The first ever TEDx event comes to the University of Tulsa’s (TU) Lorton Performance Center on April 24th, 2015. This exciting, interdisciplinary event will showcase the ideas of TU’s students and faculty in a format designed to be entertaining as well as informative.
TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, seeks to spread powerful new ideas through concise, focused talks—most of which are fifteen minutes or less. TEDx events are planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis. This event will seek to spark deep discussion and connection around the theme “Innomagine”—the intersection of innovation and imagination.
TU students Katie Snyder (Communication) and Hannah Hutchison (Marketing) are organizing this event. “We recognized the wide range of ideas and projects on the TU campus,” they said, “that just need the right platform to be shared.” The two met through the NOVA fellowship, a group centered on innovation and doing something meaningful in the community.
During the half-day event, twelve speakers will tackle this theme of “Innovation and Imagination” as it pertains to a variety of disciplines. There will be talks about science, advocacy, disability, history, and more. The speaker list mixes TU students with faculty and features original research as well as new perspectives on old questions. Two spoken-word poets and a student bluegrass group will also perform.Beyond the talented students and professors selected to give talks or perform, there will also be an IdeaFest: original projects will fill tables in the lobby, and attendees will be encouraged to look around, ask questions, and network with one another.
The TEDx Team hopes to make this event an annual tradition of TU’s campus. One day is not nearly enough time to share all of the amazing creativity and innovation happening at the University of Tulsa, but this event will undoubtedly spark a larger conversation about innovation and imagination in our campus community.
To find out more about TED, visit TED.com. To find out more about TEDxUniversityofTulsa, visit TEDxUniversityofTulsa.com and follow it on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TEDxUniversityofTulsa) and Twitter (@TEDxUTulsa).