Dear Friends,

Thank you for joining us for Biodesign Challenge Summit 2021. Now 16 months into the pandemic with parts of the world gingerly reopening, our daily lives are yet again transforming.  

This year, almost all of the BDC students and instructors have spent the academic year learning remotely, creating mini-labs and fabrication studios at home, and spending the majority of their school and social lives online. For their hard work and perseverance, we offer our acknowledgement and gratitude.

Though we have been working in physical isolation, this is the most globally connected our community has ever been. BDC participants are from 51 schools and 20 countries. Judges, sponsors, and community members across the globe have worked to support student growth. And because of you, we can celebrate the achievements of our students and alumni while simultaneously critiquing biotechnology. 

Today, there are two peoples in the world—those with access to vaccines and those without. Our subject—biotechnology—sits at the fulcrum. I remind you that only 0.3 percent of Covid vaccine doses have been administered in low-income countries. The issue is not “out there.” It’s not in the future. It’s in our community. And it’s right now. There’s a lot of work to do to make biotech more accessible and equitable. And so over the course of these five days, as students present their projects, I ask you to consider that we’re all looking for a better way forward. 

BDC has always encouraged and empowered our community members to be leaders. This year we’ve so far inaugurated regional hubs in Europe, Latin America, and the Midwest United States. The hubs today exist as spaces to share dialogue, practices, discourse, and resources. With time and proper nurturing they will be the core of biodesign; they will become the sites that create and advocate for a more inclusive future.

To celebrate our community’s work so far, we’ve been curating a book! The title—Biodesign Challenge: A Retrospective—describes our aim: to reflect on the past half-decade so we can anticipate the next one. The book is made up of over 100 voices from our community. It has taken a year to compile, edit, and design. I hope you’ll show support and buy a book for yourself or a school classroom.

Next year, we anticipate another transformation: BDC will be going hybrid. We’ll both be in-person in New York City and online as a way to nurture the global network, while still experiencing the magic of being together in a space. I look forward to seeing you online this week, and in person soon!

Yours,

Daniel Grushkin
Executive Director

June 2021