Manipal Institute of Technology is located in Manipal, Karnataka, India. Manipal is a university town with 20 professional colleges.

With students coming from various disciplines in engineering, medical, arts and humanities, management, media, hotel management and etc., the spirit of sharing ideas cannot be stronger than in here.

We thought that it was important for all the students from various colleges in Manipal University(MU) to come together and share their perspectives in the fields Technology Entertainment and Design.

With this in mind, the students of MU founded TEDxManipal which provides not only the students but also the faculty of diverse interests a forum to share ideas worth spreading.

Manipal
India

Ms. Rashmi Bansal

Rashmi Bansal is a writer, entrepreneur and youth expert. Rashmi is the co-founder and editor of JAM (Just Another Magazine), India’s leading youth magazine in print and online. She writes extensively on youth, careers and entrepreneurship and hosts the popular blog: Youth Curry. She is also the author of the popular book ‘Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish’ a collection of inspiring stories of 25 IIM Ahmedabad graduates who chose to tread a path of their own making. And now that her second book ‘Connect the Dots’ has hit the stands, she is once again speaking into the hearts of the budding entrepreneurs in search of inspiration. According to the author it is a sequel to her earlier book and it features inspiring stories of 20 successful entrepreneurs, who dared to find their own path, without having an MBA degree. As the last book created a buzz among the MBAs and many MBA students opted out of the placement process from IIMs and other top B-schools. Now this book is expected to generate a curiosity about testing yourself even without doing an MBA. The logic is simple, even the world’s top entrepreneurs and founders are drop-out of school and colleges. Rashmi is also the Consulting Editor for ‘Cracking Careers’, the careers show on business news channel UTVi. She mentors students and young entrepreneurs in colleges across India. She is an economics graduate from Sophia College, Mumbai and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.

Prof.B.N. Karkera

Short bio of this speakHe is undoubtedly one of the greatest visionaries in his field. From the BodyPhone to his next project the BodyEye, we can be very sure to see a long line of groundbreaking technologies from Prof. Karkera. Having completed a BE in electrical engineering and possessing a desperate thirst to do research, he went on to pursue a BARC officer’s training in “Reactor physics and engineering”. BARC provided him with the foundation and freedom to think and delve deep into unknown as he explored Nuclear Sciences & Technology. He soon completed a MSc as an IAEA fellow in the University of Birmingham, where he specialized in “Fast Reactor Design Technology”. And remember this – his endeavors don’t cease with Nuclear Sciences! From HUD’s for Light Combat Aircrafts to Optical Telescopes to Infrared Telescopes, the list goes on and on. Getting to interact with one of the greatest inventors of our time, don’t miss out!er

Mr. Jamshed Rajan

After giving a love letter to the sister of the intended girl during his college days, Jammy has come a long way to have the funniest Indian blog you will come across. An expert at online communities and product management, he is now manages India operations for popular mobile application called Nimbuzz. He claims to be the average Indian that you pass by on the roads and later wonder, “Is he the guy who owes me Rs 1000 from the pub?”. But on a serious note, he is a small-town-er at heart who still believes in God and fate but shies away from accepting for the fear of being laughed at by his peers. His twelve years of exposure to the internet & mobile has seen him honing his skills in product management, including but not restricted to content, community building, user trends etc. As for ouchmytoe.com, he says that it will eventually be compiled into a book. Now that is something definitely to look forward to!

Mr. Rajeev Gowda

Rajeev was born into a family of freedom fighters. Patriotic songs were the lullabies that rocked him to sleep. The exploits of his uncle and father inspired him to action. Even after scoring a 99 in Chemistry and earning his engineering merit seat, he seemingly rebelled and switched to a BA in History, Economics and Politics in Bangalore. He managed the interesting combination of being both an elected student union leader and Bangalore University’s Gold Medalist in Political Science. A scholarship took him to Fordham University, New York, for a Master’s in Economics. Finishing up in a year, he went on to complete several degrees including a PhD in some of the top schools in the world including the likes of Wharton and Berkeley. After teaching for a few years at the University of Oklahoma, he packed his bags and returned to India. It was Y2K. 16 plus years had passed since he had left India’s shores. Rajeev joined the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and he’s been there ever since, teaching courses like “Business, Government, and Society,” that help students understand how the world works. He’s been involved with helping startup companies. He’s been a friend of many NGOs, and recently started his own-Resurgent India-which focuses on Youth Empowerment. Most importantly, he’s an active Congress politician. He was part of Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s younger generation team for the 2004 election. Rajeev is working hard at crafting his own agendas for India, and is planning to write a book on the paradigm shifts that we are living through. Keep in mind that he does manage to have fun. All the time! But one of his strange ideas of fun is quizzing. He co-founded the acclaimed Karnataka Quiz Association in 1983, and was national runner up on BBC TV’s Mastermind India in 2001.

