Previous Competitions
WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION (Jan 31, 2022):
This is our old website. As iGEM enters its 20th year, we are transitioning from our old Mediawiki infrastructure to new modern software. We expect to complete the migration to our new websites in March 2022:
iGEM (igem.org) ; Competition (competition.igem.org) ; Projects (projects.igem.org) ; Community (community.igem.org) ; Technology (technology.igem.org) ; Responsibility (responsibility.igem.org) ; Startups (startups.igem.org) ; Leagues (leagues.igem.org) ; Jamboree (jamboree.igem.org)
Previous Competitions
iGEM began in January 2003 with a month-long course during MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) where students designed biological systems to make cells blink. This university design course then grew to a summer competition with 5 teams in 2004. 16 years later, we’ve grown to 350 teams from 40+ countries.
Learn more about the history of iGEM and iGEM Founders: Randy Rettberg, Tom Knight and Drew Endy on the iGEM Blog
View the interactive iGEM Timeline to learn more about iGEM's history.
iGEM 2022
iGEM 2021
- Teams: 350
- Participants: 7314
iGEM 2020
- Teams: 249
- Participants: 4800
iGEM 2019
- Teams: 353
- Participants: 6375
- Parts: 4282
iGEM 2018
- Teams: 340
- Participants: 5790
- Countries: 42
iGEM 2017
- Teams: 310
- Participants: 5386
- Countries: 44
iGEM 2016
- Teams: 300
- Participants: 4432
- Countries: 42
- Teams: 280
- Participants: 5018
- Countries: 38
iGEM 2014
- Teams: 245
- Participants: 4515
- Countries: 32
iGEM 2013 Championship
- Teams: 215
- Participants: 4027
iGEM 2012 Championship
- Teams: 190
- Participants:3696
- Parts: 1708
iGEM 2011 Championship
- Teams: 165
- Participants: 2586
- Parts: 1355
- Teams: 128
- Participants: 2327
- Parts: 1863
- Teams: 113
- Participants: 1840
- Parts: 1348
iGEM 2008
- Teams: 88
- Participants: 1248
- Parts: 1387
- Teams: 54
- Participants: 777
- Parts: ~800
iGEM 2006
- Teams: 32
- Participants: 723
- Parts: ~724
iGEM 2005
- Teams: 13
- Participants: 125
- Parts: ~125
iGEM 2004
- Teams: 5
- Participants: 31
- Parts: ~50