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Revision as of 11:15, 10 October 2016

WATTS-APTAMER - PRETORIA_UP iGEM

WATTS-APTAMER - UP_PRETORIA iGEM



Human practices

Involving Industry

We interviewed energy expert Dr Surridge-Talbot to get valuable input on our project and learn more about renewable energy in a South African context.

SynBio Education

We held a synthetic biology workshop and symposium, and presented to 40 high school learners at our university's "UP with Science" day.

Public Awareness

We used various platforms of social media to create awareness of both our project and the fun we had during it!

SynBio Education


ACGT Synthetic Biology Workshop and Symposium


The iGEM team at the University of Pretoria together with the African Centre for Gene Technologies (ACGT) and the Forest Molecular Genetics (FMG) research group hosted a synthetic biology workshop and symposium. The synthetic biology workshop was hosted at the University of Pretoria’s main campus on the 5th of September and facilitated by Professor Fernan Federici from the University of Cambridge. Prof. Fernan gave an introduction to synthetic biology to the workshop attendees and went on to discuss the engineering of multicellular organisms and DNA fabrication, as well as TechnoX and the social impact and effect on collaborations.

The workshop was followed by the symposium the next day held at Irene Country Lodge. The keynote address was delivered by Dr Geoff Baldwin from Imperial College London. Presentations from the Pretoria_UP iGEM team, Amanda Dodd and Tumi Chale from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology group as well as Lazarus Takawira from the University of Pretoria then followed.

The workshop and symposium were both a success and the Pretoria_UP iGEM team met their objective of educating, informing and making people aware of synthetic biology and its applications.

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UP with Science


UP with Science is a science enrichment programme for high school learners presented by the University of Pretoria, and hosted by the Junior Tukkie Society and the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. We presented to 40 high school learners from the larger Tshwane area, educating them about synthetic biology and its applications. The learners were shown interesting 3D biology videos.

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Spreading Public Awareness of Our Project


Media is an important source to keep society up-to-date with our project progress as well as with the events we are hosting and taking part in. We created and maintain a Pretoria_UP iGEM 2016 Facebook& Twitter page to spread awareness of our project and to keep our followers updated on everything and anything which took place in the lab as well as our events. We also had tons of fun while making two videos to explain what our project's about. They were shared on our Pretoria_UP iGEM Youtube channel.


iGEM Pretoria_UP - Project Description

GoPro: Generate electricity using plant materials


We had the great opportunity to be interviewed on Tuks FM - The University of Pretoria's radio station and one of South Africa's most respected community broadcasters - during their Campus Platform show held on Mondays from 3pm-4pm. We discussed iGEM, our project, as well as the events we hosted.

You can listen to the full interview here.

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#FeesMustFall Student Protests


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FeesMustFall Protests - University of Pretoria. By Shenn Scott for Perdeby


The #FeesMustFall movement started in 2015 following an announcement of a fee increment of 8% in most universities. Students of the Witwatersrand University set the movement in motion by starting protests at their Braamfontein campus which soon spread to their other campuses and a few hours later, other universities. The University of Pretoria could not escape these wave of protests, and this resulted in a shutdown lasting an entire week.

In 2016, the movement has awakened with renewed energy. The protests started at the University of KwaZuluNatal before the announcement of the fee increments for 2017. On the 19th of September the minister of Higher Education Dr. Blade Nzimande announced an 8% cap on fees for students from households of an annual income of more than R600,000 and a 0% fee increment for students who are recipients of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme loan as well as those who are part of the “missing middle”. The “missing middle” is described as families with an annual income of less than R600,000.

This announcement received mixed reactions from students. The South African Students Congress welcomed the announcement, but minutes after, protests on various university campuses started. Students who are pro-#FeesMustFall argue that the 8% increase for students from “wealthy” families will further escalate racial tensions as the rich are mainly white and further argue that the 0% increment does not help students from poor and “missing middle” families as the current fees, together with accommodation fees still remain too high.

As expected, University of Pretoria also experienced disruptions. The evening of the announcements, we were evacuated as the fire alarm went off. The alarm was set off by protesting students who were demanding that we, together with everyone in other labs, join their protest. This resulted in us having to readjust our schedule and this resulted in a 2-day setback. Campus was then evacuated on Wednesday the 21st of September and this resulted in us locking ourselves in the lab to avoid forced evacuation by security. On Thursday 22nd September, classes were suspended and we received messages that classes will resume on Monday the 26th. This resulted in us being even more behind schedule.

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FeesMustFall Protests - University of Pretoria.
By Shenn Scott for Perdeby

Classes indeed did resume the morning of 26th - however, under heavy security. The South African Police Service, private security, and campus security could be seen everywhere. Despite all the precautionary measures taken to ensure teaching and learning, protesters disrupted classes which resulted in security having to evacuate the remaining ongoing classes. Later during the day we received messages that recess would commence a week earlier. The access to campus was limited to staff and our advisors had to make arrangements for us to gain entry. Even this was not enough as there were days during the two-week recess period when we were not allowed entry despite the lists generated and approved by supervisors and the head of the Genetics Department.

With the spirit of iGEM and our dedication to our project we put in the extra effort in order to complete our project. We worked each day we were able to get onto campus and worked until late evenings and sometimes well into the next day. We faced many difficulties in the 2016 iGEM period, but with the power of team-work we made the completion of the project a reality.

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iGEM Pretoria_UP working during FeesMustFall Protests - University of Pretoria.

References

1. Perdeby 2016, Protest action on Hatfield Campus (20/09/2016), viewed 10 October 2016, available at https://www.facebook.com/perdeby/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10154631307124198.

2. Perdeby 2016, Protest action on Hatfield Campus (19/09/2016), viewed 10 October 2016, available at https://www.facebook.com/perdeby/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10154628278624198.

WATTS-APTAMER - PRETORIA_UP iGEM