Theme: Quantum Leap

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, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. 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).

Thakur College of Engineering and Technology
Thakur Village, Kandivali East
Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400101
India

Debasshish Ghosh

World Motorcycle Rider

Debasshish Ghosh is an entrepreneur who administers two restaurants and a security agency but that is not how we know him, he’s one of the first Indian bikers along with Dharmendra Jain of ‘One World One Ride’ to cover five continents, 35 countries and a 68,000 km long journey on just motorbikes, an astonishing feat in just 270 days. This iconic journey which commenced on June 11, 2017 took him across India and its northeast, Southeast Asia, Far East, China, Mongolia, Russia, Europe, then the US by shipping the bike, going again to Australia, and back to the ASEAN belt before returning to Mumbai on March 26, 2018. Biking has always been his passion but he never thought that he would take up something like this and was largely inspired for this adventure by a television series called ‘Longway Round’ which is a similar tale of two motorcyclists.

Kopinesh Patil

Executive Director, Technology, JP Morgan

Kopinesh Patil is a technologist with more than two decades of providing software technology solutions to large and small enterprises. His cross-cultural experiences while studying and working in India and the US, and satisfying user communities across the world, have engendered a truly global perspective. The breadth of his exposure while working with financial services organizations, across Wealth Management, Investment Banking, Securities Markets, Mortgage Banking and General Insurance, has provided him with keen sense of appreciation of the critical role technology plays. He seeks to harness his experiences to evangelize the pre-eminence of software technologies in today’s world and enthuse and guide the coming generation of technologists.

Mahesh Dadlani

Volunteer associated with a non-profit that supports healthcare

Mahesh Dadlani is a volunteer and philanthropist, who is passionate about giving back to society. He has redefined his life’s purpose to ‘making a difference’ After a 22-year stint in the corporate world across different industries like hospitality, telecom, global outsourcing, he chose to relinquish his corporate job and walk the path of giving back to society, by giving his time & providing his expertise. He believes, just as he can be a better version of himself, by giving back to the society, all of us, especially who wear the title of being privileged, can individually and collectively make the world a better place by volunteering and inspiring people around us to embrace and emulate this philosophy.

Neil D’Silva

Author & Screenwriter

With six published novels under his belt, Neil D’Silva has established his mark among contemporary Indian writers. He writes predominantly horror. His debut novel, Maya's New Husband, ranked on Amazon India's top ten in the horror category, often reaching the number 1 position, a feat that was repeated by his subsequent horror novels as well. He has been named as one of the top 7 Indian horror writers for the year 2017 by UK’s DESIblitz magazine and is one of the few Indian members of the International Horror Writers’ Association, which has such distinguished members such as Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Neil is also the founder of a literary festival called Litventure, which aims to build literary interest and refinement in Mumbai and various other cities in India.

Parag Doodhya

Fitness Motivator & Marathon Runner

Parag Doodhya was 15 years old when he was diagnosed with a kidney disease, Nephrotic Syndrome – a condition wherein large amount of protein leaks out from the blood. He was put up on medicines including steroids for multiple years. By 2015, while the disease was brought under control, Parag had gained lot of weight as a side effect of the steroids. He experienced increased risk of infections, thinning bones, slower wound healing and had acne all over his body, all of which were side effects of his medication. Fast forward a couple of years and today, Parag is a transformed 21 year old, a superfit and confident engineering student who is regular in running marathons. He's now a fitness motivator & a public speaker who helps people in staying fit and also inspires people to fight from all odds of their life. For someone who couldn't run a few hundred meters to becoming a capable runner who can run miles, he surely has come a long way.

Savita Venkat

Chief Development Officer - Bombay Cambridge Gurukul & Independent Education Consultant

Savita Venkatachalam is qualified as a Post Graduate in English Language and Literature and is a certified program leader by Cambridge in training for leadership management and teacher training and has also achieved a Diploma in mass media and journalism. She has 35 years of experience in the field of education, 25 years as Head (Principal) of a premier international school in Mumbai and is the Ambassador for British Council, India. Being well-versed on the new methodologies required to operate schools, she is a consultant, trainer and advisor to many schools. She is currently planning and setting up professional development center and leading the new developmental projects at an international school in Mumbai. She is recognized by many reputed organizations like Education World, Digital India etc. as a reputed world class educational leader.

Seema Khatavkar

Art & Fashion Entrepreneur

Seema Khatavkar is an independent professional in the field of journalism, handicraft design, creative thinking, fashion designing and is also a women empowerment activist. She is associated with the Deshpande Foundation as a mentor for women empowerment and has also worked as a research head & assistant editor for magazines like Education of Yoga, Yoga Quest and Diabetes & Prevention. She is a certified Fevicryl Expert Trainer who also teaches art and craft for women empowerment and stress management camps. Her research is majorly focused on historical designs and their relevance to modern art. She has been honored by Postal Department, Hubli, Karnataka as she was responsible for processing bulk articles of correspondence letters to educational institutes throughout India thereby setting up a smooth and efficient postal delivery system.

Suneel Agarwal

Chief Energizing Officer (CEO), Parichay India

Suneel Agarwal is a Brand Architect, Presentation Coach and a Transformation Speaker. With more than three decades of experience behind him, Suneel has created successful service-oriented businesses and cultivated strong brands including Johnson & Johnson, Castrol, Birla Lifestyle, Mahindra, and ITC amongst others. He has been a consultant to organizations of all sizes, across domains – FMCG, Infrastructure, Hospitality, Healthcare, Retail etc. He has been guiding them in areas from business strategy, branding, customer service to mentoring executives for personal development. He has conducted a variety of seminars and workshops on branding, leadership, team building, personal development, presentation skills, motivation and transformation. Over the years he has set new benchmarks for presentation skills while inventing innovative techniques to engage audiences. Suneel has a reputation for bringing fresh perspectives and rare insights thereby transforming people and organizations.

Vishwanath Gurlhosur

Entrepreneur & Design Thinker

An engineer by qualification, an entrepreneur, facilitator & design thinker by expertise, hobby economist by passion but most importantly Vishwanath Gurlhosur is a ‘free thinker' by his heart, soul and mind. He has co-founded two start-ups out of which one of them was chosen for the prestigious 'Start-up Chile' global accelerator program in 2015 and has co-founded online communities called 'Flavours of India' and 'FreeThinker's Tribe' Vishwanath has taught technology, entrepreneurship, innovation & design thinking at notable universities in Santiago, Chile in Latin America under the capacity of an adjunct professor and has been a facilitator for Organizational Development workshops and programs across India for about 9 years now.