What do TEDxDelft and TU Delft have in common? The city, the venue, seven speakers and one host.
Ideas from TU Delft find a platform at TEDxDelft 2015; from student research projects to more developed ideas by professors and even a music performance.
In fact, the host of the night, Rolf Hut, and Rob Speekenbrink, the license holder for TEDxDelft, are also employees of the university.
“When I approached the university in 2010 to ask if they would host the event, they were happy to do so. The event, with its emphasis on sharing knowledge with the public, inspiring people and making science accessible to the public, matched the profile of the university very well,” said Speekenbrink.
Held at the Aula on campus, the event brings in people from across the Netherlands and introduces them to the university. Given that TEDx events are usually associated with a particular city, they often take on the character of their host city. While TEDxAmsterdam takes on several societal issues, TEDxDelft leans slightly more towards technical ideas.
Speakers that bring that character to the stage include, Associate Professor in software engineering, Andy Zaidman will talk about how testing can be made fun. Environmental biotechnology researcher Peter Mooij will introduce the audience to the wonders of algae. Author and teacher, Gerardo Soto Y Koelemeijer, who did his PhD at TU Delft, returns to campus to revolutionise the way math is taught. Elisa Giaccardi, professor of interactive media design, introduces her ideas on radical innovation in design, PhD candidate Shou-En Zhu gets to grips with graphene while recently graduated MSc student Alec Momont talks about how drones can save lives and not just take them. “As a student of Industrial Design Engineering, I have always been interested in TED. In fact, I found that while TU is a technical university, they have always promoted other activities and links with other disciplines and universities. TEDxDelft fits in well with that ethos,” said Momont.
Interestingly, the other IDE student to take the stage, Hilda Ruijs, won’t be sharing technical ideas, but hopes to inspire the audience with her music. The singer-songwriter was even selected as a finalist for the BN DeStern Culture Award. Another award-winner to take the stage is Mileha Soneji. Soneji won the TEDxDelft Award, an event where a number of TU students presented their ideas to a panel of judges.
“It’s a cool event for the university to be associated with, and it also brings in a crowd – both online and in the audience – that wouldn’t otherwise have engaged with us. Also, reaching out to the public, and the broader education of the public as a whole is something that is on the university’s mandate and events such as this help us achieve,” said Rolf Hut, a researcher at the university and the host of the main event on February 27.
Finally, for students at the university, the event offers an opportunity to listen to new ideas. “I think,
especially when you’re a student, it is important to look at broader ideas beyond the topic of your own research. Besides, it’s always inspiring to listen to new ideas!” said Speekenbrink.
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