Interdisciplinary exchange and global capacity building through small-scale grants
OpenPlant Fund
Students and researchers from different disciplines and different institutes are able to arrange easy access to modern equipment and resources, to pursue joint projects. For example, researchers from fields of physics and engineering will have direct access to lab space for joint projects with genetically engineered plants and microbes. Further, the centres provide a space for training programmes in multidisciplinary approaches to engineering in biology and workshops for using synthetic biology tools in plant systems. We are expanding interdisciplinary programmes for undergraduate recruitment, iGEM (in Cambridge and Norwich) and developing programmes for construction of open source bioinstrumentation. These initiatives have proved to be an excellent way of initiating interdisciplinary collaborations, training and cross fertilisation of ideas, and we are keen to expand this across the two institutes.
The OpenPlant Fund was established to support seed projects on a competitive basis through the annual distribution of up to twenty small-scale grants following a lightweight application process and public pitching event. The aim of the fund is to promote the development of plant Synthetic Biology as an interdisciplinary field and to facilitate exchange between The University of Cambridge, the John Innes Centre and Earlham Institute for the development of open technologies and responsible innovation in the context of Synthetic Biology. The OpenPlant Fund follows the prototype SRI Fund and the programmes have created over 60 open source projects for synthetic biology.
Biomaker Challenge
OpenPlant provides funding for interdisciplinary team-based projects at the intersection of electronics, 3D printing, sensor technology, low cost DIY instrumentation and biology - together with with workshops and outreach events. This OpenPlant-funded Biomaker project aims to build open technologies and promote development of research skills and collaborations. They tap into existing open standards and a rich ecosystem of resources for microcontrollers, first established to simplify programming and physical computing for designers, artists and scientists. These tools allow biologists to program and develop real-world laboratory tools. Further, the Biomaker projects provide a direct route for physical scientists and engineers to get hands-on experience with biological systems.
Biomakespace
OpenPlant collaborates with the ‘Biomakespace’: an innovation space for biology and biological engineering. This effort builds on the success of Cambridge Makespace, a popular community workshop that caters for over 250 members, making engineering and manufacturing technologies accessible to a wide spectrum of innovators and enthusiasts to develop projects and ideas in an informal setting. Biomakespace complements this existing provision in the city with space for experimental biology and fabrication tools focused on scientific applications. The space aims to:
Bring together biologists, engineers, technologists and others for meeting and co-working in an informal and extra-institutional setting.
Support new and existing interdisciplinary collaborations.
Raise awareness of and skills for synthetic biology, one of the UK’s ‘eight great technologies’.
Build a cross-disciplinary and cross-sector community for synthetic biology in the city, with a focus on open technology and innovation.
Provide activities such as training and skills sharing sessions, networking events and foster links with innovation and seed funding schemes and local bioincubator spaces and accelerator programmes.
Global Challenges
Synthetic biology and open-source applied biology tools that are pragmatic, safe and cost-effective have the potential to stimulate bioeconomic growth and address African challenges in healthcare, agriculture, education and the environment. OpenPlant has recruited leading international experts from the UK and Africa explore the latest developments in synthetic biology, bioengineering and DIY biology, their potential as training tools for students and future innovators, and practical opportunities for deployment in Africa. This effort has been started with a symposium and workshop was held in Pretoria and Bakubung, supported by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), a UK Research Council fund dedicated to the support of challenge-driven research in developing countries. To further this intiative, the Biomaker Programme has been awarded GCRF funding for capacity building in Africa. Read more about Biomaker in Africa.