Rather than waiting for the future, it's better to create it yourself. To inspire a strong interest in life sciences among outstanding students and to provide an in-depth understanding of the future development of synthetic biology, the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Synthetic Biology Institute (hereinafter referred to as "Synthetic Biology Institute") held the "8th Synthetic Biology Summer Camp" (referred to as iSynBio YSC 8.0) from July 15th to July 19th, 2024. The event attracted excellent undergraduate students from universities across the country to share in an academic feast in Shenzhen and broaden their academic horizons.
On the morning of July 16, 2024, the opening ceremony of SIAT was inaugurated in the Shenzhen Advanced Institute's lecture hall, presided over by Tan Le, the person in charge of the Education Office, who delivered the opening speech. She expressed a sincere welcome to all the participants. Following this, Wu Chuangzhi, the Party Committee Secretary, detailed the development characteristics, academic strengths, and faculty of the Advanced Institute. He combined the theme of this summer camp, "Brave the Mission of the Times, Strive to be a Scientific and Technological Pioneer," to encourage students to engage in scientific research and give back to society.
Liu Yushan, a member of the Synthetic Biology Institute from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, spoke as a representative of the Advanced Institute's camp members, expressing her delight and anticipation for participating in the summer camp.
After the opening ceremony, Dr. Li Hanjie from the Center for Synthetic Immunology also shared with the camp members the相关内容 of his research group on the development and differentiation of human immune cells. He had a friendly exchange with the camp members on scientific research questions, allowing everyone to gain a better understanding of scientific experiments.
In the afternoon, the camp members took a bus to visit the Guangming Science City, where they explored China's first large-scale synthetic biology research scientific and technological infrastructure with independent intellectual property rights, as well as the laboratories of various research centers at the Synthetic Biology Institute. The advanced equipment and spacious experimental environment filled the students with anticipation.
After the visit, Fu Xiongfei, the director of the Synthetic Biology Institute, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony, warmly welcoming the students participating in the camp. He stated that the institute has top-notch faculty, comprehensive academic programs, and outstanding talent training. It has always attached great importance to the training of graduate students. He hopes that all the students will make good use of this opportunity to actively communicate with teachers and classmates, inspire each other, and gain something and grow through this event.
Assistant Director Wei Ping gave an introduction to the institute, combining the development process of the institute, and briefly introduced the scientific research and student training situations. He also expressed firm confidence in the future development of synthetic biology and hopes that students will actively join the hot land full of dreams and innovation in Shenzhen.
To let the camp members have a clearer understanding of the research directions of each center at the institute, researchers from various centers, including Dr. Hu Zheng from the Center for Synthetic Evolutionary Biology, Dr. Zi Zhike from the Center for Synthetic Genomics, Dr. Luo Xiaozhou from the Center for Synthetic Biochemistry, Dr. Zhai Bing from the Center for Synthetic Microbiome Studies, Dr. Li Hanjie from the Center for Synthetic Immunology, Dr. Yi Xiao from the Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Dr. Lou Chunbo from the Center for Cell and Genetic Circuit Design, and Dr. Qi Linlin from the Center for Agricultural and Plant Synthetic Biology, introduced their respective centers.
In the evening, the camp members had dinner with senior students, discussing academic issues and the scientific research life at the institute.
On July 17th, the camp members were divided into different groups for thematic presentations, discussing topics such as cell and gene therapy, bacterial therapy, and yeast chromosome synthesis. The excellent presentations by the camp members fully demonstrated the style of young synthetic biology students. The teachers gave constructive comments and suggestions, and knowledge sparked brilliantly in the discussion.
Camper Feedback
Yang Yuchen from Jinan University
After several days of exchange and study at the institute's summer camp, I learned about many advanced and novel directions. I have a deeper understanding of the means and methods to understand and simplify life systems and design and reconstruct them in synthetic biology. I also personally felt the strong scientific research strength of the institute and its highly integrated innovation capabilities of industry, academia, and research. In the topic exchange with the students participating in the camp, I realized that we should look at scientific problems from multiple angles and ask ourselves several whys. Dreams achieve the future, and applications create value. I have benefited a lot from this summer camp.
