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From 2011.igem.org

Contents 1 Regional Jamborees 1.1 iGEM 2011 Regional Jamboree: Europe 1.2 iGEM 2011 Regional Jamboree: Americas 1.3 iGEM 2011 Regional Jamboree: Asia 2 World Championship Jamboree 2.1 Option #1 2.2 Option #2 2.3 Final Decision

For iGEM 2011, teams will participate in a two-tiered competition. Regional Jamborees will be held in October and the World Championship Jamboree will be held in November. A percentage of teams from each Regional Jamboree will advance to the World Championship.

There will be three Regions for iGEM 2011:

• Americas
• Asia
• Europe

Regional Jamborees

iGEM 2011 Regional Jamboree: Europe

The Europe Regional Jamboree for iGEM 2011 will be hosted by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, TUDelft, and University of Groningen and held in Amsterdam, Netherlands on October 1-2, 2011. More details will become available on the iGEM 2011 Europe Jamboree page.

iGEM 2011 Regional Jamboree: Americas

The Americas Regional Jamboree for iGEM 2011 will be hosted by the Institute of Biological Engineering and held in Indianapolis, Indiana, US on October 8-10, 2011. More details will become available on the iGEM 2011 Americas Jamboree page.

iGEM 2011 Regional Jamboree: Asia

The Asia Regional Jamboree for iGEM 2011 will be hosted by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and held in Hong Kong on October 15-16, 2011. More details will become available on the iGEM 2011 Asia Jamboree page.

World Championship Jamboree

The World Championship Jamboree will be a three-day event where the top percentage of teams from each Region will present their work to compete for the Grand Prize. The date and location of the World Championship Jamboree have not been finalized but iGEM HQ has been actively pursuing several options, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Option #1

November 5-7, 2011 at MIT
Option #1 has the advantage of giving advancing teams the opportunity to present at MIT similar to Jamborees in previous years. The disadvantage to this option is that ALL teams participating in iGEM 2011 must be prepared to travel to the US in November. All participants needing a visa to enter the US must apply for a visa in June, despite not knowing whether their team will advance to the World Championship Jamboree. The timing between the Regional Jamborees and the World Championship Jamboree does not afford enough time to obtain a US visa so teams will NOT be able to wait until the results of their Regional Jamboree have been announced to begin the visa process. Applying for the US visa becomes critical as all team members from advancing teams are expected to attend the World Championship Jamboree.

Option #2

November 5-7, 12-14, or 19-21 in The Bahamas
Option #2 has the advantage that the majority of international teams would not need a visa to enter the country. However, participants travelling and connecting in the United States would likely need a transit visa to clear US customs, despite a travel itinerary that continues out of the country. It is currently unclear how far in advance travelers must apply for a US transit visa. It may be possible to apply and obtain a transit visa in the amount of time between the Regional Jamboree and the World Championship Jamboree. However, travel to the Bahamas is possible without connecting in the US via direct flights from Toronto, Canada, London, UK, and Panama City, Panama. Note that there may be transit visa requirements in Canada and the UK for certain countries as well.

As soon as more details for the World Championship are finalized, they will become available here. iGEM HQ welcomes your thoughts on these two options.

If you have any questions or comments contact iGEM HQ.

Final Decision

After considering the two options above, discussing with iGEMers and venue coordinators, and conferring with visa authorities, iGEM HQ has made the decision to hold the 2011 World Championship Jamboree at MIT on November 5-7, 2011. It is clear that A. teams would still have to obtain transit visas several months in advance of travel to the Bahamas and B. there would be no guarantee that visa applications could be expedited and obtained in time to travel.

Since the World Championship Jamboree will take place at MIT in Cambridge, MA, US 3-5 weeks after the Regional Jamboree depending on the region, it is crucial that all participants of iGEM 2011 apply for and obtain the necessary visas to travel to the US. This must be done at least three months prior to the World Championship Jamboree (i.e. by end of July 2011).