Genetic Workshops – introducing the field of genetics and its possibilities

  • Published: 12 June 2025
For many years now, the Genetics Workshops have brought hands-on science to Estonian high school students, offering a rare and valuable opportunity: the chance to conduct real genetic experiments in a university lab. Hosted by the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) at the University of Tartu, these Study Days provide upper secondary school students with their first practical experience in molecular biology — and a glimpse into the fascinating world of genetics.

While biology teachers are often eager to incorporate more laboratory work into their lessons, they may lack the time, resources, or specialized training to do so. The Genetics Workshops help fill that gap. Each year, approximately 250 students from across Estonia participate in the program, conducting experiments such as DNA extraction and PCR in a real university setting. In 2019, the program was recognized for its impact with the Estonian Research Council’s main prize for Science Popularization.

But it’s not just the students who make the workshops a success. Behind the scenes is a strong collaboration between university students from the Bioscience Students’ Association who are instructors at the workshops, and experienced lab staff who help prepare the materials.

To learn more about what makes these workshops work so well, we spoke with four people – Heiko, Merle, Agnes and Annabel - involved in different aspects of the program.

Photo by Mailis Vahenurm.
Heiko, a university student from the Bioscience Students' Association, helped lead the workshops this year. He says one of the biggest priorities is making the experience as smooth as possible — especially for students who are pipetting for the very first time.

“Solis BioDyne’s FIREPol® Master Mix saves students from tricky calculations or mixing separate components. That’s huge when you’re working with young people who are just getting comfortable in the lab.”

He also appreciated the time-saving design from a teaching perspective: “Instead of juggling multiple reagents, instructors can focus on actual teaching. It streamlines the whole day.”

A small but surprising discovery? “We noticed that even the reagents leftover from previous years — technically past their expiration date — still worked without issue.”

Merle, laboratory assistant with over 20 years of experience at IMCB, is one of the quiet forces that keeps the workshops running. She’s been officially supporting the Genetics Workshops for several years.

Merle highlighted the importance of user-friendly reagents for high schoolers who only have a short window to complete their experiments: “The reagents from Solis BioDyne have always been reliable, which is critical when students are only in the lab for a short time. Everything must work the first time.”

She also stressed the importance of simplicity and consistency, both for the students and for the lab staff preparing the materials: “Having the Master Mix pre-assembled makes a big difference. It reduces the chance of errors and helps to get good results with little effort.”

Photo by Andres Tennus, University of Tartu.
Agnes, who previously led the student team and now continues to support the program in other roles, highlighted the benefits of using room-temperature stable reagents: “Students are often mixing their PCR reactions at room temperature and it can take time. An enzyme that stays inactive during setup helps avoid unwanted activity before the reaction begins.”

She also pointed out a practical advantage of sourcing reagents from a local company: “Solis BioDyne is based right here in Tartu. That means short delivery times and great support.”

In addition, Annabel, our new Product Manager, has been an instructor at the Genetic Workshops for years while studying at the university - an experience that first introduced her to Solis BioDyne. Seeing how well our products worked and how supportive we were of such important student endeavors was what inspired her to join the company.

Throughout the Genetic Workshops, Solis BioDyne’s reagents consistently stood out for their ease of use, robustness, and suitability for a teaching environment. All four of our interviewees highly recommended the products. So if you’re part of an institution looking to introduce molecular biology techniques in an educational context, these reagents offer a proven, efficient, and dependable solution.

Products used in the Genetic Workshops: