Theme: Charting the UncharTED

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).

PDEU Auditorium
South Path
Knowledge Corridor, Raisan Village, PDPU Rd
Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382421
India

Ash King

Bollywood Singer + Songwriter

Ashutosh Ganguly, or popularly known by his stage name ‘Ash King’ is a British-Indian singer-songwriter. Hailing from a family of musicians, joining a Gospel choir in his childhood is what drove him to his current profession. Having worked with stalwarts like A. R. Rahman and Lady Gaga, one might recall him from his hits such as ‘Te Amo’, ‘Dil Gira Dafatan’, and the evergreen party hit ‘Aunty Ji’. Brought up in Southall, London, ‘Had I not Belonged to A Bengali Family, music wouldn’t have happened to me’, he says.

Berty Ashley

Molecular Biologist + Quiz Master

Berty Ashley is a treasure trove of trivia and an amazing Quiz Master. From K-pop to biology, he curates his quizzes in the most intriguing ways to involve people from all walks of life in quizzing. From a brief quizzing stint at a school to becoming a renowned Quiz Master, his trajectory is a scintillating and inspiring one. A molecular geneticist by profession, he is the Quiz Master for the Sunday Magazine of The Hindu. His quizzing techniques impart great insight into how crucial observation skills are for everyday life. Get ready to unravel his quizzing journey with him in a fun talk.

Dr. Navneet Gill

Dentist + Restaurateur

Dr. Navneet Gill is a dentist by the day and a restaurateur by the night. From not knowing anything about the hospitality industry, to being the proud owner of 5 restaurants and 8 bakery outlets, her journey is the stuff movies are made of. Nini’s kitchen, her brainchild, is one of the most popular food chains in Gujarat. Her talk on “How to run a restaurant, without knowing anything about running a restaurant”, is aimed to give you an insight into what it takes to make your place in a super competitive, ever changing market. When not working, she can be seen watching Peppa pig and cocomelon on loop, with her two year old.

Dr. Pooja Thomas

Studies Urban Culture + Professor

Dr. Pooja Thomas, a professor, is a cultural reader who studies urban culture and politics. Her interdisciplinary work draws ideas from different and rich sources to help unpack cultural contexts. She has been using the city of Ahmedabad as a tool and may well have turned it into a classroom. A recipient of the AICTE Dr Pritam Singh Award 2021 for extraordinary teaching in management education, she believes classrooms should be used to expand our knowledge and skill sets. Pandemic did not stop her. Dr. Thomas started releasing podcasts to get even the most indifferent students to contribute to the learning experience. The conversations with academic experts have helped her and her students to decode new media, listening cultures and even food anthropology. She dabbles in poetry, fiction and music in her free time. Tune into her talk to learn why Ahmedabad might just be something more than a city in Gujarat.

Dr. Sandhya Koushika

Neuroscientist + Professor @ TFIR

Dr. Sandhya Koushika had an interest in the field of science since her childhood and was inspired by Marie Curie's biography. She received her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology. Her area of expertise is cellular neurobiology with a focus on axonal transport, i.e., the trafficking and transport in neurons. A recipient of the International Early Career Award by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, she is faculty at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai using genetics, live imaging and inter-disciplinary approaches. Tune in to learn how our brain handles the traffic jams.

Edward Sonnenblick

Actor + Voice Artist + Host + Comedian

Edward Sonnenblick is an American actor, voice artist, host, and comedian based in Mumbai. He is well known to Indian audiences for his roles as British colonial characters in period films and series, where he often speaks in fluent Hindi. Stirred by the spiritual, culinary, cultural, and cinematic (yes, Bollywood) traditions of the subcontinent, Edward started learning Hindi and, without knowing a soul in India, moved from California to Mumbai in 2008 to pursue acting in Bollywood, where a new career and new life quickly took off. He immediately met and fell in love with the woman he’s now married to and got established as the go-to foreign actor in the industry. Fourteen years later, he says he feels more at home in India than in his native country and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. He lives in Mumbai with his wife and their 9-year-old son.

Hunny Bhagchandani

Founder Torchit Pvt. Ltd. + Industrial Engineer

Hunny Bhagchandani is an industrial engineering graduate, founder of Torchit, the brain behind the obstacle detector device for the visually impaired, now also known by every Indian for appearing & getting appreciations from India’s leading Business Leaders in the popular TV show, "Shark Tank India". . While being a national award recipient for the development of a new cost-effective product, aimed at improving the lives of differently-abled people, he firmly believes in the idea that; if a thing is not effective and sustainable it would not survive the test of time. Register now to hear from Mr. Bhagchandani himself, a PDPU alumni (17 Batch) and a successful entrepreneur who is on a mission to create a sustainable ecosystem that fosters inclusive growth for specially abled people.

Sanam Kapoor

CEO + Founder + Entrepreneur

Sanam Kapoor opened his very first pizzeria in his hometown Chandigarh back in 2011 and has created a pizza place that has become everyone's favourite. Inspired by his own search for delicious pizza options, he started to wonder if there was a better way of doing pizza – and business. The last thing the world needed was another pizzeria, but maybe this one could be different. Maybe with this one, everyone could get exactly what they wanted, made fresh on demand. It all started sounding pretty great, and soon Sanam was opening the first La Pinoz in City Beautiful. Sanam Kapoor is a fantastic entrepreneur with an ability to understand exactly what customer demands. Full of grit and determination, he entered a market dominated by global giants and in no time cracked the code to success. Belief in his idea is what drives him.

Viral Desai

Environmentalist + Entrepreneur

Viral Desai is an entrepreneur and environmentalist from India who has been awarded the highest number of state, national and international awards for environmental protection, energy conservation and social initiatives. He is a first generation textile entrepreneur and the founder chairman of Hearts at Work Foundation. Viral Desai is behind the theme, idea & Execution of the 1st Green Railway Station of India, Asia and World. It is Based on Theme of Ecosystem Restoration and Climate Action. What he has done in the field of environment and climate action will be woven into his ted-talk, but the amazing thing is that the green Udhna railway station he has built influences more than 16,000 people every day.