The second TEDxStaffordshireUniversity took place at the University’s Stoke-on-Trent campus in May.
Among the speakers were British middleweight champion boxer Nathan Heaney, award-winning playwright Deborah McAndrew and North Staffordshire based sculptor Andy Edwards who all gave talks aligned to the theme “Back to the Future”.
Also taking their place in the spotlight were co-founder of Affordable Food Stoke Nikki Barrett and foodie entrepreneur Cris Cohen of FEASTED, both passionate about effecting positive change in the area.
Two Staffordshire University Professors Catherine Flick and Claire Gwinnett and graduates Genelle Aldred and Sharanya Ranganatha Urs were also selected by a panel to deliver talks at the prestigious event.
Completing the line-up was Advanced Specialist Pharmacist Patryk Majewski’s whose talk centred around how pharmaceutical companies are looking back at what we already know to produce new antibiotics for the future.
Now, filmed talks by all ten participants have now been posted on the TEDx YouTube channel and are already attracting thousands of views.
The speaker whose talk is attracting most views is graduate Sharanya Ranganatha Urs, a 24 year-old Staffordshire University journalism graduate from India.
In her talk, she explains how her experience as an international student has exposed the disparities between sex education in her homeland compared to the UK and insists that it is time to break down those awkward barriers.
She said: “It was something that, growing up watching TEDx videos, I never thought I’d be part of. When I got selected, I wanted to stand out and I’ve always taken pride in talking about my culture.”
“When I was on that stage with my friends in the audience it felt like I was on cloud 9, like I was queen of the world, and I’m so glad I took the opportunity. The number of views has been overwhelming which shows what an important topic sex education is and suggests there are a lot of people who feel the same. Hopefully it goes viral.”
The speakers were selected by a panel, chaired by Staffordshire University Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Professor Martin Jones, and involving other key community figures including last year’s TEDx speakers Clare Wood, CEO of the British Ceramics Biennial and Josie Morris MBE DL, director of sustainable packaging company Woolcool.
Professor Martin Jones said: “This was a sensational second event and I’m delighted that we can now share these talks with a global audience. We are immensely proud of our speakers who, individually, all have ideas worth sharing and are helping to put our region on the map.
“We believe there is something for everyone in this latest series of talks and we hope that it inspires more people to give TEDx a try.”
Links to the talks are shared from the dedicated TEDxStaffordshireUniversity website.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
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