Theme: Illuminating Possibilities

Every day we wake up, pondering over the possibilities in our past, dreaming about the possibilities in our future. We start off with high spirits but when faced with obstacles, we give up hope. We stop, we give up, not because we are not passionate enough, but we do not see the victory at the end of our endeavor. However, it’s different when we see the light at the end of the tunnel: the chances and possibilities!

With the objective of “Illuminating Possibilities”, TEDxUoSM aims to present to our community about the possibilities that happened to be around us. We believe that only if we can see it with our own eyes, then we will believe in possibilities. In organizing this event, we hope to make the audience realize that nothing is impossible and they can be one of the possibilities that has yet illuminated.

EduCity Iskandar
3, 1, Persiaran Canselor, Kota Ilmu, 79200 Gelang Patah, Johor
Nusajaya, Johor, 79200
Malaysia

Amir Shahlan Amiruddin

Dean of Faculty of Cinematic Arts in Multimedia University

Currently serving as the Dean of Faculty of Cinematic Arts in Multimedia University, Educity, Amir has had experience working in the creative industry: through producing and directing videos and advertisements. His recent work makes use of video and animation to create contemporary shadow puppet images, known locally as “Wayang Kulit”. In our event, Mr Amir shares with all of us the importance of storytelling and how each of us can be storytellers in our own way.

Edmund Ong

Honorary Professor at the Newcastle University of Medicine Malaysia

Dr Edmund is actively involved in infection-related clinical research and teaching. He is currently co-supervising a number of PhD research projects internationally including in Nigeria, Gabon and Myanmar. Over the years, Dr Edmund has dedicated himself to finding a sustainable cure to the HIV disease. His belief is that hospitals and aid-providing centres do not need to have expensive, state-of-the-art equipment to be able to treat patients. Rather, even a simple, realistic intervention, can make a significant difference in health outcomes.

Juliette Lai

Pianist, Singer and Composer

Ms Juliette is an accomplished Pianist, Singer and Composer, as well as a being a renowned, sought-after Choral conductor. She currently serves as the head of the Music Department at the Malaysian Teachers College in Johor Bahru, having previously been Chief Examiner for the SPM Music Examinations. During her career as a composer and arranger, she has had her choral music and arrangements performed by numerous choirs in concerts and competitions around the world including in Malaysia, Singapore, China, Japan, Australia, America, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Peggy Loh

Published author of My Johor Stories, series of books

Best known for her book series, My Johor Stories, Ms. Peggy is an accomplished writer and blogger. She is a Johor-based writer for Travel Times, a section of The New Straits Times, now rebranded as Life & Times Jom. She also regularly contributes Johor culture and heritage stories for a page dedicated to My Johor Stories in monthly issues of The Iskandarian, the official newspaper of Iskandar Malaysia. Ms. Peggy has long had a passion for writing. Initially taking it up as a hobby, she grabbed her chances when they came knocking and, years later, she is now a renowned, fully-fledged author. In this event, Ms. Peggy shares with all of us how, through her work, she has managed to connect with people she could not even have thought of meeting. She shares the importance of preserving culture and being true to one’s roots.

Sirhajwan Idek

English language teacher from Sabah

Mr. Sirhajwan is an English language teacher from Sabah who has won numerous awards including • the SEAMEO-Australia Education Links Awards 2018 • Community Award For Citizenship 2018 in Dubai, and • Innovation & Entrepreneurship Excellence in Teaching Awards 2017 in Paris Additionally, he has led his school team comprising of students and teachers to win a host of awards in Italy, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei & Singapore. In our event, Mr. Sirhajwan shares how he managed to change the conventional “pen and paper” way of teaching, to a much more innovative one… all because of a single, simple approach.

Varun Thangamani

Assistant Professor University of Southampton Malaysia

Dr. Varun is an Assistant Professor, who teaches Aeronautics & Astronautics students in University of Southampton Malaysia. His undergraduate degree was in Mechanical Engineering from Kerala University, India. He later earned an MS research degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. Upon completion, he pursued his PhD at Cranfield University, UK on the effects of scaling on cavity oscillations and their control mechanisms. In his talk, Dr. Varun introduces us to his current research: a cost-free defrost technology. As with all research projects, the first step is to identify the problems that bother our society and then come up with solutions to them. That is exactly what Dr. Varun has been doing: identifying the possibilities and making things happen.

Wan Ahmad Saifuddin

Director of Innovation Iskandar

Throughout his illustrious career, Mr. Wan has gained extensive experience in the Education, eBusiness and Management Consultancy fields. He has held key positions in renowned corporations, including serving as the CEO of Unitar Capital Sdn. Bhd., being appointed as the acting CEO and Chief Transformation Officer of MARA Corporation Sdn. Bhd., and setting up the Trust School Programme for Khazanah Nasional Berhad. With a talk titled “STRIVING AND THRIVING IN 13 JOBS: AN ANTITHETICAL CASE STUDY”, Mr. Wan hopes to inspire us by sharing his experiences in the 13 jobs he has taken head-on so far in his life and, in the process, prove that all you need to succeed is perseverance and motivation. He believes that learning is a lifelong journey and can come in any form and at any time.