2022 SKKU BIOTECH JAMBOREE

- Conducting a project to solve social science challenges with convergent ideas based on biotechnology

- 1st Prize winner (SKKU President Award) proposed measures to reduce methane production in cows

The College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering (Dean Suk Chan Lee) held the SKKU BIOTECH JAMBOREE on Nov. 10 (Thur). The 11^th JAMBOREE event was held from 10:00 to 18:00 in the auditorium at Samsung Library, and a total of 200 people, including full-time faculty, graduates, and undergraduate students attended.

The JAMBOREE event has been held every year since it was first held in 2010, led by the student council of the College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, but it has been held for the first time in 3 years since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMBOREE is an academic competition in which undergraduate students from various departments form a team to present the results prepared for 3 months after carrying out a project to present solutions to social science challenges as convergent ideas based on biotechnology.

In this event, 10 teams (45 students from 12 departments) participated in the preliminary round under the theme of <The Future of Humanity and Biotechnology>, and 7 teams (30 students from 10 departments) went to the final round. The participating teams derived problems such as climate change, environmental pollution, aging, and diseases that mankind is currently facing, and suggested solutions using microorganisms, AI, smart devices and applications. In particular, the participating team explored ways to increase the feasibility of the project through matching and mentoring activities with companies related to biohealth such as Green Cross and GE Healthcare.

The evaluation was calculated by converting 60 points for faculty (Prof. Jinhee Hur (Department of Food Science and Biotechnology), Prof. Geunhyung Kim (Department of Bio-Mechatronic Engineering), Prof. Minkyung Song (Department of Integrative Biotechnology), Prof. Hongbaek Cho (Department of Biological Sciences), Prof. Jung Seung Lee (Department of Biomedical Engineering)), 30 points for graduate students and researchers (Heewon Koo (Department of Food Science and Biotechnology), Taehyoung Kim (Department of Biomechatronic Engineering), Silva Gimenez Cecilia Raquel (Department of Integrative Biotechnology)), and 10 points for audience evaluation.

The evaluation of this JAMBOREE event focused on the originality, convergence, and feasibility of solutions proposed by each participating team.

The 1^st place was awarded to the team that presented the development of functional gum using Methanotroph bacteria as a way to reduce methane production in cows, one of the main causes of global warming, and received KRW 2 million in the prize money, an awarded under SKKU president’s name, and exemption from graduation evaluation.

The 2^nd place was awarded to the team that presented the ‘Development of a machine learning model for early diagnosis of dementia using blood-based biomarkers’ and the 3^rd place was awarded to the team that presented ‘Smartphone application for correcting walking posture using input sensors and electromyogram sensors’.

At the event, Mahn Soon Hwang (Korea Investment Partners CEO) gave a special lecture under the theme of “Bio-Industry and Decision Making” and various prize draw events such as iPad/AirPod Pro 2/Bluetooth speaker/movie tickets were also held.

SKKU BIOTECH JAMBORE event has been a place where students can sympathize with the value and infinite potential of biotechnology and get a glimpse of fresh ideas from undergraduates. The number of participants and departments are increasing with each round, and in this 11^th event, the SKKU President Award and the Research & Foundation President Award were newly established.

This event was sponsored by SKKU College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, LINC3.0 Project Group, Next-Generation Bio-Health Innovative Talent Fostering Project Group, and organized by SKKU BIOTECH JAMBOREE Organizing Committee.