​iGEM started in 2003 as a summer research program at the MIT in Boston. After going international in 2005, the event grew huge with over 350 teams participating in 2019. Nowadays, more than 400 teams from all over the world participate each year.

​"What I cannot build, I cannot understand" – Richard Feynman

​In iGEM, teams try to tackle real-world issues with their project by engineering biological systems to provide solutions to real problems. Along the way, they gain a deeper understanding of how biological systems work and how they can improve our everyday lives.

​iGEM is not just about the lab though, an important part of iGEM is interacting with communities, collaborating with other teams, and developing and adapting your project with many outside inputs. ​At the end of the competition, the teams come together at the Giant Jamboree to present their project and meet the other teams.

For more information about iGEM go to the official iGEM website