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Human Practice
 

The city of Hong Kong is known as the world’s commercial hub. Logically, a large sum of money is invested in expansion of multinational enterprises, to gain a cutting edge financially and economically. In a country so focused on development and international recognition, the field of Synthetic Biology has not been given much attention.

In an attempt to raise awareness of this upcoming field, University of Hong Kong’s iGEM team made three preliminary initiatives. We wanted to begin by educating the youth about this concept. Hence, we published an article in HKU’s Undergraduate Magazine, amagazine that is widely distributed amongst students at HKU. Our next move was to produce a video that further explained the concept. This video was extensively broadcasted throughout all televisions on HKU’s Main Campus. Lastly, we attempted a very novel strategy to publicize this field of Science. This innovative approach is called the “Flash Mob”. In one of the very crowded markets of Hong Kong, our group members took stage (without prior notice), and performed a short Drama to explain the workings of Synthetic Biology and advertise iGEM amidst the common public. All three approaches of reaching out to Hong Kong’s citizens about Synthetic Biology were quite effective.

Through our Human Practice projects, the concept of Synthetic Biology – a subject area concerning biological research and technology - was effectively delivered. In the coming years, this research area can be used to create new biological systems that will benefit society. It promises to decrease problems we are currently facing by implementing strategies for the degradation of pollutants, electricity generation, and medical treatments