The BioExperience Research and Entrepreneurship Challenge: An iGEM-inspired applied research program for BIOSTEM talent and skills development

Hertek Gill; Mahdi Ahsan; Yara Khalil; Victoria Feng; Jessie Pearce; Tarasha Sharma; Mohamad Radwan; Austin Boucinha; Mads Kærn

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2022.1046723

The BioExperience Research and Entrepreneurship Challenge: An iGEM-inspired applied research program for BIOSTEM talent and skills development

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022 Nov 10:10:1046723. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.1046723. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Hertek Gill^{1

2

3}, Mahdi Ahsan^{1

2

3}, Yara Khalil^{1

2

4}, Victoria Feng^{1

2

5}, Jessie Pearce^{1

2

4}, Tarasha Sharma^{1

2

6}, Mohamad Radwan^{1

2

4

7}, Austin Boucinha^{8

9}, Mads Kærn^{1

2

10}

Affiliations

¹ Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
² Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
³ Translational and Molecular Medicine Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁴ Biochemistry Program, Faculty of Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁵ Biomedical Science Program, Faculty of Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁶ Biopharmaceutical Sciences Program, Faculty of Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁷ Chemical Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁸ Canadian Synthetic Biology Educational Research Group (CSBERG), Centre for Applied Bioscience and Bioengineering Research (BioZone), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁹ Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB), Mississauga, ON, Canada.
¹⁰ BioGroupe Canada Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Post-secondary education is falling behind in delivering the talent and skills development needed to support the growth of biology-based economies and the demands of professional and research-based graduate degree programs. Here, we describe an applied research program, the BioExperience Research and Entrepreneurship Challenge, launched in May 2020 to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate experiential learning programs at the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The program provided undergraduates with meaningful talent and skills development opportunities by implementing a student-centred, project-based learning approach inspired by the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. We present evidence from participant exit surveys suggesting that the program delivers a high-quality learning environment and improves learning outcomes compared to traditional work-integrated learning. Notably, 84% of respondents reported an excellent or exceptional learning experience and significant or profound improvements in skills, such as leadership (72% of respondents), problem-solving (42% of respondents) and research preparedness (52%) that are difficult to develop in conventional academic programs. Remarkably, 60% of respondents report that the job-readiness training provided by the program is better or much better than traditional work-integrated learning. Our study demonstrates that a cost-effective and scalable alternative to the iGEM competition can improve talent and skills development in BIOSTEM fields.

Keywords: engineered and synthetic biology; experiential and work-integrated learning; skills development; talent; undergraduate applied research.