Mr. Rahul Roushan

“Mayawati has just announced that she will quit politics and become a Sanyasi”, “Ramdev Baba admits that he is Gay”, “LK Advani finally ties the knot”, “Aishwarya files for divorce and marries Salman Khan”. This is the breaking news for the day, oh wait! This is the “Faking News” for the day. Rahul Roushan aka “Pagal Patrakar”, an IIM-A graduate, previously an anchor on a very popular news channel, and is now the author, editor and owner of FakingNews.com, only behind The Onion on the best satirical news website in the world. The idea behind faking news is combining humor and journalism. Faking News is essentially a satire on the major happenings of the world; a lighter and very creative take on all the news around the world! Since its inception in September 2008, the readership of the website has grown exponentially with a 35,000 member community on Facebook. To those who question the nature of his site, Rahul takes this approach – “One can’t stop doing something just because of a possible risk. As Rocket Singh put it, ‘Risk toh Spiderman ko bhi lena padta hai’ (Even Spiderman has to take risks),”.

Ms. Atika Dhandia

“Do not wait; the time will never be “just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” Abiding by these words by Napoleon Hill, Atika Dhandia has come a long way indeed. Guided by “the desire to touch humanity at its deepest core and the will to transform the lives of individuals who do my Programs”, in her words, this inspired Art of living Senior Teacher and Veda Wellness Pvt Ltd Executive has made spreading smiles in the world her primary mission. When asked who or what her greatest inspiration is, Atika Dhandia promptly replies: “H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar… the power of just one individual to touch peoples heart cutting across the boundaries of Caste ,Creed ,Sex ,and religion and putting a permanent smile on their faces, building a ONE WORLD FAMILY spanning more than 150 countries across the globe- and all in just a little more than 25 years!” A firm believer in the age-old saying, Happiness comes from within and not without, Atika Dhandia is certain that the secret to a happy and stress-free life lies right under one’s nose. When asked for advice for the youth, Atika says, “Deepen your roots…and broaden your horizons”.

Mr. Rajiv Misra

He is the bearer of one the most crucial and coveted positions in the Indian Railways, that of the Chief Security Officer. With a rail network so widespread, making sure that all the operations go on smoothly can be quite a daunting task. Making best use of his degree from IIM Ahmedabad along with his immense experience, he has been doing his job efficiently and with conviction for quite some years now.

Prof. Prabhat Ranjan

Professor Prabhat Ranjan is a Nuclear Physicist who has been involved with research work in this field for over 20 years. He got his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and has a teaching experience from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory-Berkeley, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Calcutta and Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar. He has done extensive research in Sensor Networks and its application, Robotics and Embedded Systems, Nuclear Fusion and Linux and Open Source Software. He is presently a part of the Embedded Systems Research Group at Dirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Gandhinagar. He is currently working on Wireless Sensor Network applications in wildlife tracking and conservation. This project includes monitoring the social behavior of spotted deer, analyzing the migratory patterns of swamp deer, monitoring tiger movements, and many more. He has also been responsible for bringing both the currently running Tokamaks(Fusion Reactors) in India to international operating standards. Prabhat Ranjan was also awarded the National Science Talent Award in 1976.

