Regions/Europe/Jamboree/During Jamboree

During the Jamboree

Questions and Information

If you have a question or need help at any point during the Jamboree,you can contact the registration desk near the entrance of the Main Building, or look for one of the iGEM staff members on site. They wear blue polo shirts. If you need to get in touch with someone of the local organization for an urgent matter, you may contact the following people:

• Douwe Molenaar +31 20 59 86993 (local coordinator Amsterdam)
• Aljoscha Wahl +31 15 27 83193
• Oscar Kuipers +31 50 36 32093 (head of judge team)

Jamboree Schedule

We have prepared a program for the poster and presentation sessions.

On-site Registration/Check-in

Teams can check-in on Friday afternoon September 30th for the Jamboree beginning at 16:00 h. The registration desk is located near the entrance in the main building, to your right if you enter the building. At the registration desk you will pick up your team box. One team member is responsible for picking up the team box, and not all team members have to register individually. To receive your team box, bring a filled-out release form for each team member that is registered for the Jamboree.
Guests can check-in on Friday September 30th starting at 16:00 h or on Saturday October 1st starting at 8:00 h, at the registration desk.

Team Boxes

Your team box will contain the following:

• Team member badges
• A booklet for each team member containing Jamboree Handbook, program schedule, map of the VU campus, information about public transport in Amsterdam and sponsor information
• Lunch Tickets
• Free drinks Tickets

Note: One team member is responsible for picking up the team box and distribute the badges, tickets and the program books. Please wear your badges at all times.

Badges

You will receive a name badge as part of your team box. Please wear your badge at all times during the Jamboree. In this way you make yourself known to other participants, and badges are necessary to enter presentation rooms, as well as for access to food and the iGEM diner and party.

Team spirit

At the Jamboree you will be representing your team, university and country, so why not show off! Designing team t-shirts is always a good idea. Make sure to distinguish your team and be well visible in the iGEM group picture. Wear your team's logo, or give a nod to your team's sponsors. We also encourage you to find new ways to showcase your team spirit.

Message boards

Trying to find someone at the Jamboree? Want to leave some words of praise for your fellow iGEMers? There will be message boards available at the entrance of the large plenary lecture hall (Aula), so that you can leave a note for a team or one of their members. Check the message boards regularly. There may be a funny, interesting, or important message waiting for you!

Meeting of Minds

Researchers in the field of synthetic biology are synthesizing and using genetic material as 'building blocks' to design and create new biological systems, including micro-organisms serving as living factories of useful products. This offers a world of possibilities: drugs produced by re-engineered bacteria, algae transformed into a source of clean energy, maybe the resurrection of extinct animals such as the Woolly Mammoth, or perhaps even the creation of artificial life. The question is: which way forward with this technology?
On the night preceding the iGEM Jamboree the Rathenau Instituut organizes a Meeting of Young Minds, in which political youth organisations from the Netherlands and the iGEM participants will debate the future of synthetic biology. The Rathenau Instituut has supported the political youth organisations with opportunities and information to thoroughly prepare for the debate
The debate will take place in the Aula. You are invited to just walk, for example after finishing practicing your presentation. After the debate there will be drinks available.

Practice presentation

During the Meeting of Minds session at Friday night (September 30th), the teams are welcome to practice their presentations. There are a limited number of room’s available, sign up online on the practice sessions page to reserve your time-slot. Practice sessions will run from 18.00 to 20.00 h. We cannot match the practice room with the room that you will give your presentation in on Saturday.

Note: You will be guided to the practice rooms by volunteers. There will be no technical assistance. Please leave all presentation rooms in the condition that you found them.

Saterday Opening Ceremony

The Saturday Opening Ceremony on October 1 will officially kick off the 2011 Europe Regional Jamboree! You can get coffee or tea in the foyer, available from 08:00 h. The opening ceremony will be held in the Aula at 8:45 h. Make sure to attend the opening to have all updates and changes to the Jamboree schedule, and the events planned for the coming days.

VU campus

All iGEM Jamboree activities take place in the main building at the VU Campus (Address: De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam, maps), except the diner and party on Saturday which will take place in The Basket, behind the main building.

Food

Food will be provided throughout the Jamboree. Friday night dinner is provided in the mensa of the main building. For those of you who will practice on Friday and visit the Meeting of Young Minds event, there will be diner tickets at te registration desk, to be used in the University restaurant. Lunch will be served in the poster session areas. Specially requested meals: vegan, and gluten-free, will be available according to the requests during registration.

Posters

Each team is required to present a poster at the Jamboree. The poster session takes place on Saturday, starting 16:00 h. Poster locations have been randomly assigned according to track in one of the three locations, poster areas 1-3. Please see the team specific information sheet, in your team box, for your teams specific poster number. The locations can be found on the maps sub: Poster-areas. The poster must be no larger than 1.2 m width by 0.9 m height. Each team may only put up ONE poster.
The poster should be hung up on a poster stand. Pieces of velcro adhesive will be provided at the poster stands and are to be affixed to the back of a poster. Please only use these velcro adhesives, do NOT use tape or push pins. Ask a volunteer if you need help or additional velcro adhesives. Teams can hang up their posters beginning at 08:00 h on Saturday, or during the first break. Please have your poster up as soon as possible, because Poster Judges will be roaming along the posters throughout the day on Saturday.
A green sticker affixed to your poster will indicate that it has been judged. The poster session will be held on Saturday from 16:00 to 19:00 h. Let a few members of your team be present at your poster to discuss the project with judges and other teams.
Posters must be removed by Sunday afternoon 15:00 h. Any remaining posters will not be saved.

