In spring 2017, we visited our first school in Austria, the “HLW Wolfsberg” in Carinthia. This school is a secondary school with the focus on industrial management, but the students of the 5th grade have a specialized course called “genetics”, where they learn everything about genes and DNA technology and all the processes behind. For this reason, the school gave us the opportunity to introduce ourselves and dive deeper into subject with the pupils.

To make it more comprehensible for the students, we prepared a powerpoint presentation. In the course of this presentation, we discussed the iGEM competition - what it is all about and what you have to do to become part of it. After talking about iGEM in general, we introduced them into our project “Colibot” and explained them how we want to create a  robot-bacteria interface. Since the students attended the genetic class, we also discussed the topic genetic engineering, some advantages and disadvantages of its use and the evaluation of potential risks. On one hand, it was important for us to raise awareness for genetic engineering and to engage in prejudices, but on the other hand, we also wanted to hear their opinion and where they see potential applications of genetic engineering in the future.

After the presentation, we prepared an experiment in which we isolated DNA from strawberries and bananas using salt, dish liquid and ethanol. Some of the pupils were very enthusiastic about the isolation process and to see, how easy it could be, generally, to isolate DNA with everyday tools.

Because of the attentiveness and curiosity of the students for all the topics, the presentation was a big success for us. Since natural science is not the main focus in that kind of school, we were really impressed by the knowledge of some of the students.

In Autumn 2017, we visited the “BRG Kepler High School” in Graz, Styria. This is also a secondary school with specialized courses in natural science, so we thought it could be another great audience to deepen into the subject.

The procedure was planned the same as at the other school, but this time we got supported by the “NAWI Graz Institution” and the “Human.Technology Styria” (HTS). The reason why those two institutions supported us was not only to talk about iGEM and our project, but also to show the students some possible fields of studies and what you can do with this kind of education for your future career.

The “NAWI Graz Institute” talked about the possible studies students could attend at the Karl-Franzens University and University of Technology of Graz, since the institution offers “joint NAWI Graz study programmes” in Bioscience, Chemistry, Earth, Space and Environmental Sciences, Mathematics and Physics, instead of separated ones.

Followed by “Human.Technology Styria” presentation, the students were shown the possibilities they have after university and different fields they could work in. Since HTS is an economic initiative focused on strengthening the competitive capabilities of Styrian companies, institutions and scientific bodies working in the field of human technology, we also discussed the newest technological developments in the field of life science and human health care.

All in all, the schools visits were a great success. We achieved our goals by educating the students on topics like gene technology, biotechnology and synthetic biology, as well as promoting iGEM and talking about our project. Hopefully, we were also able to inspire some of the pupils to pursue a career in natural sciences.

Talking to students in that age can sometimes present some difficulties because of their “I am not interested at all - mood”. For us, it was really impressing on how they paid attention and tried to listen and understand the topics, despite the complexity of the content. No one of us ever did presentations like this in schools before, thus we were very proud that we were able to achieve such good results all together and show them some possibilities for their future career.

“I personally think it is very important to arouse the curiosity of pupils at an early stage, that they understand that one can also achieve a lot from Austria and be part of something big. It is great to see how students contribute to scientific progress” - Silvia Joham (Teacher for Biology and Chemistry at HLW - Wolfsberg).

In Austria, people are rather negatively opposed to the concept of genetic engineering. The reason for this is presumably because genetic engineering in Austria plays no great role in, for example, the agricultural sector. We do not have to resort to genetic engineering either economically or agriculturally. The fewest know, that genetic engineering is also used in medicine and therefore necessary in Austria. By this misunderstanding, the generally accepted term genetic engineering has a very negative association. In order to stimulate the discourse on the subject of genetic engineering, we organized a discussion evening, to which we invited experts from various fields. Through our work for iGEM, we were aware of how much is discussed about genetic engineering, although the necessary understanding is only deficient. For this reason, we have decided to organize such an evening to clarify misunderstandings and half-truths. Different topics have been discussed during this evening. The aim was to increase the knowledge about the widespread use of genetic engineering in various fields. The main topics were: genetic engineering in media, genetic engineering in agriculture and foods and its use in medicine. In addition, some key words which are often heard on the radio or read more often in the newspapers, were deepened more precisely: Genetic engineering interventions in the environment for the “well of man”; patent of life: growing influence of large concerns; synthetic life: do we play god?

For support, we invited following experts:

Günter Getzinger Ass.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.,

Günter Getzinger studied chemical engineering at the Technical University of Graz, as well as philosophy at the Karl-Franzens Universtiy of Graz. He is working in the field of philosophy of technology, theoretical and practical aspects of sustainable technology design and technology assessment and product evaluation.

Schober Michael Maximilian Dr.med.univ

Schober Michael Maximilian studied medicine at Medical University of Graz and was working at ZMF (“Zentrum für molekulare Forschung”) in the field of diabetes research. Now, he is more focusing on working with biomarkers at CBmed.

Sandy Schmidt Dr. rer. nat.

Sandy Schmidt studied biochemistry at the University of Greifswald, Germany, and is now working as group leader at the Technical University of Graz since she finished her post-doc at Technical University of Delft.

Merle David Adrian BSc

Merle David Adrian studies medicine at Medical University of Graz and has a bachelor in molecular biology at the Karl-Franzens University of Graz. He is working at the CBmed, Customized Soutions for international Biomarker Research, a company working in the field of biomarker research to develop solutions and products for patient care and cure.

Tomislav Cernava Dr.techn. BSc MSc

Tomislav Cernava, who did his bachelor in molecular biology and his master in biochemistry and molecular biomedicine at the Karl-Franzens University of Graz. For his PhD, he specialized deeper into the field of biotechnology at the Technical University of Graz, followed by his post-doc at ACIB and Roombiotic GmbH. Now, he is working at the institute for environmental biotechnology as an university assistant.

Martin Stefanec BSc

Martin Stefanec, who did his bachelor in biology and his master in behavioral physiology at the Karl-Franzens University of Graz. He is now working as a researcher in the field of algorithm development and implementation, as well as an experiment designer and modeler at ALL (Artificial Life Lab).

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