Theme: Big Questions,Small Answers

“Big questions, small answers” refers to the idea that a number of obstacles and questions we face often require us to be proactive. They enforce upon us the necessity of starting with small steps in order to reach the pinnacle of life. In a world that currently requires an inspiring show of unity and self-reflection, we believe that this theme will give a chance for our speakers and attendees to reflect upon their pasts and their actions to drive their own future paths in solving communal goals. We also hope that the idea of large and daunting problems having simple solutions resonates with the audience to drive the notion of personal growth and individual action.

BITS-Pilani Hyderabad Campus
BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Shamirpet Mandal
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 500078
India

Deepak Rao

Physician, Pragmatic Philosopher and Commando trainer

Hon. Major Deepak Rao, is one of India’s experts on Zen, Oriental Philosophy and the Mind. Hon. Major Rao is 1 of only 6 Indians to get coveted Presidents Rank Award since independence alongwith MS Dhoni and Abhinav Bindra. The Ministry of Defence has cited him to be India’s foremost pioneer of modern CQB training for counter terrorism ops. Internationally he has received the coveted World Peace Award. He is a motivational speaker on Zen, Samurai Culture & Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Major Rao is a Medical Doctor with certified course studies from Harvard and Stanford. To understand working of the mind, he has studied psycology and Psychoanalysis and to reprogram the mind he studied Cognitive behavior therapy and Hypnotherapy. For spirituality, he has studied Buddhist Scriptures from Harvard University. He has trained in Soto, Rhinzai Zen and Samurai traditions for over 10 years to understand the oriental approach to the Mind

Devaagyh Dixit

Drummer

Devaagyh Dixit, India’s youngest and fastest drummer, made seven world records in a single day at the age of six. When Devaagyh started playing the drums at the age of two, his remarkably intuitive grasp of music and flair for learning that shone through was this wunderkind’s claim to fame. He made his first record at the age of 1 year and 10 months old, rightfully earning the title of ‘Grandmaster’ by the World Record University in London for his unmatched skill. Having performed over 160 drum solos by the mere age of six at both state and national level events, Devaagyh also plays an assortment of other instruments like the piano, guitar, conch, dombek, tabla and ghatam.

Manasa Varanasi

Miss india 2020

Manasa Varanasi, a quintessence of multifacetedness and grace, was crowned Miss India World 2020 and will represent India at the 70th Miss World pageant in December 2021. She is a Financial Information Exchange(FIX) analyst and enjoys exploring the world of finance. She is the epitome of finding balance between one’s career and passion while constantly working towards one’s goals. Manasa truly inspires us to embrace the opportunities that come our way and make the most of them. She makes it evident that commitment and finding balance is the key to success.

Monika Seyfried

Interaction Designer

Monika Seyfried, an Interaction Designer who works across the disciplines of science, ethics and futures, has a strong background in art, photography and filmmaking. Her research focuses on how living systems and the natural world can help us to establish new perspectives on the future of technology and ecosystems. Monika engages at the intersection of emerging technologies, digital media, and the natural environment by creating sensory-rich, interactive spaces through her design work. Her passion is to build immersive experiences, mixed reality that blends the digital and physical worlds, work with a speculative mindset, and experiment with design approaches. Monika is currently a researcher at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID), and one of her ongoing research initiatives is Grow Your Own Cloud, which began as a speculative exploration of DNA data storage methods.

Nikhil Kamath

CO founder and CIO zerodha and true beacon

Our next speaker at TEDxBITSHyderabad 2021 is a man who has risen through the ranks and left a firm indelible mark on the Indian Financial Markets. Just aged 34, and dubbed 'India's youngest new billionaire', Nikhil Kamath has walked and conquered many paths in his life. From leaving school to play chess internationally to teaching himself stock trading, Nikhil is the embodiment of grabbing life by the horns and directing one's own life. In 2010, Nikhil, along with his brother Nithin Kamath, created Zerodha - a revolutionary start-up that would grow to become India's largest brokerage platform.

Patrizia Azzi

Senior Physicist INFN/CERN

We are enthralled to present to you our next speaker Dr Patrizia Azzi, a true inspiration for women in STEM and the student community. Dr. Patrizia Azzi is an experimental particle physicist at the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Italy. Her discoveries and contributions in unravelling the mysteries of the universe are countless. From her role in the Higgs discovery as the coordinator of the "Physics and Performance Data", to leading the studies for the determination of physics performance of an upgraded CMS detector and being a proponent of the project for a Future Circular Collider at CERN, Dr Azzi’s 20+ years of experience in the STEM field is aweinspiring and truly motivating for the young minds out there! Driven by her relentless passion, she has authored more than 1000 publications, with some prominent contribution with 500+ citations. We are pleased to have Dr Azzi share her ardent journey in elucidating the unknown.

Ranveer Brar

CHEF

We are proud to present our first speaker; the talented and charismatic chef Ranveer Brar. From a young boy on the streets of Lucknow to an international celebrity in the culinary world, Chef Ranveer’s story is one of dedication and perseverance. Founder of countless successful restaurants like Morisco, il Camino, Fishtail, in India as well as Banq in the US, Chef Ranveer is also the host of dozens of TV shows, and is a current judge of MasterChef India. His creativity, love for experimentation and eye for detail combined with his charming sense of humour make him one of the greatest Chefs of the country, and his videos never fail to bring a smile on his viewers’ faces.

Travin Singh

Founder CRUST group

From incorporating leftovers into meals to founding a food tech startup, Travin Singh’s journey into the realm of food waste management and sustainability is a remarkable one. It was while serving in the Singapore Navy that Travin had his first eureka moment. Seeing opportunity in the large amounts of unsold bread thrown out daily, he perfected the art of brewing, starting from YouTube and painstakingly improving his recipe. Four years later, CRUST Group was born, their first product being a bread based beer. Today, the company aims to fight the perennial issue of food loss and has wonderful ambitions - to reduce global food waste by 1% by 2030. Presenting TEDxBitsHyderabad 2021’s keynote speaker, a passionate food waste fighter driving the upcycled food movement, the creative and dynamic Travin Singh.

Zoya Agarwal

PILOT

At TEDxBITSHyderabad, we believe that people should constantly strive to look for ways to better themselves and to create a more inspiring world for them and the future. We believe that the next speaker is the personification of these noble ideals. Captain Zoya Agarwal carries with her inspiring stories of following one's dreams irrespective of the barriers imposed on you. Having spent a childhood gazing up at the skies dreaming of becoming a pilot - Captain Zoya worked tirelessly to make her childhood dream her reality. Not to be stopped there, Captain Zoya continued breaking through glass ceilings. From becoming the youngest woman commander of the Boeing 777 to becoming the first woman commander of Air India to fly over the North Pole - Captain Zoya's path-breaking strides create pause for awe.