Since early 2020, the Australasian Synthetic Biology Challenge has introduced 330 students from 11 universities to apply Design-Build-Test-Learn principles underpinning the bio-revolution. ASBC had humble beginnings but bold ambitions. From a pilot group 4 teams meeting on Zoom to a gathering of over 100 students, academic supervisors and industry representatives at our first in-person Final Showcase in 2023.
The founders of ASBC prioritised community, accessibility and inclusion from day one. As a volunteer-led effort, the Challenge brought together a multitude of stakeholders from academia, industry and startup ecosystem to create a free and open-source program for students to engage with cutting edge innovation.
In 2024, the AusSynBio Challenge faced challenges in funding and resourcing leading to a hiatus. The absence of the program, which has provided many participants their first introduction to synthetic biology, has been sorely missed by the community, at a juncture where there has been more demand for synthetic biology education than ever before.
Led by a new generation of leaders, we are excited to announce the relaunch of the Australasian SynBio Challenge in 2025! Previous committee member Betty Zhang (2020 participant, 2022 mentor) will be copiloting ASBC into its next evolution alongside Matthew Wierzbowski and Catherine Chen (2020 alumni), two PhD students from Melbourne. The team is also involved in bringing Nucleate to Australian shores and will be supported by Jack Dalton (2023 alumni) from UK and other members of Nucleate Australia.
Community will remain at the heart of the Australasian Synthetic Biology Challenge, and our continued success will depend on support from every corner of the ecosystem. We are excited to engage more participants, mentors, universities and industry partners in the next phase of ASBC to catalyse #synbio education and innovation.
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