The Management of FAgIOPM is pleased to announce the news of another successful performance by the Bulgarian student team in synthetic biology, iGEM Bulgaria, at the finals of the eponymous competition, which took place in early November this year in Paris. The iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) competition is the largest and only one of its kind competition in synthetic biology in the world, held annually and pitting teams from secondary and higher education institutions against each other worldwide. The scale of the competition provides the rare opportunity for participants to "compare their clocks" in such a competitive environment, but also to acquire new knowledge, exchange valuable experience, and build long-term connections in the world of science.
The Bulgarian students fought for the high distinction of a silver medal in fierce competition with over 400 teams from around the world, including representatives of the most prestigious world universities from the USA and the EU. This victory was especially valuable as this year marks 15 years since the beginning of the international status of the competition, and this anniversary was under the patronage of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron. FAgIOPM is extremely proud of this achievement, as the founder and leader of the iGEM Bulgaria team is one of our lecturers, namely – Senior Assistant Dr. Eng. Boris Kirkov, but this does not exhaust the entire participation of the faculty in the activities of this student team. The ranks of the latter also include lecturers (as mentors) and students from the specialty "Mechatronics and Information Technology." These results once again demonstrate the activity and benefit of interdisciplinary research and technologies that are developed at our faculty. We are proud of our lecturers and students, congratulate them on the award, and wish them new successes!
