More/TypesofFees

The iGEM Foundation is a non-profit organization that sustains itself through team fees and sponsor contributions. Fees and contributions support the infrastructure that helps to sustain our organization and allows us to continue to provide this valuable experience to both high school and university level participants worldwide.

Why the 2 fees?

It is our intention to make the cost of participating in iGEM low as possible and fair for both small and large member teams to participate. Instead of requiring teams to be fully formed at the time of team registration, we spit up the fees. This decreases your upfront cost, allows you time to recruit team members and gives you the flexibility to fundraise for the attendance fee.
  • Team Registration Fee: the cost for a team to participate in iGEM. All teams, independent of size or track (ie. wetlab, software, or high school) pay the same amount.

  • Jamboree Attendance Fee: a per-person attendance fee which is meant to account for team size. This per-person attendance fee helps ensure a balance in cost between larger and small teams.

In the past, the iGEM competition had a two-tiered evaluation, which required 2 attendance fees, one for the Regional Jamboree and one for the World Championship. With the introduction of the Giant Jamboree in 2014, we’ve eliminated the regional competition along with the additional fee and travel expense.