Theme: Rewrite the Rules

From the moment we enter this world, our thoughts and ideas are influenced and shaped. They are moulded by the customs and conventions of tradition, birth, and upbringing; therein begins a seemingly irresistible process of conformity to the tried and true. Yet, it is only when we break free of the old that truly innovative thought can spring forth.

Our theme for 2015, ‘Rewrite the Rules’, aims to fundamentally challenge the ways we perceive and interact with the world around us. From Apple to Amazon, Tesla to Tinder, companies and individuals across the globe are abandoning the ways of old and seeking to generate disruptive change; revolutionising how we work, play and even fall in love. As the old adage goes: “rules, are made to be broken”.

This year, join us on a journey to see just how far we can push the boundaries of convention as our speakers share how they are redefining, reshaping and rewriting the rules. Stay tuned on Facebook and Twitter as we bring you the very latest on TEDxUQ 2015, including new information about speakers, event details and how you can participate in this year’s event.

‪#‎rewritetherules‬ ‪#‎TEDxUQ2015‬

Please note: attendance at the event is limited to UQ students, staff and alumni. Members of the public are welcome to tune-in via online streaming of the event.

Staff House Road
Brisbane, Queensland, 4067
Australia

Soulstice A Cappella

From humble beginnings in 2011, Soulstice has quickly grown to become a leader in Brisbane's a cappella scene. Soulstice comprises 11 passionate 20-somethings and has a reputation for bringing a unique sound and a robust energy to the stage.

UQ Taiko

The UQ Japanese Taiko Drumming Team (aka UQ Taiko) was established in March 2014 with the motto of “Minna no Taiko” which means “taiko for anyone and everyone!” in Japanese. The team started with ZERO real taiko drums, but after several months of practicing on taped-up laundry baskets, and with the immense support they received on their online Kickstarter crowdfunding project, they were able to purchase the set of beautiful real taiko drums that they now use. Currently a team of over 80 members, representing 16 different countries, they are excited to spread the ‘taiko love’ at TEDxUQ!

Alex Kutulos

Alex Kutulos is an undergraduate student from the University of Southern California and their world renowned School of Cinematic Arts. Throughout his studies, he has mainly focused on visual storytelling with a particular interest in the convergence of technology and cinema. Given a modern context where tech plays an increasingly larger role in the production and distribution of film, Alex has begun to theorise what the art-form's next generation might behold for viewers. Upon the emergence of an entirely new medium in virtual reality, he has been active in generating interest among his colleagues about pioneering new platforms, abandoning the comfortable norm and reconstructing the standards against which film and narrative as whole are typically created.

Erlyn Macarayan

Erlyn Macarayan is a 3rd year PhD candidate at the University of Queensland working on population health metrics and global health systems performance monitoring and evaluation. She is also currently teaching at the UQ Faculty of Health and was a visiting student at the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle. In 2014, she was recognised as the “young leader in global health” by the Health Systems Global Board in Cape Town, South Africa and also received the Most Inspiring International Student of Australia awarded by the Council of International Students. Erlyn is one of the emerging voices for global health selected by the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp and a recipient of various grants from UQ and other external organisations. Prior to coming to Australia, she worked as a presidential staff officer at the Office of the President of the Philippines.

Hugh Possingham

Isabel Buitrago-Franco

Dr Isabel Buitrago-Franco advocates for disadvantaged girls and women to help them realise their full potential. Isabel holds a PhD on Corporate Social Sustainability and Governance at the University of Queensland, Australia. She is the Founder-Director at WISELY (Women in Sustainable Enterprises and Livelihoods) and DisAndes International Foundation. She also pioneered the WIMLATAM initiative (Women in Mining and Extractive Industries Latin America). Isabel has extensive international experience in government, academia and international aid organisations in Australia, Latin America and South-East Asia. Her last position was as an international consultant for the UN analysing the current trends of socially responsible business and the connections amongst women entrepreneurs, livelihoods and a sustainable supply chain in the extractive industry.

