Theme: Metamorphosis

Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher, once said and rightly said, 'Change is the only constant'. The only inevitable. Permanence is an illusion and everything lives in a process of constant change. Change, want it or not, has encroached and will encroach into each one of life's aspects. Be it nature's transitions from one season to another or the transformation of a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly or the evolution of the man from apes, everything in this universe is susceptible to change. This simple yet deep concept of change, if usurped into life, can create great differences. The same applies to the various pains in life that man is agonised with. The darkness today will have to change into the brightest light tomorrow. The gloom surrounding today is also in the process of changing into most joyous glee tomorrow.

Presenting to you the theme of 2nd edition of TEDxIITPatna. "Metamorphosis". The idea is to hear from the experts themselves on how change has affected today's technology, entertainment and most importantly, the people and the society.

IIT Patna
IIT Patna, Bihta, Patna
Patna, Bihar, 801106
India

Kaushlendra Kumar

Executive Director, Kaushalya Foundation

Kaushlendra Kumar is a social entrepreneur and is the founder of Kaushalya Foundation (KF) & KNIDS GREEN (KG). Having graduated from a prestigious Indian Institute of Management being the batch topper, he had his own dreams to follow. Unlike his peers, he didn’t want to work for a multinational company or go abroad, rather, he wanted to serve the society with a motive of bringing a change. Therefore, soon after he completed his education, he returned to Patna and decided to systematically pursue his dream. He started touring the state to meet the farmers. He realized the sector needs to be more organized. By January 2008, he formed two companies: Kaushalya Foundation, a non-profit, as well as Knids Green Private Limited (KGPL), a commercial entity. From then on, he has reached heights of success. His work wasn’t only appreciated by the society but by nations worldwide. He is an Ashoka Fellow & is included in the list of 25 future heroes of India, published by India Today.

Shams Aalam

International Gold Medallist Para Swimmer

Shams Aalam is a true exemplification of the fact that the size of one’s success is measured by the strength of their desire. He is a paraplegic person, who has overcome all odds to become the world record holder for longest open sea swimming by a paraplegic person. He completed his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering & MBA in HR & Operations . Being an international gold medallist para swimmer, he was awarded best emerging leader in disability sports & sports diplomacy by U.S. Department of State Global Sports Mentoring Program 2018. His endowment to never let his impairment encompass him and control his life has been truly empowering and he has emerged to be an Influencer in the society. People not only get inspired but also motivated by seeing and listening to his extraordinary life story.

Sudha Varghese

Chief Executive Officer of Nari Gunjan

Sudha Varghese, also known as Sister Sudha, is a social worker and Catholic nun in India who has devoted herself to the Musahar, the Dalit of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, one of the Scheduled Castes and who are considered the "untouchables". She resides and works in Jamsaut, a village in Patna district. She is sometimes called didi, which means elder sister. She is the chief executive officer of Nari Gunjan ("woman's voice"), a not-for-profit organisation that provides education, literacy, vocational training, healthcare, advocacy and life skills for Dalit girls and women in Bihar. Nari Gunjan has 50 facilities with an overall enrolment of 1500 girls. Varghese has stated that she draws inspiration from B. R. Ambedkar, a Dalit who fought against the concept of untouchability and was one of the drafters of the Constitution of India.

Tanvi Bharadwaj

Co-founder and CTO, MishiPay

Being an entrepreneur requires skill , determination , creativity and a whole lot of passion and Tanvi Bharadwaj rightfully proved that she has it all. In 2014, Tanvi graduated from the University of Manchester with a First Class Honours degree in Computer Systems Engineering. She is now the Co-founder and CTO of multi-award winning retail technology company MishiPay based in London and Bangalore. Being an expert in building and growing platforms for early-stage start-ups ,today her company has grown tremendously and continues to develop new and innovative partnerships with retailers all across the globe. To add to that she is also a recipient of Anita Borg Women in Entrepreneurship Award and has been championing young women in STEM professions . But behind all this success lies her true dedication and hardwork and she has now become a source of inspiration for all the budding entrepreneurs .