Making a mark for Australia and New Zealand in the global domain

Bringing home the Gold Award and Best Energy Project from the Internationally Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM) held in Boston, USA back in 2017 for Macquarie University, Cindy was able to witness the competition of talents and innovation the iGEM community had to offer.

Since then, she had been a yearly judge for the competition from 2020-2022 until she was invited to be the iGEM Ambassador for Australia and New Zealand.

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"It’s nothing but an honour to be the iGEM ANZ Ambassador and bring opportunity and build the synthetic biology community for my region”.

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Being an Ambassador, Cindy aims to educate industry leaders, the workforce and students on the Synthetic Biology industry. She is excited to support and assist in bringing our community together and show what Australia and New Zealand can offer in the global market. There are plenty of ways iGEM provides opportunities for:

• Grand Jamboree – the Jamboree is the World Expo of Synthetic Biology. At the Jamboree, we unite the world's largest community of synbio researchers, educators, industry, investors, startups and policymakers in one place to help build a better world using synthetic biology. Being a part of it, you will have a diverse range of opportunities to engage with the other Jamboree participants.

Cindy aims for Australia and New Zealand to join the National Pavilions in the iGEM GrandJamboree. The National Pavilions at the iGEM Grand Jamboree offer a platform for countries and regions to showcase their progress and achievements in synthetic biology. These dedicated but flexible spaces highlight the unique contributions and advancements made by nations in this field.

These pavilions are the most ideal way for countries and regions to creatively share their accomplishments, engage with SynBio enthusiasts, promote networking, and contribute to the global dialogue on governance, ethics, and responsible practice in synthetic biology.

• Competition - iGEM’s main program is the iGEM Competition, an annual, worldwide synthetic biology event aimed at undergraduate university students, as well as high school and graduate students. Multidisciplinary teams work together to design, build, and test a system of their own design using interchangeable biological parts and standard molecular biology techniques.

• League - iGEM Leagues are a way for both iGEMers and members of their local syntheticbiology community to design programs that will contribute to provide an iGEM experienceeverywhere.

• Community – Find, connect with, and excite past iGEMers from your region to create avibrant and supportive iGEM community. We hope iGEMers share their stories andachievements, and also continue their passion for SynBio through participation in iGEMCommunity and our activities.

• Startups - 7500 people go through the iGEM Competition every year, creating over 350 synbio projects. iGEM Startups helps them, and all other upcoming BioFounders to createhigh impact startups, solving the world's most pressing problems.

Learn more by exploring the iGEM page: https://igem.org or get in touch with your localAmbassador through the following details:
E: cindy@igem.org
M: +61 404 815 032

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