Bentley University hosted its first TEDx event on Saturday March 28, 2015 in the Wilder Pavilion, Adamian Academic Center. Organized entirely by undergraduate students, TEDxBentleyU featured 13 speakers including the founder of clothing retailer Johnny Cupcakes Johnny Earle, Boston Globe Reporter Bob Ryan, Bentley faculty members and recent alumni.
Inspired after watching TED talks in his New Product Development and Marketing class, Kevin Ma ’15 decided to apply for a license in May 2014 for Bentley to host its own TEDx event. Once the license was approved at the start of the school year, Ma and 15 undergraduate peers, all members of a newly appointed TEDxBentleyU board, came together with the guidance of a faculty advisor, Natural Sciences Professor David Szymanski, to organize the day-long conference.
“Kevin and the TEDxBentleyU team have done an incredible job of overcoming logistical challenges to execute an event that truly represents the trans-disciplinary thinking we want Bentley graduates to employ in fusing business with the arts and sciences,” Szymanski says. “I would encourage all students to approach projects with the drive for success and passion for learning I have seen from Kevin and his board.”
The theme for TEDxBentleyU is “coalescence,” which signifies the joining of two or more ideas. Derived from Bentley’s mission to blend the arts and sciences with a core business curriculum, Ma explains that the theme offers students the opportunity to hear from a diverse menu of experts why areas such as sustainability, innovation, and STEM matter to the business world. “This event is another way to expose Bentley’s student body to new and different ways of thinking and to hopefully inspire them,” Ma says.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 30 years ago, TED has grown to support its mission with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes or less. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.
The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with the TEDActive simulcast event in nearby Whistler. The annual TEDGlobal conference will be held this October in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TED Talks are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world get help translating their wishes into action; TEDx, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self- organized TED-style events around the world, and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.
Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/TED.