Luo Jia from Shandong University
Participating in this summer camp at the institute was a double leap in knowledge and vision. The biggest feeling is that it is fulfilling and meaningful. Although physically tired, the satisfaction brought by the enrichment of the mind is infinite.
On the first day of the opening event, I had the honor to meet many new friends from all over the country, visit the advanced automated instruments of the institute in person, and understand the situation of each research center at the institute and the rigorous attitude of the teachers. This made me understand that seriousness and seriousness are the spirit we students should adhere to in scientific research.
On the second day, we had face-to-face interviews with the tutors we were interested in. The teachers introduced their research fields in detail and humorously, which not only broadened my academic horizons but also gave me a clearer understanding of the frontier dynamics of the professional field. In the team project cooperation, we brainstormed and solved problems together. This spirit of collaboration also benefited me a lot.
I am honored to participate in this summer camp and thank our dedicated teachers and senior students. I really can't bear to part.
Thank you, Synthetic Biology Institute!
Wei Chunming from Sun Yat-sen University
If I had to use one word to describe my experience at the Shenzhen Advanced Institute's Synthetic Biology Institute summer camp, that word would definitely be "shocking."
One mechanical arm after another quickly and accurately controlled the transportation of cell culture plates, one piece of equipment after another automatically operated experimental operations, and one functional island after another orderly carried out experimental processes... When all these scenes from science fiction movies really appeared in front of me, my wide eyes and one after another exclamation were not enough to fully express my shock. And this is only part of the advanced scientific research platform of the institute.
In addition to advanced hardware facilities, the teachers at the institute also left a deep impression on me. Here, there are both academic giants who publish papers vigorously and industrialists who have established enterprises to achieve the transformation and application of results, and their open and innovative ideas have also injected a continuous stream of vitality into the institute.
During the summer camp, we not only ate and lived well but also deeply felt the sincere enthusiasm of the institute. Whether it was teachers, senior students, or staff, they all warmly welcomed our arrival. The summer camp not only arranged for us to have dinner with senior students for in-depth exchanges, but the teachers were also very active in welcoming us. They not only invited the whole research group to interact with us but even ate and chatted with us, making us feel full of respect and sincerity.
Although many students participated in multiple summer camps, after communicating with everyone, everyone unanimously believed that the summer camp of the institute was the best in terms of experience and also allowed us to gain a lot!
"Rather than waiting for the future, create it." This is not only the slogan of the institute but also the cause that the institute is undertaking, using synthetic biology methods to create a better future, and after this summer camp, I deeply feel that the future has come.
Zhang Yixuan from Huazhong Agricultural University
The Shenzhen Advanced Institute's Synthetic Biology Institute has always deeply attracted me because it not only represents the forefront of science and technology but also contains infinite innovative potential. In the process of participating in the institute's recommendation for exemption from the postgraduate entrance examination, I not only realized my growth and development in my academic career but also gained a deeper understanding of the unique advantages of the institute.
I am very excited about the cutting-edge research and technological innovation of the institute in the field of synthetic biology. It not only has world-class equipment and experimental platforms but also first-class academic teams and an international research atmosphere, which will provide me with an ideal academic environment to pursue my research interests and career goals. This is a youthful and vibrant platform. I have gained a lot from communicating with teachers, and many teachers have expressed that they will support the development of students. Even if students develop elsewhere in the future, they will help if needed. This is an open platform and a cradle for cultivating future stars. I am looking forward to studying and researching at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenzhen Synthetic Biology Institute in the future. I hope to be exposed to the most cutting-edge scientific research projects and theoretical explorations here, meet academic partners with common goals, and discuss and solve the major challenges faced by society today. I believe that this valuable academic experience will lay a solid foundation for my future career development and enable me to make meaningful contributions in the field of synthetic biology.
In short, this journey not only gave me a new understanding of academia but also opened up a brand new door for my personal growth and career development.
This summer camp not only fully demonstrated the educational characteristics and academic advantages.
