BioHack Academy

Design, build and use your own biolab

Are you interested in do-it-yourself (DIY) biotechnology, but you don’t have a background in either biology or technology? Do you like to make things yourself and tinker with technology? Do you have a creative and innovative mindset and want to work with biomaterials?

Join the bio revolution!

Bio-technological developments follow each other at a rapid pace. Inventions, such as the CRISPR-Cas9 technique that allows genetic editing of DNA, can have far-reaching consequences. The BioHack Academy promotes wider access to knowledge and tools outside institutional science and allows for a wider distribution of biotechnological literacy. In the BioHack Academy the focus is on learning the basics of biotechnology, working with biomaterials and collaborating building your own lab equipment. We will teach you how to join the bio revolution and build your own lab equipment using a local makerspace or Fablab.

BioHack Academy

Duration

The BioHack Academy has a duration of 10 weeks.  The workshops and lectures are on Monday and Wednesday. Each theme is lectured by a guest speaker sharing their knowledge and expertise in the field of biohacking.

On Tuesday and Thursday, participants are expected to work on their own projects in the Open Wetlab, under the guidance of the instructors. 

BioHack Academy is taught in English.

Prices

  • Regular price: 4.598 euro (incl. tax)

 

Read terms and conditions

The programme

What is the BioHack Academy?

The BioHack Academy is a 10-week course for everyone who wants to deep dive into the world of biodesign and bioart. After completing the BioHack Academy, you will have learned the basics of critical biotechnology, digital fabrication, microbiology and gene editing. 

Two days a week, you will attend lectures and workshops under the guidance of our BioHack teachers. The other days are for developing your project in the Open Wetlab. These projects will be displayed during the final exhibition at the Waag. 

In weekly classes, participants quickly gain the skills needed to develop biolab tools, food, biomaterials, biosensors, plant tissue culture, fungi, bacterial dyes and a lot more funky bio stuff at home. We explore all sorts of alternatives to make it possible to apply, experiment with, and gain access to biotechnology outside laboratories or research institutions.

BioHack Academy students work with biomaterials varying from mycelium, biochromes, and bio-textiles, as well as with microbes, algae, genetics and other forms of biotechnology. With this course, you will obtain a lot of knowledge that will provide a base on which to continue your own research for many years as a bioartist or biodesigner.

Build and share

You will learn the principles behind machines, such as incubators, microscopes and centrifuges, that will give you tools to build your own biolab. Along the way, you will learn how to operate them and put them to use in your own project. Whether that’s a new type of bio ink, bio polymer, biofuel, or another kind of biohack is entirely up to you.

In addition to gathering new knowledge, the BioHack Academy is also about sharing knowledge. All lab equipment manufactured within the BioHack Academy is open-source. This means that everyone is completely free to improve the design, adapt it according to their own preferences, and continue experimenting.

Moreover, the BioHack Academy is a truly international course. In past editions, partner labs from the US, Latin America, Asia, Australia, and Europe have followed the course remotely. We expect new partners to join this upcoming edition as well, and we grant you the opportunity to collaborate with biohackers from all over the world!

What do you learn?

Introducing the BioHack Academy

We start with the basics and teach you everything you need to know about biohacking, biosafety and of course how to document your work!

Week 1
(un)Making the Lab (hardware)

Learn how to deconstruct existing lab hardware and how to make your own lab hardware with open source blueprints. Work with mycelium and other biomaterials.

Week 2 & 3
Operating the Lab

How to operate in a Wetlab? Learn everything about following protocols and how to hack them. Make media and grow microorganisms. Work on DIY-biomaterials, plant tissue culture and produce your own biosensors!

Week 4 & 5
Bio-engineering

Microbiology techniques and using CRISPR-Cas9 for cell-free expression.

Week 6 & 7
Individual Experimentation and personal projects

The last weeks are all about developing and finishing your biodesign or bioart project. You can redesign lab hardware, grow your materials or design new DNA. Whatever makes you happy - this is your shot!

Week 8 &amp 9
Final presentations + exhibition

We will celebrate and cherish your hard work with final presentations and a public exhibition to showcase the great work you have done.

Week 10

BioHack Academy at Waag

All classes take place at Waag’s Open Wetlab, a unique BioHack space on the crossover of art, science and technology and the Fablab Amsterdam.

Get inspired

Have a look at the results and projects of the participants of previous BioHack Academy editions. See what others have done before you and get inspired!

International partner labs

The BioHack Academy is a truly international course. In the past editions, partner labs from the US, Latin America, Asia, Australia and Europe have followed the course simultaneously via remote video. We expect new partners to join this course as well, and grant you to opportunity to collaborate with biohackers from all over the world!

Are you interested in becoming a partnerlab during BioHack Academy? Drop us an email.

More information

For more information on the BioHack Academy, contact us via email.

staff

Lucas Evers

Lead Open Wetlab

Isabel Berentzen

Coordinator of the BioHack Academy

Maarten Smith

Instructor of the BioHack Academy

Maro Pebo

Instructor at BioHack Academy

What previous BioHack Academy participants made

Anna Hoetjes
Ex Bacteria
Anne Vlaanderen
MCEL
Karenina van den Crommenacker
Love Ourself: Me Myself and my Microbiome
Lisa Smith
HRMBOT
Lorena Solís Bravo
Humusities
Mary Farwy & Michel Barchini
Cocobiota
Philipa Baele
Nu Ondine: Underwater breathing through living devices
Shirley Niemans
Biocabinet
Sven Michiels
What the Hegg?

Go to the Alumni page

BioHack for your organisation

Besides the annual BioHack Academy at Waag we can also develop tailor-made programmes for your organisation in which part of the curriculum is taught. Contact us to explore the possibilities or discuss a specific question.

Contact us

 

What is Waag?

Waag Futurelab is a part research institute, part cultural organisation, that focuses on emerging technology, underlying assumptions, design, development and art, contributing to a more open, fair and inclusive society. It is accommodated in the oldest non-religious building of Amsterdam, the Waag, in the centre of the Nieuwmarkt square.

In this building, three of Waag’s labs can be found: the TextileLab Amsterdam, focusing on bridging the gap between textiles and technology, the FabLab for digital fabrication, and the Open Wetlab for biotechnology. Waag is not a school, but she intends to transfer her knowledge on the unique crossings of textiles, biotechnology, digital fabrication and more to anyone who wants to learn and to contribute to a better future. This is done, amongst others, through the internationally acknowledged academies: Fabricademy, Fab Academy and BioHack Academy.