Judging/Medals

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iGEM Medals

All teams must convince the judges they have achieved each of the medal criteria. Simply ticking a box does not guarantee you will awarded a medal. Medal criteria are simpler in 2017 as there are only two sets depending on your team's track. Teams need to meet all the deliverables in section 4 of the 2017 competition requirements page. Please see the Competition Hub for more information.

All teams can earn a medal. Teams can only win one medal in a given iGEM year. Teams must nominate themselves using the Judging Form. Please see our Judging Form info page for more information. See the Calendar for more information on iGEM deadlines.

The three levels of medals, from lowest to highest are Bronze, Silver, and Gold. We do not limit the numbers of each medal. Teams are only competing with themselves to achieve the medal criteria.

Medal

Explanation

Criteria for Standard Tracks

Criteria for Special Tracks

Bronze All Criteria must be met
1 Register and attend Register for iGEM, have a great summer, and attend the Giant Jamboree.
2 Deliverables

Meet all deliverables on the Competition Deliverables page (section 4).

Meet all deliverables on the Competition Deliverables page (section 4), except those that specifically mention parts.

3 Attribution

Create a page on your team wiki with clear attribution of each aspect of your project. This page must clearly designate work done by the students and distinguish it from work done by others, including host labs, advisors, instructors, sponsors, professional website designers, artists, and commercial services.

Judges often wonder...

Judges often wonder what a team has accomplished themselves. This page is your opportunity to explain what parts of your project you did and what was done by technicians, advisers, etc. This requirement is not about literature references - these can and should be displayed throughout your wiki! Please also see the Purdue Online Writing Lab for more information on how to avoid accidental plagiarism.)

4 Characterization / Contribution

Participate in the Interlab Measurement Study and/or improve the characterization of an existing BioBrick Part or Device and enter this information on that part's Main Page in the Registry. The part that you are characterizing must NOT be from a 2017 part number range.

Please see the

iGEM Registry Contribution page and the interlab measurement study page for more information. If characterization involves fluorescence, values must be reported in iGEM standard units (uM/OD or MEF)

Document at least one new substantial contribution to the iGEM community that showcases a project related to BioBricks. This contribution should be central to your project and equivalent in difficulty to making and submitting a BioBrick part.

Silver All Criteria must be met
1 Validated Part / Validated Contribution

Convince the judges that at least one new BioBrick Part of your own design that is central to your project works as expected. Document the experimental characterization of this part on the Main Page of that Part’s Registry entry. Submit a sample of this new part to the iGEM Parts Registry (following Registry submission guidelines). This working part must be different from the part documented in gold #2.

Don't forget to...

please carry over the links from Deliverables for Sample Submission from 2016: Teams are asked to submit samples of their new Parts to the Registry to help make the Registry better each year. Teams must follow our DNA Submission Guidelines to qualify for medals. Teams need to mail their samples by the Sample Submission Deadline and provide a tracking number as proof that they sent their DNA on time. Failure to follow our guidelines may result in a rejected shipment or sample, which may disqualify your team from winning medals and awards.)

Convince the judges that something you created (art & design, hardware, software, etc.) performs its intended function. Provide thorough documentation of this validation on your team wiki.

2 Collaboration

Convince the judges you have significantly worked with any other registered iGEM team in a meaningful way. For example, mentor a team, characterize a part, troubleshoot a project, model/simulate a system or validate a software/hardware solution to a synbio problem, or be the recipient of any of these activities.

You should convince...

the judges that the nature of your interaction is bi-directional; they may look at the other team's wiki to see what they say about your interaction. Simply filling out a survey for a team is not enough to demonstrate a significant interaction).

3 Human Practices

Convince the judges you have thought carefully and creatively about whether your work is safe, responsible and good for the world. You could accomplish this through engaging with your local, national and/or international communities or other approaches. Please note that standard surveys will not fulfill this criteria.

See the...

Human Practices Hub for more information and examples of previous teams' exemplary work.

Gold At least two (2) criteria must be met
1 Integrated Human Practices

Expand on your silver medal activity by demonstrating how you have integrated the investigated issues into the design and/or execution of your project.

See the...

Human Practices Hub for information and examples of previous teams' comprehensive and innovative activities.)

2 Improve a previous part or project

Improve the function of an existing BioBrick Part. The original part must NOT be from your 2017 part number range. If you change the original part sequence, you must submit a new part. In addition, both the new and original part pages must reference each other.

If you do not...

change the part sequence, your improvements must be documented on the original part's Main Page in the Registry.)

Improve the function of an existing iGEM project (that your current team did not originally create) and display your achievement on your wiki.

3 Model your project

Convince the judges that your project's design and/or implementation is based on insight you have gained from modeling. Thoroughly document your model's contribution to your project on your team's wiki, including assumptions, relevant data, and model results.

Judges are looking for...

modeling that matters. You should be able to explain your model to someone with a non-mathematical background. Simply displaying pages of differential equations does not constitute good modeling. See these examples: Manchester 2016, Czech Republic 2015, ETH Zurich 2015)

4 Demonstrate your work

Convince the judges that your project works.

Projects have to work under...

under realistic conditions. Your project must comply with all rules and regulations approved by the iGEM Safety Committee . Your project can derive from or make functional a previous iGEM project by your team or by another team. For multi-component projects, the judges may consider the function of individual components.)

Standard Tracks Special Tracks