The OpenPlant Biomaker Challenge
The OpenPlant Biomaker Challenge (previously the OpenPlant Fund and the SynBio IRC Biomaker Challenge) supports innovative, open and interdisciplinary projects relevant to plant synthetic biology and cell-free systems. The aim of the fund is to promote the development of plant synthetic biology and cell-free systems as interdisciplinary fields and to facilitate exchange between the University of Cambridge, the John Innes Centre, and the Earlham Institute for the development of open technologies and responsible innovation in the context of Synthetic Biology.
Running 1-2 times a year since 2015, the Challenge has proved to be a highly effective way of providing important support for independent small projects and promoting valuable new collaborations among young researchers, along with the development and documentation of open source biology, hardware and bioinstrumentation.
How Can I Get Involved?
Submissions are now open for the Biomaker Challenge Winter 2021: “Exploring Plants, Soil and the Environment”.
This challenge will support teams to develop hardware and/or software projects in 3 categories:
Sensors, field communication and machine learning for environmental survey and monitoring.
Measurement and control of plant growth in science, agriculture and gardening.
Electronic and biological sensors for management of soil health.
You can also learn more about the call on the Biomaker website, as well as information on how to apply.
For queries, please get in touch.
Previous Projects
The Challenge has supported over 180 projects to date, and in a short period of time, we have seen some notable outcomes.
Click on the images below for some project examples. A full list of projects is available below, and all projects are documented on the Biomaker Hackster Hub.