Jason Barry-Smith

Jenny Martin

Professor Jenny Martin is one of Australia’s foremost structural biologists having made pioneering discoveries in protein structure and structure-based inhibitor design. She was the Gold Medallist of her year at the Victorian College of Pharmacy in Melbourne. Her DPhil was awarded from the University of Oxford where she was supported by a prestigious 1851 Science Research Scholarship. Her postdoctoral research was undertaken at Rockefeller University in New York. In 1993, she returned to Australia as an ARC QEII Fellow and established the first protein crystallography lab in Queensland. She has held many prestigious research Fellowships including an inaugural ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship and her research has been recognised through prizes and awards. In 2015 she was a finalist in the NAB Women's Agenda Leadership Awards Mentor of the Year. She currently uses protein structure methods to develop new drugs to overcome antibiotic resistance.

Luca Cocchi

Luca Cocchi is recognised for his work on functional and anatomical brain imaging, in health and disease. Recently, his research has focused on the use of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques as a potential treatment to selectively restore widespread brain connectivity deficits associated with mental illness. Luca obtained his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Lausanne and Geneva (Switzerland) in 2007. He was postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Melbourne from 2008 to 2011, before moving to the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland.

Lucas Patchett

Mark Burdon

Dr Mark Burdon is a Lecturer at the University of Queensland's TC Beirne School of Law. His research interests are information privacy law and the regulation of information security. Mark has researched on a diverse range of multi- disciplinary projects involving the regulation of information security practices, legislative frameworks for the mandatory reporting of data breaches, data sharing in e-government information frameworks, consumer protection in e-commerce and information protection standards for e-courts. His most recent work with Mark Andrejevic examines the sensorization of everyday devices leading to the onset of a 'sensor society'.

Mark Nielsen

Mark Nielsen is an Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology and Deputy Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland, and a Senior Research Associate of the University of Johannesburg. Mark has studied a range of inter-related aspects of socio-cognitive development in young human children and nonhuman primates, with his research primarily focused on charting the origins and development of the human cultural mind. He is also interested in how culture shapes the way children develop and has set up field sites in remote indigenous communities in the Northern Territory (Australia) and Southern Africa. He has published over 50 articles and is an associate editor of the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

Nicholas Marchesi

Orange Sky Laundry is Australia’s first mobile laundry for the homeless. Established in late 2014 the charity founded by two twenty-year-old best mates, Nicholas Marchesi and Lucas Patchett, provide free mobile washing and drying to the homeless with their custom fitted vans. With an overall goal to improve the hygiene standards of the homeless. They aim to raise health standards, restore respect and reduce strain on resources. Their concept and design of custom fitting a van with two washing machines and two dryers is a world first. Orange Sky Laundry aims to be Australia-wide by the end of 2015 and to continue to improve the lives of others.

Taj Pabari

Taj Pabari is a 15 year-old inventor, entrepreneur and educational pioneer passionate about inspiring children in today’s emerging 21st Century Digital Economy to discover the great world of entrepreneurship through technology and innovation. In 2014, Taj founded Fiftysix, an exciting and interactive way for children to immerse themselves in innovative technology through continuous creation and entertaining education. The company aims to ignite the creative spark in all children by allowing them to build and customise their very own tablet, and along the way learning what really makes it go. Taj has been featured in media including The Australian, Sky News, Gizmag and The Courier Mail. He was also the Winner of The Australian Young Innovator of the Year for 2014. Taj is currently studying in Grade Eleven at John Paul College in Brisbane, Australia. When he is not at school or working on Fiftysix, he divides his remaining time between tennis, martial arts and travelling.

Yen Trinh

Yen Trinh is an urbanist and designer from Brisbane, who is passionate about public spaces, community building and collaborative design. She has worked for design firms, non-profits and government in Australia, Toronto and New York, and enjoys bringing creative strategies to place-making and experience design. She has co-founded community design events that encourage urban exploration such as the UR{BNE} Film Festival, Brisbane Park(ing) Day and Brisbane Sketchcrawl. She was the 2008 National Young Planner (Planning Institute of Australia) and the 2011 QLD Emerging Design Leader Award recipient. Yen currently works in design thinking and experience design at the Queensland Museum on exhibitions and capital projects.

Zachary Fook

Zachary Fook began to question the role of business in the community, and in society at large, early in his career. He has a natural curiosity for understanding how the world works and what our purpose is within it. He has come to believe that by combining the strategy of profit driven enterprises with the purpose of non-profit organisations, business can evolve beyond its current uses and make the world a better place. By seeking variety in his experiences in both study and work, Zac ended up co-founding The Tippy Toe Co., a ballet school for children with special needs. He is a recent business management graduate of The University of Queensland and is currently the experience design fellow at IMPACT Social Enterprise.