Global Open Genetic Engineering Competition

Research opportunities are instrumental for undergraduates’ academic learning and career development. Students apply the topics they learn about in class while gaining experience in laboratory techniques, hypothesis testing, and data analysis, but beyond that, students get to explore career paths and gain transferable skills. Wherever their career path may take them, undergraduates who participate in research gain vital experience in critical thinking, problem-solving, and supporting arguments with evidence.

Students who attend scientific conferences benefit even more from their research experience, getting opportunities to practice networking, presentation design, communication, and quick-thinking in regards to addressing questions on their work. Still, the cost of attending conferences is often a barrier to accessibility. In addition to often-hefty conference fees, conferences require money for transportation and lodging, which limits both the number and the types of conferences that students can attend. The cost of conferences is a heavy barrier for student-led research, which often has a more restrictive budget than research stemming from a professor’s grants.

Gogec (Global Open Genetic Engineering Competition) is a new, virtual, synthetic biology conference that aims to tackle this issue head-on by providing a free platform where students from around the world can come together to share student-led synthetic biology research and interact with experts in the field. Last year, we successfully organized the inaugural Gogec conference and managed to attract more than 200 participants from 8 teams in 5 different continents as well as a variety of experts to speak at our conference. This year, Gogec is growing, with over 250 participants from 25 teams and attendees coming from 16 countries across 5 continents currently registered, and registration is still ongoing!

Gogec’s mission statement revolves around the idea of keeping our conference free and as accessible as possible. We intend to always remain that way, but that does not mean that hosting this conference is cost-free. In the past, the organization team has borne these costs, but as Gogec grows, so will these costs. To support the continued development of this free conference, we would be grateful for any and all support you could donate to help us cover the costs listed below.

Our costs are listed below:

Tally Pro $290

Prizes $360

Email domains $240

Reimbursement for last year's domain + hosting $125

Wix website hosting $233.83

Domain name $16.17

Droplets Server $576