Mr. Nakul Shenoy

“The believers will believe and the skeptics will be skeptical” Nakul Shenoy prefers to be called a Mentalist, as opposed to a mind reader. By that he means that his skill doesn’t just involve pulling rabbits out of hats, or bending things with his will (although he is rather adept at the latter). So, what does he really do? He can read your mind, manipulate it and even guess what you are scribbling on a notepad as you chat with him on the phone—and much more. It is perhaps this ability that has made Nakul Shenoy a much sought-after corporate entertainer. Being one of a few elite performers dedicated to mentalism and psychic entertainment, Nakul’s ingenuous acts of mind reading and psychic presentations are acknowledged to be among the best in the country and the world. Nakul Shenoy and his “Beyond Magic!” – A realm of ‘Real Magic’ where the ordinary and the mundane cease to be! – have been wowing corporate audiences worldwide in exclusive and prestigious events for over five years. He has performed for audiences in companies like Apple, Infosys, Wipro, GE, Samsung and Microsoft. Having performed his first public magic show in 1993 (at the age of 15), Nakul is today one of the most coveted performers in the country and the world over. A guest faculty at the Academy of Magical Sciences, Nakul has delivered prestigious lectures at numerous Magic conventions, based on his Masters’ research on the potential of Magic for social communication. Holding an MS (Communication) degree, Nakul is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in Communication, in an extension of the same topic. A co-founder of MAADRI (Magic & Allied Arts Development & Research Institute), this 32-year-old has been the driving force behind IndianMagique – India’s premier portal for Magic & Magicians.

Mr. Somen Dawn

An ex-MITian , who had a dream term at Manipal ,he helped establish the National Secretariat of IAESTE IndiaMIT and remained the chairman for two consecutive years. Founder and President of RED-X! Associate Editor of the Ed-Board! And a 9 POINTER! He sure made his mark on Manipal. Now he’s taking on the world! A believer in change for the betterment of the way people think live and communicate, he was also involved with the $35 tablet which was the dream project of Dr Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development. Currently, he is working as a software engineer at Allgo Embedded systems. He has been involved in work related to development of products for the lower strata of the economy and this totally supports his belief that ‘the driving force behind ones action should always be the wish to help’. Come join Somen as shares a few secrets about life in Manipal and outside of it too.

Mr. Prakash Shesh

A prime mover of the Creative Business Techniques venture, he has done his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad (1974) after completing his Masters’ in Physics from IIT New Delhi (1972). He was the youngest Divisional Manager at TATA EXPORTS Ltd (now TATA International Ltd) where he worked from 1974 to 1983 before starting Creative Business Techniques, which is one of the oldest sellers and service providers of EPABXs and telephones. It is also actively engaged in management training and coaching students for competitive examinations. Prakash is an extremely popular public speaker – his hallmarks are humour, innovation and incisive analysis. He has written over 100 articles in leading newspapers of India. He is sought after for his knack of simplifying complex issues, getting to the heart of any matter & effectively communicating ideas. He enjoys training (in English, Hindi & Marathi) a wide spectrum of people from seasoned corporate executives to students “wet” behind their ears. He is an active Rotarian and was District Governor of Rotary International District 3030 which has 3200 Rotarians in 80 Rotary clubs spread over 11 revenue districts of Vidarbha, Jalgaon and Nashik in Eastern Maharashtra. He has trained governors elect from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh at specially convened international seminars, for three successive years. Widely traveled across the world, Prakash is a rationalist & an evidence based person.

Mr. Sundar Sarukkai

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed” – Gandhi When asked why he chose aforementioned topic for his talk, Mr. Sarukkai promptly replied, “Reason for choosing this topic: Science and religion are often seen to be in opposing camps. However, there is an interesting relation between science and religion. In the Indian context, this relationship is very colourful and dynamic. In this talk I will give examples of the complex ways by which scientists engage with religion and also how technological products get taken into religious practice. I am also interested in this topic since much of my work is on philosophy of science and mathematics .” A firm believer in the close interconnection between science and philosophy, Prof. Sundar believes that “Philosophy is the gateway to understanding the world and our life within it”. Further validation of the same is the fact that he started a career in science (theoretical particle physics), but found that the best way to understand science was by implementing philosophy. Prof. Sarukkai derives his inspiration from Gandhi, because he had the courage to do what he thought was right. His words to the youth would be: “Learn to be Free but with the recognition that real freedom is one that is responsible freedom”