TEDxOxford is all about sparking a discussion between world-famous thinkers and bright young people, about letting them inspire each other. Oxford, with its natural abundance of innovative ideas and intelligent minds, is truly the perfect place for such an enlightened exchange of ideas.

Tickets are now available at http://tedxoxford.co.uk/tickets.

New Theatre
New Theatre
George Street
Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 2AG
United Kingdom

Anders Sandberg

Anders Sandberg has a background in computer science, neuroscience and medical engineering. He obtained his Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from Stockholm University, Sweden, for work on neural network modelling of human memory. In Oxford Ander’s research at the Future of Humanity Institute centres on management of low-probability high-impact risks, societal and ethical issues surrounding human enhancement, estimating the capabilities of future technologies, and very long-range futures. He is research associate to the Oxford Martin Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology, the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics and the Institute of Future Studies (Stockholm). He is on the advisory boards of a number of organisations and often debates science and ethics in international media.

Asha Fereydouni

Rhodes scholar and board member of We Are Aggie Pride.

Augusta Thomson

Augusta X. Thomson (@AugustaXThomson) is a graduate of St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University, where she studied Archaeology and Anthropology. From 2013-2014 she worked as Director of Corporate Engagement and later, UK Ambassador, for the Girl Rising movement. As a Co-founder of Story Weavers Pictures, an independent production company in New York City, her work aims to provide marginalized communities with a storytelling platform. She is the Director of Learning from Lhagva, a documentary about the impact of new media technologies on Mongolian nomadic women. Her first documentary feature, Nine-Story Mountain, recorded the pilgrimage around Mount Kailash, in the far west of Tibet. From 2014-2015 she was a Fulbright-Nehru Researcher, in Ladakh, India. She is a freelance journalist and has had photographs and writing appear in The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, Elle Canada, Women in the World, the New Internationalist, Geographical Magazine, Al Jazeera English, and Wellesley Magazine.

Paul Collier

Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and a Professorial Fellow of St Antony’s College. He took Public Service leave when he was Director of the Research Development Department of the World Bank. Currently a Professeur invité at Sciences Po and a Director of the International Growth Centre. His research covers the causes and consequences of civil war; the effects of aid and problems of democracy in low-income and natural resources rich societies; urbanization in low-income countries; private investment in African infrastructure and changing organizational cultures. Books include The Bottom Billion (2007) which in 2008 won the Lionel Gelber, Arthur Ross and Corine prizes and in 2009 was joint winner of the Estoril Global Issues Distinguished Book prize. His latest book is Exodus: How migration is changing our world (2013) In 2014, Paul received a knighthood for promoting research and policy change in Africa.

Peter Millican

Peter Millican is Gilbert Ryle Fellow and Professor of Philosophy at Hertford College, Oxford University. A passionate advocate of interdisciplinary computing for many years, he recently set up the innovative Oxford degree programme in Computer Science and Philosophy. Peter has developed several major software systems for teaching, and is leading a £100K project, co-funded by the UK Department of Education, to provide software to support the new school Computing curriculum. As a philosopher, he is best known for his research on early modern philosophy – especially David Hume – though he has published over a wide range including epistemology, ethics, philosophy of language, science, and religion. A familiar voice in the media (e.g. on Radio 4’s In Our Time), Peter’s software has twice made front-page news, thwarting an attempted smear of Barack Obama just before his election, and revealing J.K. Rowling as author of The Cuckoo’s Calling. He is also a Grandmaster of correspondence chess.