International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition Student Stipends

Purpose

The Wellcome Trust wishes to offer a number of student stipends to support the participation of UK teams in the Internationally Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition. The aim of the stipend is to provide promising undergraduates with hands-on experience of synthetic biology during their summer vacation and to encourage the students to consider a career in interdisciplinary research.

If your university is new to iGEM, information on how to start a team can be found on the iGEM website.

Experiences of previous iGEM participants and articles on synthetic biology are available here.

Background

iGEM is an undergraduate synthetic biology competition where student teams are given a kit of biological parts, at the beginning of the summer, from the Registry of Standard Biological Parts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The aim is to design new biological systems and operate them in living cells. The teams will first present the projects at the iGEM Regional European Qualifiers in the autumn, and if successful, then at the iGEM Championship Jamboree, held every November, at the MIT.

What's included

Stipends are available for a maximum of ten students per team, and will provide support for up to ten weeks during the summer vacation. Each student will receive a stipend of £180 (£190 in London) per week to cover living expenses.

The iGEM team fee, flights, accommodation, medical insurance and research expenses are not included in the stipend and are expected to be obtained from alternative sources.

Eligibility

Applicants must be at a university within the UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) and should be:

• an undergraduate registered for either a basic science, mathematical, physical science, social and ethical science, dentistry, medical or veterinary degree
• an undergraduate in the middle year/s of a first degree of study (i.e. not in their first or last year) or a medical student between the end of the second year and the end of the penultimate year.

Applicants must have been accepted onto an iGEM team affiliated with a university within the UK or RoI.

Stipends are not available for the completion of student projects that are part of the normal degree course, or for students wishing to undertake research in laboratories outside the UK or RoI.

To be eligible for the Trust student stipend competition, additional funds raised by the teams cannot be secured from the tobacco industry. Additionally, teams must also be able to abide by the Wellcome Trust Grant Conditions.

Application process

Application forms [Word 359KB] should be completed by team advisers or sponsors with specific sections filled out by the individual students. Only one application should be made per team and a maximum of ten stipends should be requested. (The sponsor must be able to guarantee that space and resources will be made available for the project).

Students are recruited annually by the individual university teams. A list of previous UK/RoI teams can be found on the iGEM website. Individual students are requested not to apply directly to the Trust.

Forms must be submitted electronically (minus the signed undertakings section) to iGEM@wellcome.ac.uk and as a hard copy (including the signed undertakings section) to:

Dr Liz Benson
Molecules, Genes and Cells
Wellcome Trust
Gibbs Building
215 Euston Road
London NW1 2BE

Deadlines

This is an annual competition. The 2011/2012 competition is now closed. Details of the 2012/2013 competition will be announced in autumn 2012.

We ask for a brief report to be submitted within three months of the project's completion. This report should be submitted on a standard report form [Word 121KB].

Contacts

General enquiries should be directed to iGEM@wellcome.ac.uk.