What are we doing?

On the 21st of August, 2011, the St Andrews IGEM team collaborated with the Dundee IGEM Team and Professor John Urch of Dundee University to organise a synthetic biology presentation at the World Schools Debating Championships in Dundee. The World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) is a celebrated debating competition between high school students of various cultures and academic backgrounds, which has been taking place annually since 1988. Previous participants of the competition include Tony Blair and Nelson Mandela.

Our preliminary idea was to conduct a presentation which would inform students about synthetic biology and would inspire a healthy discussion concerning the various ethical issues and opinions associated with the subject. The teams had a few meetings prior to the event where the programme of the presentation and the division of responsibilities were discussed. It was decided that the Dundee IGEM team would talk about the positive aspects of synthetic biology, while the St Andrews IGEM team would discuss the negative aspects of synthetic biology. After the presentation, both iGEM teams and their advisors would form a panel to address questions raised by audience members, in order to encourage independent thought and internal discussion amongst the audience.

Our Arguments

Student Response

Presentations

Below are links to both the St Andrews and Dundee University presentations:

Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here Random text here