title: Modular projects and 'mean questions': best practices for advising an International Genetically Engineered Machines team.
abstract: In the yearly Internationally Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition, teams of Bachelor's and Master's students design and build an engineered biological system using DNA technologies. Advising an iGEM team poses unique challenges due to the inherent difficulties of mounting and completing a new biological project from scratch over the course of a single academic year; the challenges in obtaining financial and structural resources for a project that will likely not be fully realized; and conflicts between educational and competition-based goals. This article shares tips and best practices for iGEM team advisors, from two team advisors with very different experiences with the iGEM competition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of La Verne, 1950 Third Street, La Verne, CA 91750, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tsui
authors.affiliation: Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, 2628CJ Delft, the Netherlands a.s.meyer@tudelft.nl.
authors.forename: Anne S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D013334:Students; D058615:Synthetic Biology / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods
keywords: brainstorming; iGEM; project advising; student assessment; student projects; synthetic biology