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Revision as of 13:19, 22 October 2017
German-wide Meetup
![Group picture of the German-wide Meetup](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/1/19/170921_Meetup_2.jpg)
The Idea
The concept of the German-wide Meetup was as to gather all the teams to network and set up collaborations for the iGEM Giant Jamboree. In the beginning of October, the team was a small group of Bachelor’s and Master’s students with very little diversity. By November, the team doubled in size and included members from many departments: CRTD, BIOTEC and the Biology Department at the TU Dresden. We became a truly international iGEM team, covering many disciplines and nationalities. With the resources, we had pulled together now, we thought we can plan something big, a German-wide meetup. We could host the meetup, using the whole of Dresden and be able to accommodate all the German iGEM teams. Out of the 13 that were invited, 9 came to the assembly, with a total of 50 people attending. The goals of the meetup were:
- Sharing our iGEM experience so far
- Getting to know the projects and visions of all attending teams
- Train the pitch and presentation skills in order to prepare for the Giant Jamboree
- Finding collaborations and strengthen the bonds between the teams
- Increasing the general knowledge about Synthetic Biology through conferences and events
- Having a fun weekend together
Preparation
To prepare for the meetup, a team was assembled to manage and organize the scheduling, food costs, designs and logos, accommodation, etc. Sponsors had to be found and boxes had to be checked to make sure that nothing can go wrong for such a large occasion. Vier Vogel Pils sponsored the beer for the event, while Promega hosted a seminar on RT-qPCR. We had planned everything to the millisecond that by the time the conference came around, we were prepared.
Schedule
Schedule Meetup The German Wide Meetup was hosted for the first time by the TU Dresden iGEM team. In a 3-day affair, 60 students from 11 universities attended with the aim to practice their presentation demeanor, setup future collaborations and most of all, make new friends ahead of the Giant Jamboree and have fun.
Friday consisted of checking into the hostels, exploring the city of Dresden, and getting a chance to meet the fellow iGEM teams. Each participant was recieved a name badge and a brochure containing the schedule of the event as well some Promega givaways.
Saturday started off with a few introductory talks, as well as the presentation of “iGEM Goes Green”; part of the project of our iGEM team to push sustainability and environmentally-friendly lab work. Next, each attending team was given the chance to present their own project ideas; with the intent of promoting inter-lab collaborations.
Sundays main events consisted of two workshop events, held in smaller groups. The participants chose between the option to take part in a speed dating for last-minute collaboration agreements or an introduction workshop of iGEM goes green with interactive tasks on how to calculate the greenhouse gas emission of their projects and exploring ideas for more sustainable lab work.
See more on our iGEM goes green page
Guest Speakers
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Mascher:
Dr. Mascher is the supervisor of the TU Dresden iGEM team and serial competitor in iGEM, leading the LMU Munich teams in the past. His research focuses on Bacillus subtilis, a spore-producing bacterium, and focuses on gene networks and systems biology. His talk discussed B. subtilisas a model organism and his previous endeavors in iGEM competitions.
Promega Represenative: Marcel Thiele:
Mr. Thiele is the Dresden regional representative for Promega. He gave an interesting presentation discussing hints and pitfalls when performing RT-qPCR to get optimal results.
Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Braun - Peptidosomes:
Dr. Braun is a professor at the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research in Dresden and his research focuses on micro- and nanostructuring techniques for polymers and liquids. His presentation focused on the self-assembly of diphenylalanine motifs and its mechanism as well as discussing his experiences in judging and supervising a team in a different biology competition.
Teams
![Aachen](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/1/16/TU_Dresden_Meetup_3.jpg)
![Team Berlin.](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/4/47/TU_Dresden_Meetup_32.jpg)
![Team Bielefeld](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/d/df/TU_Dresden_Meetup_29.jpg)
![Team Cologne-Düsseldorf.](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/4/45/TU_Dresden_Meetup_28.jpg)
![Team Darmstadt](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/8/84/TU_Dresden_Meetup_7.jpg)
![Team Erlangen-Nürnberg.](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/c/c9/TU_Dresden_Meetup_31.jpg)
![Team Freiburg](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/e/ee/TU_Dresden_Meetup_6.jpg)
![Team Munich](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/6/6b/TU_Dresden_Meetup_5.jpg)
![Team Potsdam.](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/0/0d/TU_Dresden_Meetup_30.jpg)
Conclusion
The meetup was important for many reasons as it created an environment of collaboration for the teams, a pillar of the iGEM competition. With the time during the speed dating and the workshops, strong bonds were made between the iGEMers that will help for the competition but also for future endeavors after the iGEM Giant Jamboree. The experience for our team to set up this big event is also valuable as it takes a team effort in multiple areas, fundraising, planning and scheduling, getting guest speakers. It was all worth it in the end as the teams enjoyed themselves and we shared a lot of laughs. We can’t wait to see you all at the Jamboree.