that our project is safe but this was not enough. To feel that we really belong to the iGEM initiative and spirit, we needed to make ACE of BASE also useful for the society. To do so, we decided to concentrate on a specific target group with problems that can be solved by an iGEM team. We selected all students at University of Sofia "St. Kliment Ohridski" as such target group. We had a lot of conversations with them and we found that the major problem are the practical exercises. Most of the students have a Genetics class during their education but all practical hours were concentrated on solving different theoretical tasks with no real lab work. One example of a practical exercise that can be used to motivate students is a random mutagenesis experiment. Unfortunately, it is no longer part of the program. We initiated a conversation with the Genetics and Genomics Department and we reached an agreement - in case ACE OF BASE is working, it will be integrated in the educational process. To do so, we emphasized that our approach is not only cheap but also has another very important advantage - there is no toxic chemical mutagen treatment or UV irradiation of samples that can present risk for the students. We also took the obligation to help with the flawless technology transfer. To convince the university, our PI promised to personally introduce the system to the students next year and all student team members will be involved as volunteer instructors for their colleagues. Thanks to these activities, our project will increase the education quality in Bulgaria, improving both the practical skills of the students and their safety.
