A team of undergraduates from the Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJE) from Zhejiang University International Campus, has made history at the 2025 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in Paris. Competing more than 400 of the best teams worldwide, the IZJU-China team secured third place overall in the undergraduate division, along with a Gold Medal, Best Infectious Diseases Project, Best Part Collection, and nominations for Best Model. This marks Zhejiang University's best performance in this premier biology competition in the past decade.
Facing strong contenders from institutions such as Cambridge University, MIT, and Peking University, the team impressed the judges with their comprehensive project presentation which included a wiki, video, presentations and live Q&A that seamlessly blended science, technology, business, engineering, and design. This not only showcased the extraordinary capabilities of the students, but also allowed the name, “Zhejiang University”, to shine once more on the international stage.
Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: The Power of a "π-Shaped" Team
iGEM is not just a science competition, but one that spans across disciplines. The success of the IZJU-China team mirrors ZJUI Campus’ efforts in cultivating talents with its interdisciplinary integration.
The team's success showcased the International Campus' commitment to interdisciplinary education. The members hailed from diverse backgrounds—BMS and BMI from ZJE; ECE and CS (personal comment: for the stuff highlighted in purple, it might be best to spell out the full name rather than using abbreviations as the abbreviations weren’t explained prior to this passage) from ZJU-UIUC Institute (ZJUI) which enticed students from the Zijingang Campus to join and also garnered help from business students from Zhejiang University International Business School (ZIBS). This "π-shaped" talent pool—deep in multiple specialties—enabled seamless collaboration across wet-lab experiments, computational modeling, and public outreach.
It is precisely this interdisciplinary collaboration that helped facilitate a seamless resolution to complex questions that our students faced during the competition. Their advisory team was equally cross-disciplinary, with professors from ZJE, ZJUI, and College of Life Sciences providing integrated guidance throughout the project.
From Classroom to Competition: Research in Action
The campus guarantees all undergraduates a hands-on lab experience. The iGEM project—from concept and lab work to public engagement—exemplifies this "learning-through-research" approach. For the competition, students frequently visited the laboratory built by ZJE Biomed-X. The laboratory is not merely a physical space; it is a breeding ground for innovation. It provides a space for experiments and discussions for entrepreneurial teams. Through exchanges of knowledge, the school provides comprehensive guidance pertaining to research practices for students.
Every aspect of iGEM is well tailored to and a vivid reflection of Zhejiang University’s commitment to progressive teaching methods.
Tackling the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance, the team developed the innovative "FoCas" platform, which combines gene editing with DNA origami technology. The commitment to scientific research has yielded fruitful results. According to statistics, students have been credited as leading authors and published close to 100 research articles in fields such as Nature Communications. Collectively, they have won over 300 distinguished awards in their areas of expertise and in competitions such as the American Mathematical Contest in Modeling.
Global Education, Confident Communication
The campus' immersive international environment isn’t merely for show; featuring English-taught courses, small-class discussions, and regular English presentations, prepared the students to communicate their complex project with clarity and confidence.
The practice of immersing in different cultures should not be taken lightly. From the competitions to activities hosted by the campus’ residential colleges, they all contribute to cultivating the students’ ability to communicate without barriers in a multicultural setting. The campus' residential college system provided a strong supportive community, offering ready access to faculty mentors and spontaneous cross-disciplinary collaboration. All of this is done to inspire innovation, and confidence in taking on the world.
This is more than an award—it is validation of the International Campus' model for nurturing globally competitive and socially responsible innovators equipped to take on the world's challenges.
Congratulations to Team IZJU-China!
The iGEM Competition is an annual, worldwide biology event aimed at undergraduate university students, as well as high school and graduate students. The iGEM Competition gives students the opportunity to push the boundaries of biology by tackling everyday issues facing the world. Multidisciplinary teams work together to design, build, test, and measure a system of their own design using interchangeable biological parts and standard molecular biology techniques.
Photography: iZJU-China team
Editing: ZHENG Yiyuan, LI Songjiao
English reviewer: Sophie Ng Shan Shan
Editing in charge: LI Yinan
Reviewer: YANG Yi
Final Review: QU Haidong