On November 22, 2020, the highest international academic competition of synthetic biology– the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM)– was completedonline.The XJTU-China team won the gold medal once again after taking the championship in 2018 and 2019 competitions.

This competition's demo session was heldonline, attracting some 250 teams globally. Members of XJTU's teamincluded students from the Biochemistry Pilot Class 81, Class 81 of Biology, Pilot Classof Medicine, Class of Medical Electronic Equipment and Maintenance, and Class of Electrical Power, providing the team with a favorable foundation for interdisciplinary cooperation.

Focusing on serious soil desertification issues, the team, based on synthetic biology knowledge,designed and constructed a symbiotic system of cyanobacteria and engineering bacteria to safely and efficiently synthesize soil crust and control desertification. This project has many highlights in terms of Wikipedia introduction, posterdesign, modeldevices, practice, and presentations, winning unanimous praise from the judges.