Presentation

There are a total of five presentation rooms (capacity for 200 persons). Your teams scheduled presentation time, slot, session, and room have all been randomly assigned within your track. Please see your team box or the program tab: sessions for information, on when and where your team will be presenting. Each parallel session consists of three presentations. With a few exceptions, each of the three presentations given during a session will be of the same track. If you are attending the presentations, please stay for the whole session and only leave the room during the scheduled breaks.
Each team has 20 minutes of presentation time, 5 minutes for questions and answers, and 5 minutes to switch with the next presenters. Please be present 10 minutes before your session to save the presentation and poster (a crew member will welcome you). You can also test your equipment, video and sound connection. Make sure to bring the necessary equipment for your presentation, such as your laptop, cables/adaptors, and power supply, as iGEM will not provide these.

Important: Be present 10 minutes prior to the start of the session and NOT prior to your presentation time!

We need your Poster and Presentation

In an effort to capture all of the hard work that teams have put into their iGEM projects, we ask that each team give us a copy of your presentation and a copy of your poster.
To submit your files follow the instructions below:

• Save your presentation and poster as a high resolution pdf file.
• Ten minutes before the start of each session, there will be an iGEM crew member at the front of each presentation room.
• Bring your laptop with the files on it to the front and the iGEM staff member will transfer your presentation and poster to a USB key that they will have with them.

Wireless internet at VU campus

If you have a laptop, PDA/smartphone or other computer with a wireless ethernet adapter then you can use the wireless Internet of the VU campus. There are two options to connect to this network. The 'Guest account' option will work for anyone. The 'Eduroam' option is easier but will work only if your home institute participates in the Eduroam initiative.

Eduroam
Eduroam allows students, researchers and staff from participating institutions to obtain internet connectivity when visiting other participating institutions by using the account details that they use at their home institution. Check here whether your institution participates in Eduroam. You can log in by using the same username and password combination that you use at your institute.

Settings:

• Wireless network: & 802.11 a/b/g
• Network name (SSID): & eduroam
• Network authentication/encryption: & WPA2 Enterprise/AES
• Security protocol: & 802.1x EAP-TTLS/PAP

Guest account
If the option above doesn't work for you then it is possible to use a guest account on the ``guest'' network. Personal guest account details are available in the team box. You are required to use your own personal guest account details, and you should not exchange account details with other participants.

Social Event

On Saturday night after the poster reception, we will be hosting the iGEM Europe Jamboree Diner and Party at The Basket from 19:00 to 01:00 h. There will be food, music and dancing. Each person will receive four free drink tickets as part of the team box. We highly encourage all iGEM participants to attend. Relax and have fun! At the end of the party there are several ways to get back to your hotel, depending on the time. If you're late you can take your rented bike, a ``night bus'' or a taxi, which we can call for you. Please realize that the ``night bus'' service is not included in a 24 or 48 h GVB ticket.

Note: You must have your iGEM name badge in order to gain access to the social event.

Awards Ceremony

The awards ceremony will be held on Sunday at Aula and will start at 9.30 h. The judges will first announce three regional finalists who will then be asked to give their presentations to all judges and teams. All teams should be prepared to present at the Aula, so be sure to bring the necessary materials with you. The judges will then announce the medals, special price winners, qualifications to the iGEM World Championships and the European winner. Then the 2011 iGEM Europe Jamboree will officially end.

iGEM Europe from above

After the finalists have given their presentations on Sunday, we will be taking the 2011 iGEM from Above group picture! The picture will be taken in the Aula. Make sure to wear your iGEM team t-shirt!

Medals

This year iGEM is designating achievements for documentation of your project and contributions to the synthetic biology community. These achievements are signified by a bronze, silver, or gold medal seal, which each team member can adhere to their participatory certificate. These designations will be based on their performance in the online judging round (online judging occurs in the week directly before the Jamboree). Look here for the criteria.

Special Awards

Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday October 2nd. The regions have following prizes.

• Best Human Practices Advance (apply via your judging form)
• Best BioBrick Measurement Approach (apply via your judging form)
• Best Model (apply via your judging form)
• Best New BioBrick Part, Natural
• Best New BioBrick Device, Engineered
• Best Wiki
• Best Poster, Regional Level
• Best Presentation

Each team that wins an award will receive one trophy for the team as well as award certificates for each team member. These award certificates are separate from the participation certificates. The 18 runner up teams will be allowed to compete in Boston at the world Jamboree. The jury in Boston will be different from the one at the regional Jamborees, so chances of winning an award will be open again for all 18 teams!

Picking up awards and medals

Your award box, to be collected at the registration desk on Sunday after the Award Ceremony will contain participation certificates,medals and, if applicable, award certificates for each team member on the official roster. One team member is responsible for picking up the award box.

Luggage

If you need to check out of your hotel on Sunday morning and need to stow your luggage somewhere, you can bring it to the registration desk. We will lock away your luggage, but cannot be held liable in case of loss or damage! The registration desk closes Sunday afternoon 15:00 h, so it is absolutely critical that your luggage be picked up by that time.

Transportation

The cities of Amsterdam have a public transportation system that is comprised of trams and subways. Information is provided here for getting around in Amsterdam.

Emergency Situation

If there is an emergency (medical emergency, fire, police, etc.) please contact VU campus emergencies numbers:

• From a campus phone: 22222
• From a cell phone, pay phone, or off-campus:112